Rafael Nadal's Streak Of Winning Streak Ends In Indian Wells Final Finals

JAKARTA – Rafael Nadal's unbeaten record this year was stopped in the final of the Indian Wells tournament. The Spaniard suffered his first defeat in his 21st match of the season.

Nadal got this defeat when he met Taylor Fritz in the final match of the ATP Masters 1000 tournament at Indian Wells Tennis Garden, California, United States, on Sunday, March 20 evening local time or Monday morning Indonesian time.

Nadal, 35, was in an unconventional form as he trailed 4-0 before leaving the pitch for medical treatment. The owner of 21 Grand Slam titles looked comfortable after treatment but eventually had to give up with a score of 6-3 7-6 (7-5).

"This is one of those childhood dreams that you never thought would come true," said Fritz, quoted by BBC Sport. The win means Fritz becomes the first American to win at Indian Wells since Andre Agassi in 2001.

Fritz saved two breakpoints at 5-5 in the second set before winning the tie-break to secure his second ATP Tour title and first win at a Masters 1000 level tournament.

Before the match against Nadal, there were concerns regarding Fritz's fitness after he picked up an ankle injury in the semi-final win against Andrey Rublev. However, there were no signs of ill effects during the match against Nadal.

Before the loss to Fritz, Nadal had 20 straight wins in four tournaments (including Indian Wells). One of those four tournaments was the Australian Open earlier this year when she sealed the 21st Grand Slam of her career.

After the Australian Open, the 35-year-old first brought home the title from the ATP 250 Melbourne. Meanwhile, his next title was at the ATP 500 Acapulco before failing to get a title at Indian Wells.

In the match against Fritz, Nadal who appeared not perfect made 34 unforced errors, far more than Fritz who only made 22 unforced errors. In addition to the defeat, Nadal also brought home an injury ahead of the competition in the clay tournament.

"I tried my best for the last two weeks, today it was impossible. I thought had a good fight till the end. It's been a long time since I've had the opportunity to play here, but I'm very happy to be back and enjoying it a lot, every day I spend here," said Nadal.