Rivalries Of 2022: Nadal Vs. Fritz

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Continuing our annual season-in-review series, ATPTour.com revisits the biggest rivalries of 2022. Today we feature Rafael Nadal vs. Taylor Fritz.

Rafael Nadal and Taylor Fritz are used to facing off on the big stage.

The pair’s four-match ATP Head2Head series history reads as follows: one ATP 500 final, one ATP Masters 1000 final, one Grand Slam quarter-final, and one clash at the prestigious Nitto ATP Finals.

The past three of those meetings took place in 2022, a year in which the big-serving, clean-hitting Fritz found his range against the legendary Spaniard to claim stunning straight-sets victories at Indian Wells and in Turin.

In between, however, an injury-hampered Nadal added another chapter to his Grand Slam folklore by edging the American in one of the matches of the year at Wimbledon. With plenty of off-court drama running alongside the on-court clashes between the two, ATPTour.com reflects on how Nadal vs. Fritz became one of the most intriguing rivalries of the 2022 season.

BNP Paribas Open, F, Fritz d. Nadal 6-3, 7-6(5)
In a March championship match clash that almost never happened, Fritz claimed his first tour-level win against Spanish great Nadal with a high-class showing in Indian Wells to secure his maiden ATP Masters 1000 crown.

Both players entered the final carrying injury doubts. Nadal, enjoying his best start to an ATP Tour season with a 20-0 record for the year, had suffered a fractured rib in his semi-final win against Carlos Alcaraz. Meanwhile Fritz had tweaked his ankle in his final-four clash against Andrey Rublev.

"I can't even begin to describe how ridiculous it is that I was able to play, how I could play today," the American, whose own team had advised him not to play the match, later said. "I've never experienced worse pain in my life before a match.”

Yet those physical issues did not stop Fritz and Nadal playing out a top-quality final in California, where strong home support galvanised the American as he raced to a 4-0 lead en route to the opening set. The ever-resilient Nadal fended off one championship point at 4-5 in the second, but he was powerless to stop the free-hitting Fritz in the tie-break as the 24-year-old sealed his first win in nine matches against ‘Big Three’ opponents.

"I've lost these matches against the big guys my whole life," Fritz said of his milestone win. "It's always felt like they were just unbeatable. So, to do it on the biggest stage, there's no other way. To win a big title, you've got to beat the best.”

Wimbledon, QF, Nadal d. Fritz 3-6, 7-5, 3-6, 7-5, 7-6(10-4)
Nadal and Fritz’s next meeting may have taken place on grass and across five sets, but there were nonetheless some remarkable similarities between the Indian Wells clash and the circumstances in which their Wimbledon quarter-final played out in early July.

While Fritz’s team had advised him not to play the match in California due to a physical issue, in London it was Nadal’s turn to go against those in his player box. The Spaniard struggled with an abdominal problem for much of the four-hour, 20-minute epic on Centre Court but, just as Fritz had in Indian Wells, Nadal stuck to his task and found a path to victory.

“[My team] told me I needed to retire from the match,” said Nadal in his post-match press conference at SW19. “For me it was tough to retire in the middle of the match. [It was] not easy, even if I had that idea for such a long time.

“I did it a couple of times in my tennis career. It’s something that I hate to do. So, I just kept trying, and that's it.”

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Keeping points short by staying aggressive was key to Nadal’s triumph. Despite struggling to serve properly from the second set onwards and converting seven break points to Fritz’s eight overall, the 36-year-old raised his level in the fifth-set tie-break. He raced to a 5/0 lead that proved unassailable, avenging his Indian Wells defeat in dramatic fashion.

A disappointed Fritz was quick to credit Nadal, who was later forced to withdraw before his semi-final in London due to the abdominal injury. “I left a lot up to him, and he delivered,” said the American. “It was a great match. Honestly, [it] probably hurts more than any loss I've ever had.”

Nitto ATP Finals, RR, Fritz d. Nadal 7-6(3), 6-1
Having split their previous two meetings of the year, Fritz and Nadal were presented with the chance to claim the spoils for the season when they were drawn together in Green Group at November’s Nitto ATP Finals.

It was Fritz who took that opportunity with a near-complete performance in Turin. The American did not face a break point and outhit Nadal by 23 winners to 18 across a 97-minute encounter at the Pala Alpitour, where he showed no sign of nerves on debut at the prestigious season finale.

Fritz later spoke about how making good use of the fast conditions in Turin had been key to his victory, which levelled his overall ATP Head2Head series with Nadal at 2-2 heading into the 2023 season.

"On a court like this, I can lean into my backhand and hit it deep cross to Rafa's forehand, and it makes it a bit tougher for him to step in and crush it,” said the American. “On a slower surface, he gets time on the forehand when I go backhand cross, and it's probably done for me. So I'd say that's where it helps me the most on the ground against him."

Nadal concurred with Fritz’s assessment. “It's about time,” said the Spaniard. “Tennis and the sport in general, it's about time… I felt that everything was going so fast. When that happens, normally you are under stress, and you don't have the time to play the kind of shot that you want.”

Read more of our Best of 2022 series