"The worst thing is probably just knowing that he's just going to keep fighting" - Taylor Fritz on facing Rafael Nadal in the final at Indian Wells
Taylor Fritz has said the worst part about facing Rafael Nadal is the fact that he fights for every point and never gives up.
The American sealed his place in the final of the Indian Wells Masters by beating seventh seed Andrey Rublev 7-5, 6-4 on Saturday. Fritz thus ended the Russian's 13-match winning streak. He will face Nadal in Sunday's final.
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In his post-match press conference, the 24-year-old was asked about the best and worst things about facing the Spaniard.
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Fritz opined that the worst thing about facing the Spaniard was his sheer competitiveness and fighting spirit. The American, however, pointed out that he wouldn't be "served off the court" and felt he could put pressure on Nadal's serve.
"The worst thing is probably just knowing that he's just going to keep fighting, he's always going to be there every point, he's not going to like give you anything, it's just the competitiveness, like he's always going to want it so bad," he said.
"The best thing, I would say, is maybe just, I don't know, I mean, from my standpoint, maybe I'm not going to get completely like served off the court, I can potentially get looks at return games. But he's such a good returner that it kind of works the other way, he's going to get looks at my serves. I've been serving great all week, but he'll still return my serves."
"Roger's much more relaxed and calm and Rafa's extremely intense" - Taylor Fritz
During the press conference, Fritz was also asked what he learned from watching the likes of Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic go about their business. The 24-year-old said that the biggest takeaway is how each one of them has a "completely different process" that works for them.
He also pointed out that Federer is more relaxed on the court while Nadal is "extremely intense."
"I think if I'm watching all three of them the takeaway is how amazing it is that you can have three guys that are so incredibly good, that all have a completely different process of going about their training and their business and how there's not one way or one thing that, like, that's, like, that's like what they do to like become the best," the World No. 20 said.
"It's really interesting seeing how they all have different processes. Roger's much more relaxed and calm and Rafa's extremely intense and like it's just really cool seeing that they all kind of have their own way that works for them and as a younger player it's good knowing that you do what kind of works for you."
Fritz and Nadal have met once before, in the final of the 2020 Mexican Open, with the Spaniard winning 6-3, 6-2.