The Indian Wells tournament has always had a very special value for Taylor Fritz, who grew up in these areas and used to go to see the event with his family when he was a child. The American ace has always dreamed of winning the ‘BNP Paribas Open’ – which is often referred to as the ‘fifth Slam’ – and he succeeded in this feat in the 2022 edition, defeating a legend like Rafael Nadal in the final.
The current world number 4 – who had a very sudden rise in the second half of last year – did not show up at the first Masters 1000 of the season in top shape, due to a knee injury that has been tormenting him for a few weeks and which forced him to miss the Acapulco ATP 500.
The 2024 US Open finalist absolutely did not want to give up playing in front of his home fans, although he did not have high expectations in this edition for the reason just stated.
His run in California began with a two-set win over Italian ace Matteo Gigante, with Fritz showing that he is still far from his best condition.
His next opponent will be Chilean player Alejandro Tabilo, who is a red clay specialist but could be very comfortable on such a slow surface.
According to the latest surveys, the speed of the new Indian Wells courts is not too different from that of red clay tournaments such as…
