Taylor Fritz has upped his 2021
Indian Wells performance by going one step further with a win over
Andrey Rublev 7-5 6-4.
It was a very entertaining affair between Fritz and Rublev with both players having a great chance of reaching the Indian Wells final. Fritz played in the semifinal last year and has been motivated all week long to better that result and he was able to do it. It was not easy, it was a surprise yet the American fully deserved it.
Rublev put up a solid fight but the Russian was simply not enough to produce his best when it mattered the most. The first set started with Fritz jumping out to an early lead and he kept that lead for the majority of the set. Rublev would eventually battle back to make it a tie game but the American was able to pull away with the first set 7-5.
Rublev was very frustrated all set long as he was unable to find that little extra push needed. He whacked his knee a couple of times during the set and finally broke loose after the conclusion of the first set smashing his hand into his racquet. He eventually drew blood that needed to be bandaged before play resumed. Upon resumption, the match continued at a similar pace.
Both played their game but neither was able to find a breakthrough. At 5-4, Fritz finally got a break point and it was actually a match point as well. The American converted it to send himself into the biggest final of his career.