Rafael Nadal's 20-match streak ends as he loses Indian Wells final to local boy Fritz

World No. 8 Taylor Fritz defeated in-form Rafael Nadal to win the BNP Paribas Open on Sunday.

Fritz, who claimed his maiden ATP 1000 Masters title, ended Nadal's increadible20-match streak and denied the Spaniard a fourth consecutive trophy in 2022. Nadal came into Indian Wells by winning the Melbourne Summer Set 1, Australian Open and Mexico Open.

In what was easily the biggest match of his career, 24-year-old Fritz recorded an incredible 6-3, 7-6(5) victory to win his second ATP Tour trophy. He also became the first American since 2001 to win the California-based tournament.

While Nadal made it abundantly clear that he lost the final because of Fritz's excellent performance on Sunday, the 21-time Grand Slam winner also admitted he struggled with an injury in his first loss of 2022.

"I had pain, honestly. I had problems breathing. I don't know if it's something on the rib, I don't know yet. When I'm breathing, when I'm moving it's like a needle all the time inside here. I get dizzy a little bit because it's painful. It's a kind of pain that limits me a lot. It's not only about pain, I don't feel very well because [it] affects my breathing.

"[It is] more than [being] sad for the loss, [that is] something that I accepted immediately, and even before the match ended. It's more about that I am suffering a little bit, honestly," Nadal told ATP after his loss in the Indian Wells final.

The 35-year-old looked in trouble during his semi-final clash with his compatriot Carlos Alcaraz. During that match, he received a visit from an ATP physiotherapist.

"I tried my best. Of course, [it has] not been my day. But that happens. I have experience in all these situations. So in the moment, of course, it's tough to play a final like this. [I] tried 'til the end. That's it. Even [though] I had my chances in the second set, I didn't convert too many chances. That's it. I think it's a difficult match to analyse personally from my side because I was not able to do many things," added Nadal.

Meanwhile, Fritz fought back tears on Sunday as he fulfilled his childhood dream of winning in his native Southern California.

"I can't even begin to describe how ridiculous it is that I was able to play how I could play today. I've never experienced worse pain in my life before a match. We did a lot of work leading up to the match and I went through a roller coaster of emotions before the match, from thinking there was no way I could possibly play to then doing all this work on the ankle, doing so much stuff to it.... I came out here and it didn't really affect me at all," added Fritz.