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Fritz broke Rafael Nadal’s winning streak.

Sunday saw the final rounds of the BNP Paribas Open, with young up-and-comer Taylor Fritz taking on Rafael Nadal, who had maintained a mighty 20-game winning streak. Fritz was nursing an injured ankle at the time, and his coach advised him to drop out or risk serious injury, but Fritz wasn’t content to let Nadal walk away the winner for free. Ultimately, Fritz worked through his pain and came out on top, breaking Nadal’s winning streak.

“It was a complete nonissue, didn’t feel it at all, didn’t hinder me at all,” Fritz said about his injury after the game.

Nadal was actually working through a medical condition of his own at the time, experiencing sharp pain while breathing. He needed to take multiple medical breaks during the match, and even had to receive treatment on the court at one point.

“When I try to breathe, it’s painful and it’s very uncomfortable. It’s like a needle all the time inside. I get dizzy a little bit because it’s painful. It’s a kind of pain that limit me a lot,” said Nadal.

“The thing that worries me now, it’s about what’s going on there, what I have to do now to recover and how long it’s going to take.”

What a moment for 🇺🇸 Taylor Fritz! pic.twitter.com/BxJ9j2Iw0y

— US Open Tennis (@usopen) March 21, 2022

Following the game, Fritz made sure to make his admiration and respect for his opponent and his own toughness known.

“It’s an honor to even be on the same court as this guy,” Fritz told the crowd. “I grew up watching this guy win everything.”