From exiting Roland Garros in a wheelchair to winning Indian Wells Masters by defeating Rafael Nadal: The incredible journey of Taylor Fritz

Taylor Fritz won the biggest title of his career at Indian Wells on Sunday by defeating Rafael Nadal 6-3, 7-6(5) in the final. The American ended the King of Clay's 20-match winning streak and became the first player from his country to win the Indian Wells Masters since Andre Agassi in 2001.

Winning a Masters 1000 title is a brilliant achievement for any player, but what makes it even more special for Fritz are the events that preceded his triumph.

Back in June 2021, the American reached the second round of the French Open, where he lost to Dominik Koepfer in four sets. Unfortunately for Fritz, he had to leave the court in a wheelchair after tearing his meniscus.

The World No. 20 underwent surgery on his right knee and, incredibly, managed to recover in time for Wimbledon, which started only a fortnight after the French Open ended. He made the third round of the British Major before losing to Alexander Zverev. The American also reached the quarterfinals of the Paris Masters in November.

Just nine months after suffering a knee injury at Roland Garros, Fritz stunned Nadal to win his maiden Masters 1000 title.

"I think I'm an extremely stubborn person" - Taylor Fritz

Taylor Fritz with the Indian Wells Masters trophy

In his press conference after beating Nadal, Taylor Fritz was asked about his return from the injury he sustained in Paris. The American credited his stubborn nature as well as his "high pain tolerance" as a major reason for his success.

"I think I'm an extremely stubborn person," Fritz said. "I also think I have a very high, very high pain tolerance and not a lot of regard for potentially damaging myself worse if I think there's a chance I can get on the court and play."

The American said that it "takes a lot" for him to pull out of a tournament and revealed that he nearly blacked out during the Canadian Open last season.

"It's probably a lot of not-so-good things that get me on the court," Fritz added. "Honestly, literally I was thinking about what I was going to have to say to the crowd if I pulled out. I was going to say, like, I came back after the surgery, I didn't pull out in Toronto when I was literally seeing fuzzy and almost blacking out last year. It takes a lot to get me to not take the court."

Taylor Fritz was full of praise for the medical personnel who helped him recover from the serious knee injury he suffered at Roland Garros and said he considers himself really "fortunate."

"The way I felt in my first original warmup was about as bad as I could feel, about as bad as I could, like, imagine myself feeling," Fritz added. "It was definitely going to keep me off the court. I don't honestly know how it was possible that it went from as bad as it was to as good as it was. Obviously thank the physios and the doctors. They did an amazing job. Yeah, I'm really fortunate."

The American came close to pulling out of the Indian Wells final against Nadal. He was suffering from an ankle injury and was advised by his team to avoid taking the court, but Fritz battled through the pain to pick up the biggest title of his career so far.