Rafael Nadal succumbs to breathing difficulties in Taylor Fritz defeat

Nadal entered the showpiece game having won both the Australian Open and Mexican Open, having won 20 games in a row this calendar year.

However, he was not his usual self against Fritz, quickly going down 4-0 before leaving the court to get treated.

He returned in better form, but was unable to defeat Fritz, who became the first American man to win at Indian Wells since Andre Agassi in 2001. The final score was 6-3 7-6 (7-5).

Speaking after the game, Nadal admitted he was having issues with his fitness, saying, "It's tough for me to breathe. When I try to breathe, it's painful and it's very uncomfortable.

"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."

He added, "Honestly I am sad because of the way I was not able to compete.

"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."

Nadal made 34 unforced errors compared to Fritz’s 22, as the American won his first Masters 1000 event and only his second ATP title.

He had fitness concerns himself after sustaining an ankle injury during his semi-final victory over Andrey Rublev, but he didn’t seem affected by this against Nadal.

Speaking about his win, the 24-year-old said, "I can't even begin to describe how ridiculous it is to play, how I could play today, I've never experienced worse pain like I did before the match.

"I took a couple of steps and screamed. I was trying to act tough and we did a lot of work leading up to the match.

"I was really upset, basically almost crying because I thought I was going to have to pull out.

"I went through a rollercoaster of emotion and all of a sudden being really happy thinking maybe I can play, but it didn't affect me at all.

"This is one of those childhood dreams you never even think will come true."