Alcaraz and Nadal put together a perfect show at the Netflix Slam in Las Vegas: highlights, celebrities and a message for the circuit

It would have been a simple exhibition in Las VegasBut Carlos Alcaraz AND Rafael Nadal They cannot manage their soul as born competitors and this Sunday they were the protagonists of a real marathon which culminated in a spectacular victory for the youngest of the Spaniards. It was 14-12 for Carlitos in a match tiebreaker ten points after more than two hours of action against Rafa who looked healthy and saved five match points.

The first edition of the event could not have been more successful. Netflix Slama show match organized in Las Vegas between Nadal and Alcaraz protagonists of an intense fight, with great exchanges of blows and without holding anything back.

A total of 24 Grand Slams were collected, 22 by Nadal and two by Alcaraz, and 104 titles the black and fast pitch of the Michelob Ultra Arena stadium at the Mandalay Bay Casino. Best of all, however, both players have shown good form after putting problematic injuries behind them.

Nadal is recovering from the muscle microread suffered on January 5 in Brisbane, while Alcaraz has been suffering from ankle discomfort since the Rio tournament on February 20. Both left Las Vegas with good feelings.

The two Spaniards had already been in California for several days, where they will play the Indian Wells Masters 1,000 from Wednesday, and they met for the fourth time in their careers, the first in an exhibition match after Nadal won the first two referees and Alcaraz will knock it out at Madrid 2022 on his way to the second Masters 1,000 of his career.

First time in Las Vegas

Before taking the court, both Nadal and Alcaraz admitted that it was their first time in Las Vegas, and not just to play a tennis match.

“Not only is it my first time playing, I’m in Las Vegas for the first time. My schedule didn’t allow me to visit many places, but last night I was able to take a walk, which was fantastic, especially at night, the spectacle of Las Vegas it’s something we have to see,” Nadal said in statements at the foot of the court Netflixwho once again ventured into this sport with great staging.

“It’s special for me to play in front of this crowd, it’s my first time in Las Vegas. I’m excited to play here,” Alcaraz said.

They left external distractions off the court and Nadal started the match with full energy. The serve worked for him and he executed the drive and He starred in some spectacular rallies with Alcaraz.

The man from Manacor was more effective, he moved well and in one of the breaks he recognized that everything was going better than he expected. With a winning serve, he won the first set 6-3 in 37 minutes without giving up even a break chance.

In the second the wind changed, as expected in an exhibition, with Alcaraz raising the level and breaking Nadal’s first-round serve to take a 2-0 lead. The Murciano began to feel more at ease and began to cause damage with his players dropshot and attacking the net and, despite giving up serve at 3-5, recovered the break immediately equalized with a 6-4 in 49 minutes.

With the balance on the scoreboard and Indian Wells just around the corner, the duel was decided in a ten-point tiebreaker.

It couldn’t have been more spectacular, with Alcaraz winning four consecutive points and holding six match points against Nadal who held five. The man from Manacor erased one with a splendid running ‘thrust’ that brought the crowd to their feet.

It was on the sixth point of the match that Alcaraz managed to secure the victory. Nadal’s ‘drive’ hits the net and ends up wide to give Murcian the victory.

A ‘show’ in the city of gaming

The Las Vegas event generated huge expectations in the United States and, just hours before the game, the few tickets still available were selling for more than $200 on online resale platforms such as VividSeats.

And these were figures not comparable to the VIP packages, which had been completely sold out for weeks despite having prices within the range 878 and 9,398 dollarsexcluded taxes.

The match had very special commentators. Three of the six former American tennis players capable of reaching world number one met on the American broadcast: Andy Roddick, Andre Agassi and Jim Courier.

In the stands there were dozens of celebrities, such as the former Los Angeles Lakers player Pau Gasolthe ‘quarterback’ of the Los Angeles Rams MAtthew Stafford, Catherine Zeta-Jones OR Michael Douglaswho acknowledged that he is a big Nadal fan.