‘The Netflix Slam’ faces both tennis players at the Mandalay Bay Resort
MADRID, 2 Mar. (EUROPA PRESS) –
The Spanish tennis players Rafa Nadal and Carlos Alcaraz face each other this Sunday (9:30 p.m. Spanish time) in the so-called ‘The Netflix Slam’ held in Las Vegas, an American-style show that sees both players recently recovered from different injuries.
The American streaming platform has been promoting the generational duel of Spanish tennis for months. An exhibition match fitted into the calendar before the dispute next week of the first Masters 1,000 of the year, the Indian Wells tournament where both the Spaniard and the Murcian will be in the game.
Both players have been in California for days preparing for this important ATP event but first they will give a show to around 12,000 people at the Mandalay Bay Resort stadium, one of the most famous hotel-casinos in Las Vegas, and to millions of people through Netflix. Without a doubt a show in its most literal definition, with the addition of ‘American style’ and with a lot of money involved.
“The legend against the prodigy,” they called him, in addition to giving him the tennis surname ‘Slam’. The fan will be able to enjoy an all-star match that, even if it is almost a training or exhibition match, will surely leave glimpses of great quality, although on the other hand the season is in its infancy and with few hours of play.
The desire to enjoy will not be lacking in either Nadal or Alcaraz, both burdened by different physical problems, in very different situations. For Nadal, 2024 may be, neither more nor less, the last year of his career, as he already anticipated when he confirmed his last blank year. The 22-time Grand Slam champion returned this January in Brisbane but suffered another physical setback.
The Spaniard had a muscle problem in the quarterfinals that forced him to miss the Australian Open and give up the following tournaments. Now recovered, the man from Manacor will not skip this exhibition in Las Vegas, nor will he skip Indian Wells, where he is a three-time champion, although the European dirt tour and, especially, Roland Garros, are marked in red on his calendar.
Thus, Nadal is far from his best version, without the rhythm of competition or the confidence that his game and his physique need, which only victories give. The champion of 92 tournaments has a long career ahead of him, but he needs to win games and not have any more setbacks with a 37-year-old body that continues to send signs.
He will be able to test his moment against an Alcaraz who also has his doubts, although at 20 years old everything looks much better. The Murcian sprained his ankle 12 days ago in his debut in the Rio de Janeiro tournament, in another week that was not as expected in 2024, but the sprain has not prevented him from being in Las Vegas either.
The former world number one also has his next big event scheduled for Indian Wells and hopes to get back on track as he impressed in the first part of 2023, with the cherry on top of Wimbledon. The one from El Palmar has not won a title since his epic victory over Novak Djokovic on the London grass, but he does not want his hunger to blind him along the way.
Alcaraz’s growth is on pause but it continues to look high. At the beginning he was compared to Nadal and Netflix signed up to bring him to the screens. A legend of tennis and Spanish sport like Nadal and a player with a similar drive, tennis and mentality, an Alcaraz who three years ago trembled in Madrid against his idol in the first of their three confrontations so far.
FOURTH CONFRESHMENT BETWEEN BOTH
The two met later in 2022 in Indian Wells, where the Spaniard won again but in three sets, an intractable Nadal who had been Australian champion. In Madrid again came the third chapter, where an Alcaraz prevailed that would also beat Djokovic on his way to one of the five titles he won that year, including the US Open to become world number one.
The face-to-face room is served by the city of casinos and entertainment, of the endless concerts that Elvis Presley styled. What happens in Las Vegas, stays in Las Vegas, so the Spanish show will be above all that, a show that sports fans hope to see again soon but in grand finals.