It was going to be an exhibition match in Las Vegas, but Carlos Alcaraz and Rafa Nadal starred in a true marathon this Sunday ended with a spectacular victory by 14-12 for ‘Carlitos’ in a ten-point final tiebreaker after more than two hours on the court against Rafa who disallowed five match points.
The first edition of the ‘Netflix Slam’ could not have been more successful, an exhibition match organized in Las Vegas between Nadal and Alcaraz who showed off their competitive soul.
“Not only is this the first time I’ve played, 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, incredible, especially at night, the Las Vegas show is something that you have to see,” Nadal said in statements on the field on Netflix. “For me it is special to play in front of this crowd, it is my first time in Las Vegas. “I’m excited to play here,” said Alcaraz.
They left the external distractions off the court and Nadal started the match launched. Her serve and drive worked for her and she starred in some spectacular exchanges with Alcaraz. The man from Manacor was more effective, he moved well and recognized during one of the breaks that everything was going better than he expected. With a winning serve, he took the first set 6-3 in 37 minutes without conceding any breaking points.
The wind changed in the second, with Alcaraz who increased the level and He managed a break in Nadal’s first turn to serve to go 2-0 up. The Murcian began to feel more comfortable, he began to do damage with his dropshots and attacking the net and, despite giving up his serve at 3-5, he recovered the break immediately to tie the match 1-1 with a 6 -4 in 49 minutes.
With 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 scoring four consecutive points and getting up to six match points against Nadal who held on to five. The man from Manacor canceled one of them with a wonderful through drive that brought the crowd to their feet. It was on the sixth point of the match when Alcaraz managed to secure the victory. Nadal’s ‘drive’ hit the net and ended up wide to give the Murcian the victory.
In the stands there were dozens of celebrities, such as former Los Angeles Lakers player Pau Gasol, Los Angeles Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford, Catherine Zeta Jones and Michael Douglas, who acknowledged that he is a great fan of Nadal.
2024-03-03 23:29:34
#Alcaraz #subscribes #epic #Nadal #Las #Vegas
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