Andre Agassiborn in Las Vegas, was the symbol of sports in the city of Nevada in the nineties until the town opted to have its own teams such as the Aces, champions of the women’s basketball league, in addition to organizing events that cross borders such as the Super Bowl final, a Formula One Grand Prix and this Sunday the Netflix Slam between Rafael Nadal and Carlos Alcaraz.
Indeed, The Aces play their matches at the Michelob Ultra Arena, a pavilion with capacity for 12,000 people that will host the evening between the two ‘Grand Slam’ champions tonight. The playing surface has been dyed black to give greater spectacle to the transmission that the streaming platform Netflix will make for its millions of subscribers.
“I got tired of hearing the question about how to live inside a hotel. I thought that if I believed, I could be a tennis player and that’s how it was,” recalls Agassi, who was the perfect host on Saturday for the two Spanish tennis players. They met in the morning at the Shadow Creek Golf Course “although I didn’t get to play with them.” Yes, Pau Gasol did, an illustrious guest who came from Las Vegas to be with Rafa and Carlitos in a moment that promises to be historic.
“Rafa reminded me at the time that retirement was approaching and he had people like Roddick behind him, who would be the Alcaraz of now“, explained the American tennis legend. Andre was questioned about the proximity of the Balearic phenomenon’s farewell: “He deserves to retire whenever and wherever he wants. I hope that his body allows him to make the decision when he is really clear.”
Agassi remembers his last match as a professional at the US Open: “It was against Benjamin Becker, and if you asked me at 25 years old, I would have said it would be with Boris Becker. The rival doesn’t make it any less special“.
Regarding the Netflix match, he says that “I hope it will be a great duel between two players who are at two completely different points in their careers. It is a victory for tennis and for Las Vegas that the two meet here. The choice of the two is the best Netflix could do in this case,” reflects Andre.
Agassi also spoke of the drought of American talents capable of winning major titles: “I believe that Spain, Serbia and Switzerland have recently had something to do with that. The presence of all three at the same time I would say is a miracle. Each one has brought something to tennis that is unique. Let’s imagine that one of the three had not existed. Would we be talking about two tennis players with 34 and 36′ Grand Slam? Alcaraz has everything to make a difference, but he is in the construction period and it seems like he has to put on a show every 10 seconds. It’s nice to see. Nadal, Federer and Djokovic have known how to win without having great days. Rafa was always the boss when it came to not giving himself credit and he always played just enough to win, without having to do much more. That’s a test of self-control. “If you ask me who is better, Alcaraz or Nadal at 20 years old, I’ll take the second best.”
Nadal, Federer and Djokovic have known how to win without having great days
The evolution of the courts was also discussed by the American: “In my time, you could be a fast specialist and survive on slow courts. Now everything has slowed down. Those who have a greater range of shots and better physical and mental conditions are rewarded. I think Europeans respond more to that profile.”
Agassi also joked about his confrontation with Nadal at Wimbledon: “There is nothing worse than knowing that you have little left in tennis and raising your head and finding Nadal on the other side of the net. He was too superior on a physical level.”
2024-03-03 15:20:42
#deserves #finish #hope #body
