Carlos Alcaraz and Rafael Nadal wrote the history of Spanish tennis in the season behind us. The duo claimed three major titles, leading the rankings and finishing in the top-2 as the first pair from the same country since Pete Sampras and Michael Chang in 1996.
Alcaraz is the youngest of the last year no. 1 player, and Nadal is the oldest top-2 player, writing in the history books and hoping for more in 2023. The Spaniards are the top seed in the upcoming Australian Open , including the title match.
Nadal and Alcaraz have scheduled an exhibition match, facing each other on March 5, 2023, at the Las Vegas MGM Grand Garden Arena before Indian Wells. Nadal announced the event, saying that he was happy to visit Las Vegas and compete against his friend.
Befitting the stage, it has a boxing title “The Slam: Nadal vs. Alcaraz” and should bring many tennis fans to Las Vegas. Nadal and Alcaraz have met three times on tour, with the veteran winning both matches.
Their first duel came in Madrid last year, and Nadal lost three games against the injured 17-year-old in the first round.
Rafael Nadal and Carlos Alcaraz will play in Las Vegas on March 5, 2023.
A lot has changed since then, and Carlos has become one of the world’s top players less than 12 months later.
Carlos and Rafa trained together before this year’s Indian Wells and met in the semi-final. The match went down to the wire, and Nadal prevailed 6-4, 4-6, 6-3 after three hours and 12 minutes for a place in the title.
Carlos took revenge at Caja Magica two months later, Rafa won for the first time after winning 6-2, 1-6, 6-3 in two hours and 28 minutes. Alcaraz did not show any sign of nerves against a great victory 21 times in front of the home fans.
The youngster shot nearly 40 points and broke back in the second set to give him his first victory on the clay court. Carlos injured his ankle in the second throw, not wasting energy before the decider.
Alcaraz resumed the decision and dominated the scoreboard with bold strikes. The youngster built on the advantage and fired a forehand into the winning line in the ninth game to seal the deal and find himself in the semi-final.
Hello Las Vegas!!! 👋
I am happy to announce that I will be playing @CarlosAlcaraz at THE SLAM, a special one-night tournament hosted by @MGMRewards. #MGMTheSlamWhen? March 5, 2023 @MGMGrand
Do you see it there? 😉https://t.co/kmWC03coch pic.twitter.com/h3biRBDb18 — Rafa Nadal (@RafaelNadal) December 6, 2022
