Carlos Alcaraz and Rafael Nadal’s highly anticipated exhibition match in Las Vegas has sparked new concerns after the Spaniard limped out of the Rio Open. During his first-round encounter against Thiago Monteiro, the Wimbledon champion had hardly played two games when he stumbled on the clay and fell onto his ankle, calling for the trainer right away.
The crowd fell silent in shock as Alcaraz was then assisted off the court in obvious trouble. Shortly after, Alcaraz declared his retirement from the match, giving Monteiro an easy path to the second round.
In his post-match press conference, the 20-year-old dismissed the injury, saying the physiotherapist had informed him it didn’t appear serious. However, it looks like his amazing matchup with Nadal is at risk, which should worry Netflix executives.
On March 3, the streaming service is scheduled to provide live coverage of the event, complete with commentary in both Spanish and English. Additionally, a special location has already been chosen: the Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino in Vegas’ Michelob ULTRA Arena.
Nadal’s comeback has also generated a lot of media attention, particularly for his matchup against the young contender.
Carlos Alcaraz in 2024
LLWWLWWWW Ranked world no.2, Carlos played his last match on the 20th of February when he had to retire when playing against world no.117 Thiago Moura Monteiro in the 1st round and the scoreline was 1-1 .
This year Alcaraz owns a compiled 6-3 match record. Carlos Alcaraz’s best result of the year was getting to the semifinal in Buenos Aires.
Alcaraz is scheduled to compete next in Indian Wells (BNP Paribas Open). He will start the tournament from the main draw that will commence on the 4th of March.
Rafael Nadal in 2024
Currently the world no.652, the Spaniard played his last match on the 5th of January when he was overcome by world no.40 Jordan Thompson 5-7 7-6(6) 6-3 in the quarter in Brisbane (draw).
At present, during this year the Spaniard has a composed 2-1 match record.
He is also scheduled to play in Indian Wells (BNP Paribas Open) on the 6th of March and Barcelona (Barcelona Open Banc Sabadell) on the 15th of April.
Carlos Alcaraz and Rafael Nadal played each other 3 times. Their actual head to head record is 2-1 for Nadal. The last time they played each other, Carlos Alcaraz won 6-2 1-6 6-3 in the quarter in Madrid (Mutua Madrid Open) in May 2022.
You can see them in action in the following highlights.
Carlos Alcaraz and Rafael Nadal |
| Embed from Getty Images |
