The contest at the Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino, carried live by streaming service Netflix, was a chance for both Spanish stars to test their fitness. Carlos Alcaraz and Rafael Nadal warmed up for the ATP Indian Wells Masters on Sunday with a lively exhibition in Las Vegas won by Alcaraz 3-6, 6-4, 14-12. Nadal, a 22-time Grand Slam champion, missed most of last year with a hip injury sustained at the Australian Open. He made his comeback at the Brisbane International in January before a small muscle tear forced the 37-year-old to pull out of this season’s first Grand Slam in Melbourne.
Carlos Alcaraz and Rafael Nadal warmed up for the ATP Indian Wells Masters on Sunday with a lively exhibition in Las Vegas won by Alcaraz 3-6, 6-4, 14-12.
The Spanish veteran will play his first-round match at Indian Wells on Thursday. And he had enough in the tank to save five match points in the match tiebreak before Alcaraz finally finished it out. Alcaraz, who will be seeded in the California desert, will have a first-round bye.
But the 20-year-old Spaniard has had his own injury concerns of late, retiring from his first-round match at the Rio Open less than two weeks ago after he rolled his right ankle on just the second point of the match against Thiago Monteiro.
He told interviewer Mary Joe Fernandez he felt “much better than expected” after pocketing the first set against Alcaraz.
