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[Kay Adams] It's a beautiful Sunday in Las Vegas.

Netflix is live right here

in the heart of the Strip at Mandalay Bay today.

This it is the center of the tennis world.

Thousands here ready to welcome two of the greatest

and most exciting players on the planet. Listen to that crowd.

Spanish fans here in full force cheering, all welcoming back a true GOAT.

Rafael Nadal looking healthy, looking happy, looking smiley.

We're celebrating here.

He gets set to take on the sport's youngest superstar.

There he is, 20-year-old Carlos Alcaraz, number two in the world,

reigning Wimbledon champ.

Today, Rafa and Carlos meet in the first-ever Netflix Slam.

[Jon Hamm] A tale of a pair of stars a generation apart,

a pair of Spaniards who've become two of the most famous athletes in the world.

[announcer] Rafael Nadal.

[Hamm] Rafael Nadal's legacy seems already secured for all-time

with 22 Grand Slam trophies.

But now, a new force has emerged from his own country.

And at age 20, Carlos Alcaraz has already certified himself a superstar.

There will only be so much time

when Rafa and Carlos could share a court like this and do battle.

Only so many days and nights like this one.

Rafa, Carlos, The Netflix Slam.

[jazzy intro music playing]

[Adams] Here we go. Inside Michelob ULTRA Arena,

inside the Mandalay Bay Resort & Casino in Las Vegas.

Welcome to The Netflix Slam.

It's a live special being streamed all around the world.

We're bringing you the youngest and most electric superstar in the game

taking on his idol, an all-time great.

Carlos v. Rafa just moments away.

I'm Kay Adams, and I'm literally the luckiest person in Las Vegas.

I get to hang out with these guys.

Let me introduce you to my panel.

Tennis reporter, analyst, insider.

He was doing Romanian deadlifts in Mandalay Bay at 4:00 a.m.

Prakash Amritraj…

-Talk to him, Kay. Talk to him now. -…is here.

-Talk to him. -[Adams] And then these two.

For the first time, I believe ever on the set, though.

You are Pickleball Slam champions.

Reigning champions here.

We have US Open champ,

host of the fastest growing podcast around.

Everybody subscribe to Served.

It's Hall of Famer Andy Roddick, and an honor

to be in the presence of eight-time Grand Slam champ,

an absolute icon, Andre Agassi. Hi, guys.

-Hi. -It is an honor for me to be up here

talking tennis with you instead of out there playing against you.

And how good is the energy in this crowd?

I mean, here we are in Vegas.

When I turned pro 100 years ago,

I just had to answer questions about, you know,

"What's it like living in a hotel? Do they have schools? Do they have…"

Now we've got Formula One. We've got the Super Bowl.

-Tennis. -[Adams] Yeah.

It's a win for Vegas and the sport. I love it.

[Amritraj] Talk about the feel of this thing here.

With this thing absolutely packed, you have tennis at the forefront.

It really does feel like a heavyweight fight.

And Alcaraz's favorite is, of course, Rocky.

So we've got a little Adonis Creed versus Rocky Balboa today.

That's the feel we've got.

And what an honor it is to play one of your idols.

I got to play this guy many times

in these one-day kind of exhibitions, got my ass kicked most of the time.

But it was still a thrill for me to be up here,

to see the energy in this building, and listen,

nothing is guaranteed with Rafa past today, right?

He has struggled with injuries.

We hope we're gonna see him at Roland-Garros.

We hope we see him for as long as we possibly can.

But nothing is a given.

I cannot wait to see him play this young upstart Alcaraz.

You welcomed Rafa to the US Open in 2003.

Of course, he had some, like, 140 mph situations to start

and we haven't seen him stateside…

I did my homework, Prakash.

We haven't seen him stateside in 18 months.

How great is it to have him back on the court?

It's fantastic.

The sport, since the moment he entered,

has been better for having had Rafa Nadal in the building.

And is… I view this today as a celebration,

of him against the person who is going to hopefully,

follow his legacy with Carlos Alcaraz.

I feel lucky to be in the building.

And we're going to absolutely see

what we've learned to appreciate most about Rafa,

which is he takes nothing for granted on the tennis court.

He won't take anything for granted tonight,

given his preparation and the dreams he has of going through

this last phase of his career the way he'd hope.

And does anybody deserve to go out of tennis

on their terms better than this guy?

I mean, easy guy to respect, hard guy to play against,

and a beautiful, beautiful thing for the sport

to have it here watching him.

[Amritraj] When this guy came on the scene at 18,

won that first French Open, but it was the longevity.

Would we see him achieve this career with that physicality?

And he's done it. Look at these stats over the course of a couple decades.

[Adams] 22 majors, 14 French Opens as Andy reminded me of before.

Then we came on the air, and let's talk about his opponent.

Rafa's 37. He's been there, done that.

Now you've got Carlos Alcaraz.

Prakash, you follow the tour.

What makes him so special?

And he's winning at such a young age.

Let's throw away the stats.

He's got a couple Slams, barely 20 years old

and arguably more complete than Roger, Rafa or Novak at this age,

which is even scary to think about.

But for me, it's the intangibles.

In the big moments, he always says, "Listen, it's the three C's for me:

[in Spanish] Mind, heart, and guts.

He doesn't… He doesn't go into some spreadsheet and supercomputer.

He feels it in those big moments.

And I mean, for guys who are just

in the legendary status of the game,

how much does that intangible come into play in those moments?

The intangibles are huge, no question about it.

That's what he's gonna ultimately be measured against

when you talk about the three greatest.

He comes into it on paper,

athletically with arguably the four most dominant shots

in the game of tennis, right, from his speed, his RPMs,

his foot speed offensively, defensively,

you look at all that, but does he have the ability to contain it

and to play day in, day out like Rafa has shown

so that he's beating guys just… Just enough

instead of having to play so well to do it,

'cause the years get long, but athletically speaking, he's unmatched.

Yeah, and listen, it was obvious

from when he came and won his first major at the US Open,

which we're going to see here.

Won a bunch of five-set night matches.

Down a match point,

somehow, negotiates his way through that draw.

Just an unreal effort.

You feel like he's just getting started,

and he won two Slams for practice.

I can't wait to see the rest of his career.

[Adams] What's his ceiling?

[Roddick] I don't think there is one.

The Big Three have renegotiated what a ceiling looks like.

Before he had won a Slam,

people were asking me, "Is he gonna win ten?"

I'm like, "That's a little ridiculous."

When you have names like Agassi and McEnroe, and Connors, who are 8-7.

But I think he's going to be in that range for sure as… as bottom,

and he has the potential to get double digits.

We have to reset our expectations.

Unquestionably. Great point.

But if you look at the RPMs he puts on the ball,

maybe even more than Rafa, his defensive skills,

maybe even better than Novak.

His touch and feel,

possibly even, you know, Fed standard or higher, right?

So you're looking at all these parts

he brings on the table.

His biggest issue might be having too many options.

What'll he do over the next few years?

-Can't wait to watch. -Yeah, the toughest thing

about being able to hit every shot is actually hitting every shot

and when. I didn't have those options.

I knew I was a chucker off one side of my body,

so you negotiated a round that and it made it a little simpler.

To Andre's point, he has many options.

He'll have to learn his pacing in different matches.

But his top level is as good as anyone in the sport.

I can't wait to check out the serves. I want you to size up Carlos' serve.

I want to see some trick shots. We'll get into all of it.

The vibe check is passing the test here at the first-ever Netflix Slam.

And it's not just us, guys.

And it's not just, you know, Lindsey Vonn and Matthew Stafford,

who I just saw behind me.

We have an amazing crew

and another familiar face from in the arena today.

Mary Joe Fernandez is with us.

And she caught up with both players moments ago.

Rafa, you have played all over the world.

What does it mean to you to play in Las Vegas

for the very first time in your career?

Yeah, not only playing. Being in Las Vegas for the first time.

No, I have been, uh…

Yeah, rough schedule.

I was not able to to visit many places,

but yesterday night I was able to go around a little bit

And yeah, quite amazing, especially during the night. The…

You know, the show that is… Las Vegas is, for me,

something that needs… needs to be seen.

It's nice to have tennis in Vegas

'cause the big sporting events have been coming here.

Last time you played Carlos was a couple of years ago in Madrid.

Since then, he's won two Grand Slams, he's hit number one.

What are you looking forward to in playing him today?

Well, I mean, for me, it has been a while since being in that… [sucks teeth] spot,

playing against a huge player like Carlos,

so, yeah, excited to play here in Las Vegas

against… well, an amazing player.

So just… I'm going to try my best, try to enjoy as much as possible

and try to create a good match, and for me, it's a…

It's a good practice match, too.

-All right. Have fun out there. -Thank you so much, Mary Joe.

Carlos, Las Vegas seems like the perfect city for you to play tennis.

This is where stars come to show off their talents.

How special is it to be playing in Las Vegas for the first time?

Well, for me, it's really special, you know, playing here with

a beautiful, beautiful crowd out there.

It's gonna be the first time here in Las Vegas.

I've seen, you know, the city, it's crazy and unbelievable.

So really looking forward to playing, playing here.

I… I'm going to try to put my best game,

you know, my talent on the court hitting great…

I think Las Vegas deserve it, and I'll try to do it.

[Fernández] You were only two years old

when Rafa won his first Grand Slam in 2005.

You've admired him from a young age.

What is it like to play your idol?

Well, it's always great and special, you know. I've…

I've played three times against him, you know, official matches.

I really enjoyed every single match that I played against him,

every single second that I spent time with him on the court.

And, you know, facing him again

is so, so special, you know. [sucks teeth]

You know, seeing him in the other part of the net

and try to learn from him

is so special.

So I'm going to try to take the most advantage from that.

And, yeah, I think both of us, we're going to enjoy this moment.

[Fernández] Enjoy the match. Good luck.

Thank you very much. Thank you.

[Adams] MJ, thanks so much.

Quite a special matchup, as Carlos just said.

You're taking a look right now

at the starts of their careers, respectively.

Obviously a big difference.

Two years old, Carlos was, when Nadal won his first major.

Both have had so much success.

We'll see what Carlos can do up against his idol,

He mentioned he's faced him three times.

He's won in two against him. Now, Andre,

yes, this is an exhibition.

Yes, you know, it might be a little cute,

but you can't tell me that Nadal is just gonna let him come in here

and have his way.

No, from a tennis perspective, they're gonna be measuring each other up

very well tonight because the true best in this game

push themselves as far as they can go.

When I look at all those stats at 20 years old,

it's incredibly, incredibly impressive.

But I also look at Carlos and think, "Is it possible you can be that kind

and that happy and dominate the game of tennis?"

Is that Is that achievable?

Yeah, I… Apparently, yes.

I certainly didn't operate that way.

I've seen you in your worst moments and your best

but you didn't operate that way either.

But you get this amount of energy.

You hear the music thump and you get to walk out and you have a goal.

You wanna win this match. Need it.

Rafa has a question mark about where he's at.

Carlos hasn't won a tournament since Wimbledon.

They could both use a nice performance

going into Indian Wells and the tour.

There's something to be said for how big this moment is.

Carlos shines there.

I mean, I remember when he was just even a younger kid,

played Rafa in Madrid, in Spain.

Rafa had just been named the greatest athlete in Spain

over the last 100 years.

The King of Spain was there.

And this kid shined. He shined, He looked like he owned the moment.

So, this arena, this atmosphere in Vegas,

-he'll bring the noise. -[Adams] They both will.

Let's meet the players.

They're just about ready to take the court.

One of the true GOATs of tennis

challenged by a young superstar just on his way.

[crowd cheering]

[Hamm] At the age of 20, he has pronounced the start of a new era

with his astounding rise.

For so long, we wondered what kind of talent could emerge

to supplant the sport's greatest generation.

The answer is Carlos Alcaraz.

-[captivating instrumental music playing] -[crowd cheering]

[announcer] This 20-year-old from Spain picked up a few skills

at the Nadal Tennis Academy as a teenager.

He made his ATP debut in 2020 at the age of 16.

In 2022, he won his first Grand Slam Championship at the US Open,

becoming the youngest man to reach number one in the world.

He won Wimbledon in 2023.

And we're excited to have him here today.

Please welcome Carlos Alcaraz!

[crowd cheering]

[Hamm] For more than two decades,

he sculpted a singular form of brilliance on the court.

With unbreakable will, indomitable strength

and unforgettable genius.

He is Rafa Nadal.

And his legend is not yet complete.

[crowd cheering]

[announcer] He has helped to raise millions of dollars for charities.

A five-time Stefan Edberg Sportsmanship Award winner,

an Arthur Ashe Humanitarian of the Year recipient,

Fans' Favorite Award winner,

he has 92 career singles titles,

the youngest to ever win a career Grand Slam,

Olympic gold medalist,

22 Grand Slam singles titles,

including 14 at the French,

playing for the first time in Las Vegas,

-please welcome Rafael Nadal! -[crowd cheering]

[Adams] Rafael Nadal is back.

Andy, I'm looking at you. The energy is insane.

What do you expect to see? Both have something to prove.

[Roddick] Rafa is the most intense warm-up player of all time.

The biggest delta between how fast someone hits the ball in warm-up

versus when they get in the match, and suddenly, you're in a 40-ball rally.

But we'll see if we get the traditional Rafa sprint.

-That'd be… -[Amritraj] I'm curious.

Is that an actual warm-up tactic he needs to feel warm

or is he just trying to lay it on you, mentally?

[Roddick] What's impossible is going from Rafa

where he won't do it here because it's an exhibition,

but when he hits one ball at you as hard as he can,

hits one ball away from you,

then, all of a sudden, you're at 30-all in the first game.

-[crowd cheering] -That's a problem.

I want you have to challenge.

TV changeovers. Questions?

Heads, tails?

-[Alcaraz] I want heads. -Heads.

[coins clinking]

It's heads.

-I said "heads." -Heads, yeah.

Heads? Good.

-I'll receive. -Receive.

Okay. Good match, guys.

Turn it on and off?

No. No picture.

-[crowd cheering] -[Roddick] There's the run.

[Adams] Andy, you called it and it happened.

Now, Andre, what are your expectations for this match?

[Agassi] Here's the thing.

Most guys, you go to an event, get ready,

get the chance to play on the surface.

Here, they don't.

It's a new court, environment.

They hit this morning.

I guess they'll start with serious athleticism,

give yourself distance between the bounce and the ball,

and you're swinging the racket.

You wanna make sure it's bouncing how you want

before you commit to taking it a little early.

As this match goes on,

the aggression picks up and we start to realize

why they're the best.

Early on, we'll see aggressive swings

to big parts of the court.

I don't think they'll be in a rush. They wanna find the rhythm.

Carlos is coming off of an ankle injury.

Rafa's health has been dicey.

They'll find their feet before they ramp it up.

Just on the way they play,

Rafa will take a bit more time to settle into the match.

Carlos, he can come out hot right away.

When you think back to when Rafa won the Aussie Open in '22,

he needed that 250 in Melbourne to win before he found his best form.

Carlos, he just comes in there, lights it up.

He may have a better start today.

I can't believe it's their first time in Vegas.

Andre, you took them around,

-welcomed them to your home. -I hosted them around,

and I got to ask them questions that only I can probably have the nerve to ask,

-which is really kind of-- -Who's got a better golf game?

Hard to say because Rafa's swing's not pretty.

But he gets the job done.

We'll get into that and get to see some of the behind-the-scenes.

But we're ready and we will be in and out with you guys all afternoon long.

Let's say hello to the gents calling the action.

Hello, Patrick McEnroe.

Hello, four-time Grand Slam champ, Jim Courier.

You guys look great. What a family we have here. What a vibe.

Kay, you may not be aware of this,

or you probably are, because I know you did your homework.

In the open era of men's tennis, there have been six American men

that have gotten to number one in the world.

We've got three of them here today,

two of them with you, and I'm happy to be next to this man,

Mr. Jim Courier, who won four majors.

So, we've got the big hitters here, JC,

and we've certainly got the big hitters on the court.

And these two guys…

You've been a part of some generational changes in tennis.

The guys touched on that a little bit, Andre and Andy, against each other,

you taking on Jimmy Connors, of course, at the US Open,

my brother, Pistol Pete.

This is another one of those times.

Who would have thought we'd seen two Spanish guys

-light up this place in Las Vegas? -It's amazing.

The reference points are important for tennis fans.

We saw Sampras and Federer face off at Wimbledon.

Gave us more of an appreciation

for what Federer already was and what he might become.

I think we see that with Alcaraz playing Nadal again.

It's just a touch point for us to know how great Alcaraz might be.

We know how amazing Nadal is,

and for me, this is about an appreciation as well.

I don't know how much longer we'll see Nadal.

For 20 years, he's been one of the best athletes on Planet Earth.

But time is undefeated, it's come for him and his body.

But it's awesome to see him on the court right now.

It's always a thrill to have Rafa in the building.

[McEnroe] Yeah, and Rafa coming in

with some major question marks this time of year.

He hasn't been playing in the US for 18 months.

He did play down in Australia. Got a couple of wins down there.

But then, the hip injury, wasn't the same that put him out for a bit.

So, he was able to get back in rehab.

He's hopeful, and we're hopeful that he can play the rest of the season.

[Courier] This is great news to see him because a lot of us,

after he got injured in Australia, thought he might just bypass North America

and go straight to the clay courts as he runs up to Roland-Garros,

which will certainly be a major target for him,

and what he says, is possibly his final season.

He's given himself room.

If his body is healthy, I don't think he wants to leave the stage.

We certainly don't want him to.

But for Nadal to be here in Vegas

is a great sign that his body responded after that little scare in Brisbane.

[McEnroe] I don't know if we should say Carlos is in a slump.

But, of course, he's raised the bar pretty high with his two major wins.

But as the guy said downstairs, he hasn't won a title

since he won Wimbledon, of course,

had that epic match with Djokovic in Cincinnati.

But since then, he hasn't been in the final

and he comes in with a little bit of an issue, too, at the ankle,

which he twisted in South America.

But he looks to be feeling good at the moment.

[Courier] He played some solid tennis in Australia, made the quarterfinals,

where Sascha Zverev really served him off the court in a four-set win.

Some lessons learned, I hope, from that match.

We'll get into that as we get into this match with him.

There's so much to like about Alcaraz.

One thing that is a concern…

he's so athletic, and he wants to chase every single ball down.

He has been a bit more injury-prone than we would have hoped for him,

and certainly had that scare with the ankle roll down in Rio just recently.

[McEnroe] But it sounds like, from what we're hearing,

that he's good to go.

And, of course, our Mary Joe Fernández has a little bit of an update

on the situation and the status of Mr. Alcaraz.

-Mary Joe. -[Fernández] Yes.

I asked Carlos about the injury.

It was only less than two weeks ago.

He said he attacked it right away with his physical therapist.

He did a lot of mobility work on it,

trying to strengthen areas around it.

Didn't hit any balls until Thursday,

but he said he tested the movement the last couple days, he's good to go.

So, that's the best news.

And then, to add on about the atmosphere, it is electric.

Everybody had their phones out.

It feels like a big concert here in Las Vegas.

[McEnroe] Let the music begin.

And Alcaraz and Nadal have played against each other three times.

Here is the head-to-head. This is their fourth meeting, 2-1.

a couple of those in Madrid, as you mentioned,

but the first time in a long time for them.

So, I cannot wait to see what they bring to bear.

And no, I agree with the boys on the desk.

They'll be bringing it, and trying to give this crowd a good show.

But, no mistake, they're trying to build momentum as well,

[Courier] It's impossible not to bring it

with the energy we're feeling here.

It's a sellout crowd.

[McEnroe] Catherine Zeta-Jones, Michael Douglas in the house,

as well as many others.

And Nadal will begin the proceeding on his serve.

Both players have already been in the US for a week or so,

getting out to Indian Wells to practice there,

that tournament getting underway next week.

But it's all about Vegas now.

[Alcaraz] I got you.

[line umpire] Fault.

[Nadal grunts]

[crowd cheering]

[Courier] Do you like apples?

How about them apples?

[Courier] Sheesh, what a first point.

[McEnroe] Nice way to start things off.

[Courier] Almost a no-look volley winner.

[line umpire] Fault.

[line umpire] Out.

[crowd clapping]

[chair umpire] Fifteen-all.

[McEnroe] Andy and Andre talking a lot about…

[chair umpire] Thank you, production…

[McEnroe] The various weapons in Alcaraz's arsenal.

He can take the ball early.

He can play the drop shot.

He can hit big off both wings,

very comfortable coming forward.

[chair umpire] Thank you once again.

[crowd clapping]

[chair umpire] 15-30.

[crowd shouting indistinctly]

[crowd cheering]

[Courier] Almost caught the sideline.

[chair umpire] Thirty-all.

[line umpire] Fault.

[line umpire] Out.

[McEnroe speaking indistinctly] …for so long.

Obviously, he did play a couple of matches in Australia.

-But he didn't… -[chair umpire] 40-30.

…the entire year last year. What are you looking for early

to check on his overall fitness?

[Courier] It's about the movement.

[McEnroe] Yeah.

[line umpire] Fault.

[Courier] How much do you trust yourself?

-[line umpire] Out. -[chair umpire] Game, Nadal.

[McEnroe] Nadal opens The Netflix Slam with a hold.

[chair umpire] First game.

[Courier] It's been a struggle for Nadal,

since he hurt his abdominal a couple of Wimbledons ago,

and had to default that semifinal against Nick Kyrgios.

He'd won the two majors leading into that.

He was going for the Calendar Slam,

and then, wasn't able to play the rest of the season.

And then, 2023, the hip injury,

that was real problematic for him.

At the start of the season, he wasn't able to play.

Just a 1-in-3 record, Patrick,

and then again, just three matches in Brisbane.

Scared all of us that love Nadal so much.

And it's such a relief, really, to see him out here tonight.

[McEnroe] He looked actually pretty good

in those first couple of wins he had down in Brisbane,

one of the warm-up tournaments for the first major of the year,

-the Australian Open. -[chair umpire] Carlos Alcaraz to serve.

[McEnroe] This match and, of course, Indian Wells

coming up next week in California.

So, they kick off of this second big part of the tennis season.

Nadal has had a lot of success in the California desert,

winning that title a few times.

-[line umpire] Fault. -[chair umpire] Three play point.

[McEnroe] We have lines folks here.

We also have a challenge system in place.

So, players can ask for a review if they want.

That one, overruled by the chair umpire.

So, for serves coming for Carlitos.

[line umpire] Out.

[Courier] Following up on that question about

what should we be looking for with Nadal,

what does he need to get out of a contest like this.

It's confidence. For a player as accomplished as he is,

and it's remarkable how accomplished he is.

He's a guy who really thrives more on doubt.

He's not a guy who believes in his own greatness.

He believes in, seemingly, the work,

and the momentum he can build.

[crowd exclaiming]

[McEnroe] Slaps another big point there.

[Courier] Contrast that for me, Patrick, with someone like Federer

who seemed like he could just go to sleep for six months

and come back and still believe in his greatness.

It's different for Rafa.

[McEnroe] Yeah, he reminds me a little bit of when

you were at your peak, Jim, you'd play a lot,

you were known as one of the hardest workers,

one of the fittest guys.

Nadal has always had that as part of his MO.

Andre was talking about that at the top. That physicality that he brings.

with his demeanor, but also with the topspin,

especially off that forehand is something no one has ever really seen,

a ball that jumps that much off the court.

[line umpire] Ball.

[chair umpire speaks indistinctly]

[McEnroe] It's an out,

but clearly overruled by the chair umpire.

[Courier] Smooth little 128 miles an hour over the high part of the net for Carlos.

[crowd clapping]

[McEnroe] Loose off that backhand.

So, Nadal, with the early break point opportunity.

This would be exactly what the great Rafa's looking for early.

And the second serve to work with.

Ooh, doubles back over. There is a grip.

[crowd cheering]

[McEnroe] One of the things Andy Roddick has talked about recently

has been the Alcaraz serve.

Maybe that's the part of his game that needs to get better.

How about the scouting report for both guys?

[Courier] So this is my view, and I'm taking Nadal at his apex,

which he may not be at as he works his way back,

but I love his serve placement.

It's not as speedy as Alcaraz's, but he's a great serve manager.

Return of serve,

he's pioneered, Nadal, with the deeper return,

that's been a game-changer.

The forehand, it's the best ever.

His forehand, amazing.

I'm gonna give the edge to Alcaraz on the backhand.

It'll get a bit more conservative as he goes on,

but I love his drop shot off of that side.

Nadal doesn't have that.

[McEnroe] There's that backhand.

[Courier] There's that variety on the two-handed wing.

They both have amazing backhands,

and we're splitting hairs when you look at it.

But for me, foot speed, that's the only a clear-cut advantage

that I think Alcaraz has over Nadal.

[McEnroe] It's that ability to take the ball right off the bounce

from Alcaraz.

With a clean winner.

[crowd clapping]

[chair umpire] Fifteen-all.

[McEnroe] Surprised you have Nadal

giving him the edge in the volley.

He's worked, he's become an excellent volleyer, Nadal.

Alcaraz, pretty good up there, too, right?

[Courier] In time, maybe he'll be as good as Rafa.

But Rafa has been the best finisher at the net for the past…

Well, he and Roger basically.

[McEnroe] That time, Nadal tries to take it early, but mistimes it.

How about this court surface?

Indoor court looks to be relatively slow.

You've played a lot of matches in this type of environment.

How is it different from an outdoor court?

[Courier] They're lower bouncing because it's an artificial court.

It's not built on concrete, it's on board, so it's a lower bounce.

It's not as good for Nadal.

Famously, likes the high bounce when he's getting the forehand up.

Make it easier for Alcaraz

to manage the backhand against Nadal's forehand today.

[chair umpire] Thirty-all.

[McEnroe] Hard to see an open seat.

Absolutely packed.

Early afternoon start here in Las Vegas.

[crowd gasping]

[McEnroe] It's wide.

[crowd cheering]

[chair umpire speaking indistinctly]

Forty-thirty.

[Courier] I'll tell you one thing that's crystal clear.

We've seen a lot of quote-unquote "exhibition" tennis matches

that don't count for ranking.

They don't look a lot like this often.

There's high intensity

on both sides of the net right now, this is awesome.

[crowd clapping]

[chair umpire] Deuce.

[McEnroe] Alcaraz will look to be aggressive…

off that return of serve when he can.

[McEnroe] An authentic start for Nadal.

[crowd cheering]

Anything in the middle of the court,

with that forehand, it's lights out.

[chair umpire] Nadal.

[McEnroe] Game point.

[crowd cheering]

[McEnroe] What a shot!

What a serve and volley from…

Rafael Nadal.

Well, exactly what he was hoping for

in the opening stages of this one.

You were mentioning, Jim, the "no" look.

We got two of them so far in the first three games.

[Courier] This is insane.

Perfectly timed and thumped away.

Sky hook and a beauty.

[McEnroe] Yeah, it's live on Netflix.

Mary Jo Fernández, with Juan Carlos Ferrero,

the coach of Alcaraz.

MJ.

Thanks, Patrick. Juan Carlos, so good to have you.

Former number one in the world, winner of the French Open.

Early going here, for Carlos.

How's the ankle?

What are you looking for with his movement in this one?

Yeah, the ankle. I think we recovered as fast as we could.

It was something difficult for us.

But at the end, you know, he's very young.

And for these kind of injuries, he recovers very well.

The main goal is not to hurt him so much,

try to play as normal as we can.

He's trying to move…

you know, with a little bit of…

taking care of himself.

But it's a good practice, a good match, always to play against Rafa.

it's a very nice opportunity to learn from him.

And, yeah, try to be a good match

to take to the benches for Indian Wells, as well.

[Fernández] And you saw something in Carlos at an early age.

What has it been like to coach someone with so many strengths,

so many weapons?

[Ferrero] At the beginning, it was difficult because all these weapons,

you have to organize everything.

Because at the beginning,

you misunderstand when you have to hit the ball

or where you are at the court,

or when it's time to hit it.

Sometimes it's difficult to put everything in the same place.

But then, at the end, to have the weapons, it's absolutely unbelievable.

It's been an honor to…

You know, to coach someone with these kind of characteristics.

And I'm very happy about it.

[Fernández] Continued success.

[Ferrero] Thank you.

[Fernández] Patrick.

[McEnroe] Thank you, Mary Joe.

Not only a French Open winner, Ferrero,

but also a US Open Finalist,

losing to Andy Roddick.

And Nadal, now with a 3-0 lead.

Take a couple of cuts, Jim, off that forehand.

Try to end some points quickly.

See if he can find that timing on the big forehand.

[Courier] It's been a feature of his game in these last five or six years.

As Carlos Moyá, another world number one,

came on and started coaching Rafa…

he's been more and more aggressive, and that's been a concerted effort

to allow him to play less defense, which is more taxing on his body.

That serve misses.

-[chair umpire] 30-15. -[Courier] It's so doting, Nadal

has his years of climb, still has the speed on his shots.

The serve has gotten faster and more aggressive,

the forehand more aggressive.

Once he's in rally,

he's taken the ball earlier on the baseline in the recent times,

past five, six years,

all with a concerted effort to, really, still be playing at this age.

He's been unlucky with a lot of injuries, but it's still phenomenal

that he's still going.

He has a chance at the 15th Roland-Garros

if he can stay healthy the rest of the season.

[McEnroe] Yeah, over the course of his legendary career,

Nadal's missed a lot of opportunities in majors because of injuries.

Certainly more so than his two great rivals in Federer and

Djokovic were able to

pretty much stave off serious injuries.

Although, the knee injury,

what eventually forced Federer into retirement.

-[chair umpire] Game, Alcaraz. -[McEnroe] Alcaraz gets on the board.

When we first saw him come onto the scene as a teenager,

you could just see, Jim, right away,

that he was built for the big stages, right?

Nothing bigger than last year at Wimbledon.

Only played a handful of matches on grass, in his life,

coming into last year's…

Wimbledon Championships.

And then beats Djokovic in an epic five-setter.

[crowd cheering]

[Courier] He's built for the big stage, he's got the complete game

as the guys on the desk were talking about with Kay.

What he doesn't have yet, which he's gaining, is experience.

We saw it, even just now.

After that last game, he went and changed his racket.

We're playing at about 2,000 feet of altitude.

My guess is, he went for a tighter string job

to get more control on the ball.

[chair umpire speaking indistinctly]

[Courier] Usually, they change their strings at the new…

When the new balls come in, after seven games.

So, after four games, to me,

that's, again, just Alcaraz learning on the job.

Nadal doesn't have to do that anymore.

He doesn't worry about it anyway.

Nadal never changes his string tension, no matter what.

-[McEnroe] That's incredible. -Yeah.

[Courier] Fifty-five pounds, period.

[McEnroe] No matter what.

-Even if it's cold or hot. -[Courier] On the moon.

-We're going 55 pounds. -Okay, all right.

[Courier] He's the only guy I can think of, that does that.

[crowd exclaiming]

[McEnroe] Nadal once again, the big forehand.

-[chair umpire] 30-15. -[Courier] For those of you not familiar

with what string tension does,

the tighter the strings are, the more control you have,

the more speed you have to put on the swing

to get it to go like Nadal did.

The looser the strings, the more the ball trampolines off of them.

The easier the power is, the tougher it is to control.

So Nadal, unlike most of his peers,

he actually recalibrates his swing,

where most players swing the same and recalibrate their strings

for different conditions.

[chair umpire] Thirty-all.

[crowd cheering]

[McEnroe] Boy, that court gives Nadal a little bit of help there.

[chair umpire] 40-30.

[McEnroe] Game point for a 4-1 lead.

[crowd cheering]

[McEnroe] Four games to one for Nadal in this opening set.

Our live coverage here of The Netflix Slam.

We're in Las Vegas.

First time ever for Nadal to even be in this city.

Let's go down to Kay, who's got a couple of special guests alongside.

Kay.

Here I am, there's celebrities, this is a very star studded event here

in the middle of the Strip, Michael Douglas

and Catherine Zeta-Jones are in the building.

I see Lindsey Vonn, we've got Charlize Theron right behind me.

We've seen you at Wimbledons and at US Opens.

How is the first-ever Netflix Slam comparing?

Look, we just started. First set looks great.

We're so excited to be here,

adds another color and shade to visit to Las Vegas.

So we're great.

Catherine and I, also, we have a home in Majorca, Spain.

So particularly, we're rooting for Rafa.

We're a little biased for Rafa.

But I mean, we love the both Spaniards.

-What can I say? -Happy to see two Spaniards.

Catherine, what is it like seeing him back here and dominating?

Sitting here, this is like, for me, to sit--

Of all the tennis matches I've been around the world for a long time,

I've never had seats like this,

and to see the power and the expertise

and the fine, you know, precise details,

it's quite incredible.

It's amazing.

[Adams] Michael, make your plea.

A lot of talk about Rafa retiring.

You're obviously a big fan.

Want to tell him never to retire, ever?

[Douglas] I mean, he's just so good.

It's just nice to see in a one-off like that versus a major.

So you go through eight or nine rounds, and you see how strong he is and how good.

[Adams] We'll see who wins The Netflix Slam. Guys, back to you.

[McEnroe] Thank you very much.

Thanks, Michael and Catherine.

Certainly two people who know a bit about the details in their great careers.

Mentioning Majorca, where Rafa is from.

He's got the Rafael Nadal Tennis Academy there that…

he started a number of years ago,

so that takes up a bit of his time when he's back home.

[crowd exclaiming]

[McEnroe] Oh, he messed up.

First time we've seen the Alcaraz drop shot. It was a good one.

[Courier] Rafa gets up to it, gets enough on this to make it a little awkward.

Still highly makeable for someone of Carlos' skill set.

He can't believe he missed it. Neither can Rafa.

Back to 15-all.

[chair umpire] 30-15.

[Courier] Toggling the return position, Nadal was in title on that one, Patrick.

Nadal's return, as it's gotten deeper and deeper

over the years, has actually forced the tours

to change the dimensions of the courts, that's legal.

-[McEnroe] Yeah. -They have to be deeper now.

[chair umpire] 40-15.

[Courier] So the courts have gotten bigger as a result of Nadal expanding

what he uses on the courts and other players like Medvedev

following his lead.

[McEnroe] That's a big serve.

On the T for Alcaraz with a comfortable hold at 135 miles per hour.

[chair umpire] Four-two.

[Courier] Getting word that Alcaraz, when he sent that racket

to be strung, asked for it to be a kilo tighter from 25

in the mains, 23 in the crosses to 26 and 24.

So that's a good two pounds and change higher.

-That should give him some more control. -[McEnroe] Yeah.

Good call by you and spot on.

Looking for…

a little tighter tension so he can control that…

major firepower he's got off both wings.

[crowd cheering]

You see Nadal looking to finish points little more quickly when he can

mixing in some serve and volley.

[chair umpire] First serve.

[Courier] Nadal, when he burst onto the scenes,

he looked about like this, physically, right?

I mean, he was beefed up at an early age.

His family comes from a family of athletes,

his uncle, a famous footballer in Spain.

He's got big genetics as far as muscles,

so he didn't have to put on a lot of weight.

[crowd cheering]

[Courier] Beautiful. More heat.

He basically came out with the pirate shorts…

[McEnroe chuckles]

[Courier] Sleeveless shirt. This guy is 18 years old.

This guy is jacked.

[McEnroe] When Andre came out, with…

[Courier] That's right.

[McEnroe] …clothing and his monster game.

[Courier] Alcaraz, it took him until he was about 19 years old,

a couple of years longer to get strong enough.

But according to Juan Carlos Ferrero,

at the start of nearly 2022 or so, he basically…

was where they needed him physically

from a weight standpoint, muscle standpoint.

[crowd exclaiming]

[chair umpire] 30-15.

[Courier] Alcaraz has all the shots.

He's got his body built up big enough.

Fit enough.

That's about the education of Alcaraz, right? The experience levels.

[McEnroe] I think Andre put it really well

about his ability to sort of recognize what shots he needs at certain times

just to beat… You got to beat the one guy.

That's a tennis player. You got to beat that one guy that day.

[chair umpire] 40-15.

[McEnroe] Sometimes I think Alcaraz can hit himself into trouble.

You know, he's got so much…

to work with.

Interesting, too, because that Spanish tradition

of tennis players, particularly on the male side

as we heard a little bit from Ferrero,

you know, be very organized, very predictable.

In some ways, Nadal changed that script a bit…

with his just all out aggression off the forehand,

but known to be very smart, strategic players.

[Courier] Nadal is an aggressive player,

but he's also a very high percentage in his tennis, right?

Doesn't really take a lot of high-risk shots.

Alcaraz is all risk all the time.

He's a high wire act.

That's what makes him so thrilling,

but also, to your point, makes him a little more volatile,

results-wise.

[McEnroe] An opportunity here for Alcaraz, now a deuce and a second serve.

Nadal been struggling a little bit on his second.

Yeah!

Can't leave the ball hanging

in the middle of the court for this man's forehand.

[chair umpire] Advantage.

Nadal.

[McEnroe] Right inside the line.

[Courier] Yep, revolutionary shot, lasso forehand.

[chair umpire] Game, Nadal.

[McEnroe] Nadal in a little bit of trouble in that game but gets out of it.

So now, he's a game away from capturing this opening set here

in The Netflix Slam.

Mary Joe is going to have a couple of words with Rafa.

Mary Joe, take it away.

Rafa, a pretty good start.

You're timing well, you're going for your forehands.

-How does it feel for you so far? -Much better than expected.

Honestly, no, good, good start.

Enjoying, you know, amazing crowd.

Playing against a great champion like Carlos and a good colleague.

You know, makes things easy for me…

you know, more than what I expected

in terms of both feeling and just trying to enjoy the moment.

Let's see if I am able to hold a little bit of level.

Okay, well, your number one fan is sitting behind the court, Rafa Jr.

What does it mean to you playing in front of your son?

He's with your wife, Maria.

Well, it's great. No, I mean, what came there is,

I think it's a great inspiration.

Doesn't matter if he doesn't know anything.

-He's behaving pretty well, too. -For the moment, I think.

I don't know if he will leave soon

because he's not used to to stay with comfort for a long time,

so he likes to move around.

It's great to have you here. Best of luck the rest of the way.

-Thank you so much. -Patrick.

[McEnroe] What a surprise, he likes to move around.

Wonder where he got that from.

-[Courier] Amazing. -[McEnroe] This guy never stops moving.

[Courier] He's right. He's off to a great start

and again, he just, he questions himself.

It's part of his greatness and how he propels himself

as he has to prove it to himself

every day when he gets out there and he's doing a great job of it so far.

A game away as you pointed out.

But Alcaraz serving just a one break deficit at the moment

So not done and dusted yet by any means.

And here come the new balls so things will quicken up

a little bit for Alcaraz on serve.

[McEnroe] #TheNetflixSlam,

if you want to chime in on your social media.

Appreciate you all watching from all over the globe.

Something tells me that their

Netflix subscriptions might be going up in Spain as it's primetime over there.

We have our Spanish colleagues also…

sending it around the world in their language.

Oh, yes, that's a nice one, too.

[chair umpire] Fifteen-all.

[Courier] So much firepower on the forehand wing for both of these guys.

Easy power as well for Alcaraz.

He's not a big athlete compared to most of his peer group.

In men's tennis these days, just six-foot tall, which is…

Puts him below average in the men's game.

But boy, the foot speed, and the live arm aspect is magic.

[chair umpire] 15-30.

-[Courier] Dave Grohl in the house. -[McEnroe] Yeah.

That's a big delivery right there.

Another one in the mid-130s, at 134.

[Courier] We watched him play a couple of years ago

as an 18-year-old.

That's when Nadal and Alcaraz played on a hard court at Indian Wells.

There's no power deficit for the team.

That's when we started thinking,

"Maybe this is going to be the guy to be the next Nadal

as far as winning a Slam as a team."

And he'd do it later that year as a 19-year-old at the US Open.

[chair umpire] 40-30.

[Courier] It's a misconception amongst some people

that power is the problem for the teenagers.

It's not that, it's actually harnessing it and knowing when to use it.

[McEnroe] That's a great serve. That one with a left kick on it.

A couple of aces from the 20-year-old.

And the 37-year-old…

will serve for the opening set now at the Michelob ULTRA Arena

inside Mandalay Bay.

Absolutely jam-packed.

[chair umpire] Love-15.

[Courier] Nadal's doing everything

to stay in control of these points

and not have to dig into the corners defensively.

Misses that first forehand slightly.

[McEnroe] He served that well.

[Courier] You understand why he wanted to keep things short.

The match that he got injured in, in Australia,

was nearly four hours in the three-set match

against the Aussie, Jordan Thompson,

and that seemed to overwhelm his body.

[crowd cheering]

[chair umpire] 30-15.

[McEnroe] Alcaraz tryin' to take that early but overhits it.

[chair umpire] 40-15.

[McEnroe] So now, set point for Nadal.

[McEnroe] Well, that just cut the line and Rafael Nadal with…

that famous fist pump wins the opening set

in 38 minutes.

Six games to three

and it sure is nice to have these two legends here

in Las Vegas.

And of course, one legend showed them around.

The one and only Andre Agassi

taking around Nadal and Alcaraz

on their first-ever visit to Las Vegas.

[lively jazz music playing]

[Alcaraz] When I arrived yesterday,

I was crossing the airport and we were watching…

Like in the casino.

-Yeah, yeah. The slot machines. -Yeah.

-Grocery stores, too. -[Alcaraz] Yeah.

You go buy your eggs and you gamble a little bit.

Yeah. It was crazy.

[Agassi] I always compare tennis to a city.

If you believe it, if you dream it, you can do it.

I call it "can-do" spirit. Like you on a tennis court.

Yeah. [chuckles]

The Bellagio. These are the fountains here.

The fountains do this big dance and music plays.

Life changed for you very quickly, huh, with the success.

Has this been a tough adjustment?

It was a bit different.

Pressure, let's say, a little bit.

You want you to do good results in every tournament you go.

That part was… It was more difficult.

Wisdom is something that you wish you had

when you had your body, you know, it's like…

So, it's important to take anything in that you can from guys like from Rafa.

I learn a lot from him.

[Nadal] Playing exhibitions helps to grow our sport.

For kids and for the next generations,

it's kind of an inspiration for them.

To have tennis come here now, especially with these two guys.

What a gift to Vegas.

[woman] Rafa, Carlos, we love you.

[crowd cheering]

It's nice to have the man with us right here in the booth.

Andre Agassi, it was fun to see you taking these guys around.

This has been your home for so many years

and fun to have these two legends. Have you here, have Andy with us.

-What a great vibe. -Yeah, it's so much fun.

Just hanging out with them

and getting to actually ask questions.

Things that I'm interested in.

Getting a taste for their spirit

and the way they think and operate.

And you understand why they're so good at what they do.

They take nothing for granted, in their training, preparation.

I was worried about his ankle, but the way he's gone about it…

And it's awesome to see him here.

-These boys came to play. -[Courier] Big time.

Big time.

-These boys came to play. -[McEnroe] Settle in.

Loving having you up here for set number two as…

Alcaraz will kick things off on his serve.

[chair umpire] Players are ready.

[Courier] Boy, how good is it seeing Rafa being so dialed on his feet

and as well as his forehand early.

That's a good sign for what

he could be in store for

coming up in the rest of the hardcourt season.

[line umpire] Out.

[McEnroe] Sorry, Jim. We talked to Andre about the generational shift, right?

You guys have been part of some of those big changes.

You were there.

Andre, when you played… The first time you ever played Nadal

was in the final up in Canada,

which is a tournament you owned for many years

and you played him on a hardcourt up there.

What did you notice about him right away

the first time you stepped on the court?

[Agassi] That's a great question.

One thing I noticed is the whole geometry of the tennis court

changed dramatically when you played him.

A tennis court has certain spaces

and you're going, "The size of the court can't change,"

but when somebody can put a ball with so much action up and around

and in different places

from different defensive or offensive positions,

you realize the court's a heck of a lot bigger than it ever used to be.

You know, I lived on burying my backhand cross

to a lefty and then taking over the court.

-[Courier] Oof, that's big right there. -[Agassi] Good one.

You know, I live taking over the court

but what does taking over the court mean against guys

that can put the ball so up and so down and raise it so high.

Easy to say. "Just step into the court and take it earlier."

But you're so committed in position

that you realize you're in a helpless position.

So, my rules of tennis didn't apply against him.

[chair umpire] Out.

Out.

[Agassi] There's the altitude getting to him.

[Courier] He's going a little tighter on the strings mid-match here

to just try and get a little more bite on the ball.

[Agassi] I noticed that. That tells you how well Rafa knows his swing,

the fact that he never has to do it.

Somebody who's really gifted in a lot of ways to…

to have that sense and nuance for his own swing,

but then the discipline to believe in it and keep executing it

over all these years.

[chuckles] Looks like Rafa's seen that a few times.

[McEnroe] Too easy.

[Agassi] He's even smiling about it. And he's like, "No…

that ain't open today."

[Courier] One of the things I love

maybe almost most about Alcaraz

is the amount of times you'll see him play an interesting point,

a great point, even, and he loses it and then smiles.

[Agassi] Can you do that and dominate the game of tennis?

-That's the question. -[Courier] We'll find out.

Give us 15 years and we'll know.

[Agassi] He can do about four things on a tennis court

better than everybody in the field.

When you think about that,

it's like being the longest driver hitting the most fairways,

and hitting the least amount of putts.

It's a… big deal.

[chair umpire] Game, Alcaraz.

over the hold to open the second set.

What'd you guys take away from that set number one?

Andre, you talked about what you were looking for,

and what'd you see from Rafa that you liked?

[Agassi] What you wanna see

is that he's dominating the point from the middle.

If his feet move like that,

that means opening up that court with either one.

And for me, the big one is his forehand up the line.

I mean, when he…

This is just called being good.

When he starts hitting his forehand,

it's just too much court to have to defend that in.

So…

If he's feeling that shot, that's what really makes him unstoppable

'cause it opens up a high percentage cross loop

that just buries people.

[McEnroe] His loop is more than a loop, right?

[Agassi] Yeah, it's a high margin.

It's a high margin body blow.

Absolutely, absolutely incredible.

[McEnroe] I think the biggest threat there was…

Problematic as we look at it again from Alcaraz's second serve point.

-He's just running… -[chair umpire] Love-fifteen.

[McEnroe] 38% of those.

That got him into a lot of trouble.

Nadal will be able to take advantage.

Pretty even otherwise.

Andre, I wanted to talk a bit of technology with you

because along with Patrick, we were a part of a generation

that played through an era that was changing.

We played longer than we did,

where the new strings came into the game

that Nadal's been using and now everyone used.

And you change too late in your career,

what was that change from normal strings to these copoly strings like?

Well, the biggest difference with the strings really is

you start to get rewarded for taking big cuts.

When I came under the tour,

I was one of the few that'd take rips off both wings

and be able to control that.

Normally, it would be considered a risk to do that

but with these polyester strings, I mean, you get more control

the more aggressive you swing.

Look at the cuts they're putting on and the shape--

[crowd cheering]

Me shifting to get in to a lot more confidence just to be aggressive,

it had to change in the trajectory of the serve a little bit.

But the aggression could even get more

and the conviction on every swing could get more.

Made the court bigger, made offense a higher percentage plays, so…

It did extend my career a few years,

but again, my game wasn't growing up on it.

So these guys have swings that also played to the dynamic of that spin

and that makes it even more exponential.

[Courier] Might be a swing in the match.

-Triple break point. -[Agassi] Second serve.

[chair umpire] Fifteen…

[Agassi] Well, I tell you what, I really love Alcaraz's game on the move.

When he's in flight, the dynamics

and his ability to use that geometry in his favor

with the pace he can inject.

I do get concerned for him when he's on the static side,

when his feet doesn't have to move as much,

sometimes he doesn't know where to direct that energy,

and he gets set a little too early

or not quite the same conviction on the shots

when he can be in control of the point.

[chair umpire] Game, Alcaraz.

[McEnroe] Double fault gives Alcaraz a break.

We talked about the modern era of tennis,

particularly on the men's side, guys.

Ivan Lendl was the first guy really in the open era

that played that huge serve plus one, right?

The serving of four.

Jim, you took that and kind of ran with it,

maybe even to another level.

Andre, you could do it, as you said, off both wings.

Andy Roddick had the big forehand.

What did… How have these two guys taken the game forward

with that forehand?

[Agassi] I mean, yeah, Rafa stepped onto the scene

and he just redefined the dimensions of a tennis court,

as I mentioned.

His ability to spread the court

from any position.

If he's… You can't play him down to center,

'cause he'll still open up the court.

You can't play him wide because of his movement,

you give him more angles

to open you up.

So the ability for him to be able to put that much heaviness on a ball

that's gonna jump above your shoulders

and then be able to somewhat get on top of that ball

and go through court.

I mean, it's quite honestly,

sometimes it's just, it's unfair.

[Courier] And how his game evolved?

You played him very early in a match in Canada.

He had a lot of assets, but he's also improved a lot since then.

[Agassi] No question.

I think you saw that, for him to win Wimbledon,

he had to sort of adjust his to serve position,

knowing where to take a bit more risk.

And one of the things I've loved about Rafa

and what he's brought to the game

is he's one of these guy that has never felt the need

to play a better match than he has to win the match.

He's never felt the need to play a better point than he has to play

to win the point.

You break that down to shot,

he never plays a shot that's unnecessary

if another shot will get it done.

So he was very comfortable playing inside himself

and then building this game by matching you and taking it to another gear.

You know, you look at Alcaraz in contrast.

It's like he plays in fourth gear all the time

and when he gets uncomfortable,

it drops to second gear.

And you go,

"Wow, your third gear is so much stronger than everybody you play,

you think you could just live there."

But he's also 20 years old and learned…

learned to control that.

Rafa's controlled aggression is unmatched, in my opinion.

[McEnroe] I tell that story, Andre,

to lots of our kids at our academy in New York.

About starting out a match, this is from you.

And sometimes you can start in second gear, right?

Third gear…

But then when you played Pete Sampras in the US Open final,

what gear did you have to start with in that one?

[Agassi] Pete, it didn't matter how I was playing,

he'd take the racket out of your hand.

And he was so gifted at not giving your rhythm

that it was hard to even know what gear you were gonna find yourself in,

but we did.

We did have some battles

that took us both to the fifth gear occasionally.

[McEnroe] More than occasionally.

[Agassi] Yeah.

[McEnroe] Game points here for Alcaraz as he's…

started off this second set beautifully.

[Agassi] These balls that come out of the court.

those are ones that I feel like he runs the risk

of either over or underplaying.

He gets that first forehand

and he hits it to a thick part of the court

and it doesn't make progress

when he can actually dominate with it,

which is a high percentage quality blow.

Jim, you would have just slapped yourself if you…

-if you didn't-- -[Courier] Pop it to the corner.

No bueno, Andre.

[Agassi] The next forehand, he gets center of the court,

he goes from second gear and tries to blow it through the court

and then misses it, you know.

That's the stuff over a period of time…

[McEnroe] Well, he's figured out his serve anyway, so…

Great to have you up here, Andre, with us in the group.

But I think they're missing you down in the studio.

-Let's check in with them. -[Agassi] Okay.

[Adams] Thank you, Patrick.

Thank you, Jim and Andre. Here with Prakash and with Andy.

Listen, first set, easy.

Rafa's back. He looks incredible.

"What injury?" is what I'm thinking.

Then second set starts. I go say hi to Jordan Love.

Carlos has made adjustments.

-What are you saying? -I blame you

-for Rafa's demise… -There we go.

-…in this second set. -100%.

But two things that Rafa is doing well,

the first set, he was able to stick first serve returns.

He's gone to the chip more than in the second serve.

Maybe Carlos is picking up some sort of tell on the return,

but those movements where Rafa is getting around,

that circle C movement where he's getting around the ball

and getting forehands in the middle,

that looks good, and that's a tell if someone's been getting in proper reps.

That's something you do when you have a bunch of rhythm,

a bunch of matches behind 'em.

I'm encouraged by Rafa's footwork in this outing.

What is so beautiful is two players of this caliber,

you're starting to see adjustments in the most minor level.

Carlos is looking a bit more buttoned up.

Unforced errors have come down.

He's shifting to the left,

trying to find more forehands, dictating play

and executing a little bit more.

All of a sudden, he might be able to take that second set,

So I want to see the mini adjustment Rafa's able to do.

Patrick, back to you.

[McEnroe] Thank you so much.

All over it, as always.

[chair umpire] Time.

[McEnroe] Nadal to serve.

Love-three here in this second set.

[Agassi] I tell you one thing I'd have loved to see with Rafa,

just got my own curiosity,

is if he gave himself the green light to let his backhand fly.

I believe truly we'd be talking about one of the greatest backhands ever.

But instead he can do so much with this forehand.

He can do so much with controlling the point with percentage.

[crowd gasping]

That he's constantly making the decision,

why do something if you don't have to?

And he's going through this latter part of his career,

and it might help him a lot

if he just started to unleash the beast off the backhand side,

because when he amps it up,

there's not a ball he can't hit with it.

I mean, it is an impressive wing.

[Courier] It's a bit of a confidence tell for him, too.

When he's feeling in full flow,

his backhand is flat, it's hard, it's deep,

and when he's not, he's tentative, it lands short, it's vulnerable.

[Agassi] You could argue that with his forehand side.

I mean, he definitely has a tendency to,

he leaves the ball a little short and out of both wings

if he's not… If he's not confident.

But to me, let it go for a few games and give…

That's what he does in the warm-up.

He lets balls fly just to… Just to make sure,

'cause he knows when he gets crunch time, he's going to button it up.

But him feeling the energy of being able to let his swing go is depressing to…

It demoralizes his opponent.

[Courier] The delta between a Nadal practice, average ball speed

and back in the day, Federer.

-[McEnroe] Yeah. -[Courier] Federer barely hit the ball.

He tapped it and he'd come on the court

and he'd go nuclear when he needed to.

[Agassi] That's such a punishing shot.

[Courier] I tell people all the time, and do it while you still have a chance.

Go watch a Nadal practice on an off day, whether it's in Indian Wells

or Miami or wherever it may be,

you will not believe how consistently hard he hits the ball,

so much harder than he does in a match,

and I believe it's because when he gets into a match,

it feels like it's so safe,

even though it's still so aggressive compared to most players.

[Agassi] Absolutely. He practiced next to me one time

when we were at the World Championships

and I started hearing gunshots, like, going off.

I said, "Who the heck is this? There was only eight of us here."

And I looked over and it was him. The first time I really saw him training,

and it just made me want to go back to the hotel.

[McEnroe] Kind of interesting…

You're talking about, with Nadal you'd like to see him be more aggressive.

With Alcaraz, you'd like to see him

be maybe just a little less aggressive at times.

[Agassi] Well, for me, Nadal, now at this stage,

I'm making assumptions. Let's hope his body holds up

and he can keep doing it.

He knows how to do it better than anybody on this planet, really, but…

I mean, and how good are his hands?

I mean, if this guy can do that as many times as Federer does,

you could argue he might have the best hands on tour, right?

He only comes in on his terms, but I can't remember.

He hasn't missed a ball since, you know, 2009.

But you're right. But at this stage,

things start to… Maybe you lose half a step,

And you want to be more offensive than have to get pushed around.

If he has a reason, he can get more aggressive.

That is beautiful.

[McEnroe] No problem being aggressive off that wing.

[Agassi] Yeah.

You leave a ball hanging and loitering in no man's land,

and he will treat it as it deserves.

[McEnroe] He's got his son behind him.

He's talked to him, his family.

-That's nice. -[Courier] How cute was that.

[Agassi] His goal should be to play long enough

for his son to remember.

I tell you what, it's a special thing.

-I mean… -[crowd cheering]

I mean…

I mean, that…

That gives me chills, you know what I'm saying?

He just lined up and hit it.

And the scary thing is, he can do that over and over again.

[McEnroe] That's what we call a grip and a rip.

[Agassi] There we have Alcaraz with three consecutive forehands,

kind of in a single court.

And not one had the intensity that took over the point.

And then one was probably a little edgy on the other extreme, you know, it's…

He's gonna find that. He's 20 years old

and it's going to be beautiful when he does.

I just hope it's…

I hope it's soon and often.

[Courier] Right about that.

With Alcaraz, that is what remains for him.

He… He learned a lot in the last year and a half about his body,

dealing with extreme heat and cramps,

and dealing with long matches and how to manage his body.

But I think we both agree

he still doesn't know how to manage his game

and understand strategy, fully yet.

Talent doesn't need any rulebook.

Or guideline.

[McEnroe] Love to watch it, right?

[Courier] But it's also worth remembering, Federer

wasn't as accomplished as he is at 20 years.

It took him time to figure out what to do with his massive amount of skill.

[Agassi] Yeah, Fed was always probing

and trying to figure out ways to make himself better…

That's what greats do.

You know, when I look at Alcaraz's ability to bring such upside,

he will struggle with keeping the reins on

and not necessarily having to do more than he needs to

against a majority of his matches.

[crowd cheering]

But I tell you one thing, GOATs figure out is what their game is built around

and they rely on that in their biggest moment.

And I still question if…

Carlos has figured out what he's going to rely on

to create that consistent, you know, pressure for his opponent

that gives him the highest percentage chance of locking something down.

He… He might serve volley,

he might hit first ball drop, he might slow, blind fly.

And he can do all of it, which is…

This is a great game.

[McEnroe] What a return!

[crowd cheering]

The crowd is eating it up now.

[Courier] 113 mile-an-hour serve came back just about the same speed,

Alcaraz still stuck out a pull and almost got it over the net.

Deuce.

[McEnroe] A beautiful feathery touch.

How about some love from me for the young guy?

[Agassi] If you get a close-up on Alcaraz in the middle of a match,

you don't know if he's winning or losing. He lost a point or won the point.

It's like he's having a blast out there.

[Courier] It's like he's on roller skates, getting into the net fast.

He just floats all the way to it.

[Agassi] And he gave that serve away with his toss.

Rafa was well on the move before that thing left his racket.

You gotta punish that.

[McEnroe] It's easy pickings there for Alcaraz.

He gets himself out of a little bit of trouble in that game.

And it looks like we could be headed to a decider in this one.

6-3 to Nadal, 4-1 to Alcaraz in set number two.

Let's go back down to Kay.

She's got some special guests.

Kay?

[Adams] I found some Rams,

courtside. Matthew Stafford, Super Bowl champion.

You've got Sean McVay. We'll get the scouting report.

Puka Nacua, I think Cooper Kupp's here somewhere.

Matthew, I heard you organized this trip.

Why was it important?

And your wife, Kelly, alongside.

I don't know, but I am happy to be here.

This is an awesome trip. Really cool to watch this…

This kind of tennis up close is sweet.

I hear you're a tennis fan. I'm new to this.

A lot of people watching on Netflix also new.

-What can you tell us? -Kelly got me into it.

She started playing and I started hitting it with her

and just watching these guys…

Appreciating this talent is pretty cool.

Who are you rooting for out here?

I don't know.

As an old guy, I kind of am on Rafa's corner, you know?

-Tough, physical. -Yeah, an old guy.

-We stick together. -Stick together.

So we're on Team Rafa over here.

I'm gonna make my way. Thank you.

Puka Nacua, where are you?

I saw… Hi, Sean. How you doing?

What's your scouting report on these two?

These are unbelievable athletes.

I said we got to mix this in for some cross training.

I mean, the hand-eye,

it's awesome to be able to see them up close.

Veronica, how are you? We've got so much fun here.

I'm good. How are you?

Having an amazing time? These seats are insane.

This is so impressive.

Love seeing you guys. Now, Puka, I saw you at a…

What do you mean?

Okay, he's scared to talk,

but I saw him at a Galaxy and Miami game with…

Sitting next to Novak Djokovic

and the line of people to see you.

What's it like to be the most famous guy in the NFL?

[Puka] I'm sitting next to Cooper Kupp, so I don't believe it.

[Adams] Cooper is here. We're gonna throw it back to you.

[McEnroe] All right. Thank you, Kay.

These guys know their tennis,

they don't want to get in the way of what's going on,

so respecting what they're seeing. Great to have them here.

Just over an hour of play.

If this goes to a deciding set,

there will be a ten-point tiebreak for the match.

And of course, it's become the norm in final set tiebreaks in all the majors,

if it gets to six-all…

there's a little ten-point tiebreak.

Had him lined up.

[Courier] Alcaraz now, 0-30.

Andre moving to his right there.

Alcaraz… That's the right ankle, it's the one that he rolled in Rio.

…tentative on that move as he was going over there.

[Agassi] You can definitely tell

that he's not wanting to put undue stress.

The court's pretty gritty out there as well,

and with the boards, he doesn't wanna get stuck in cots.

So his movement is a little bit compromised, but…

But I have to say,

you cut down this guy's speed,

it makes him a bit more decisive.

So, you know, sometimes I can work for you

if you know you're not gonna pay the extra price with the feet.

[Courier] You've consulted with a few players along the way.

As Alcaraz gets to a triple break point here,

if you were in his camp and trying to educate Alcaraz

to be a percentage tennis player,

which is what it sounds like, would you use video?

Like, how would you go about the education of Alcaraz?

[Agassi] Yeah, I would definitely watch matches, and I would…

I would ask him a lot of questions about what he was thinking.

But then I would give him a lot of respect.

And I'd give him a lot of respect for what he's capable of, so…

Not… Not easy…

to figure that out at 20 years old, but he will.

I mean, he is an explosive, beautiful player

that has every shot in the books, so let's give him a little time.

[Courier] One thing I would do is use a recent loss as a lesson.

I would imagine they have.

He lost to Zverev in the quarterfinals in Australia,

and at the end of the match, he did not attack Zverev's weakness,

the forehand. He kept giving him backhands,

which Zverev can hit with his eyes closed,

Didn't force him to play the tough shot.

-[McEnroe] They're simple lessons to… -[crowd cheering]

[Courier] I'm sure Juan Carlos Ferrero, who is an amazing coach,

who's developed him, will get in his head over time,

but it's fun to see him play with this much abandon.

[Agassi] It's great.

It's easy to love and watch, and the game's in good hands.

The players are starting to play him through the center of the court

a little bit more as well,

and he doesn't spread the court.

He runs the risk of being a little too passive or trying to go through it.

And a guy like me, it's like playing…

You want to work the forehand as large as you can

'cause there's a chance you miss it.

But you hit your 85%.

[Courier] There was a chance?

-Against you, it's a little different. -[Agassi] Yeah, with a big one.

[Agassi] 85%, one that buries you all day, is tough.

[McEnroe] Nadal able to fight off

three consecutive break points.

[chair umpire] Deuce!

[Courier] If there's one just awareness-wise for Alcaraz,

Nadal's second serve, he can pop it.

But right now is kind of in the mid-90s to high 90s.

Should he be standing deep to return that?

Should he be on the baseline?

[Agassi] I had the privilege of playing Nadal twice

and fully came to respect his second serve.

While it feels like he could be standing up in the baseline,

it knuckles at you. If you don't hit that thing square,

you're inside the baseline and he's going to spread the core from there.

Personally…

[crowd cheering]

[commentators chattering]

[Agassi] I don't mind him letting that ball settle,

putting a big cut on, but then really looking take over the point.

You're taking a risk on the baseline with the second serve.

Even though it seems like the speed might be, not be high

because that ball wavers around,

and if you don't clean contact, then Nadal can expose you quick.

[chair umpire] Deuce.

[Agassi] It's like a knuckleball in baseball.

You know, if you don't hit that thing dead center,

it's not going to make it out of the park, right?

And that's what happens.

Return of the second serve a little off center,

and the ball kind of sits there.

[McEnroe] And when we talk about Andre

on our all our broadcasts throughout the year,

the greatest returners, your name obviously always comes up.

I put you as the greatest offensive returner of all time,

that you could be aggressive.

Who do you put as the greatest returner you've seen or played against?

[Agassi] Sure, there's a lot of ways

to measure that, and for me, I had to be an aggressive returner.

When I see somebody like Novak, he just shuts down

and locks down on the return.

And if all of a sudden, you give him a broken ankle or a broken leg,

and he had to be aggressive, he could do it.

So I like the person that can do it all.

[McEnroe] Another break point for Alcaraz.

He's taken a few steps back here on this return.

More than a few.

[Agassi] This should give him a chance to get a good cut on the ball

and then look to look to take over off the next one.

It's a 20-year-old learning in process. I love it.

[commentators exclaim]

[Courier] Missed that by a mile.

[chair umpire] Deuce.

[Agassi] Another good thing that 20-year-olds can do

is have good short-term memory loss.

Let's forget that return and go back to work.

[McEnroe] Third deuce.

[crowd cheering]

[chair umpire] Advantage, Nadal.

[McEnroe] Nadal fights off four break points

to keep himself alive in this second set.

[Courier] That's rare air in the building.

Not many people have touched all the bases in tennis.

Andre, you're one of them.

You're not the most accomplished in your own house because Steffi also…

Nadal and Serena, the only people to ever win all the majors

as well as Olympic gold.

That's a special group to be a part of.

[Agassi] Yeah, that sure is.

And my wife doing it in the same year,

that couldn't have been easy.

You know, it's funny… I wanted to ask Rafael the question I wanted to,

which is between those three, I mean, what, 66 Slams, something like that,

I said, "If one of you didn't exist, would you guys really be playing

for 30, 35 Slams each?" and I was taken by his answer.

He really felt like the three held them all to a…

Having three people so good held them all accountable

all year long, even during times of drought,

times when we're struggling, injury, this that…

So on the one hand, he was sort of saying,

"I may have won more, possibly, but I wouldn't have been as good,"

and I thought that was a pretty respectful way to see it all.

[Courier] It's been a magical time watching this generation with Alcaraz…

Sorry, with Nadal and Federer,

and Novak still going strong.

Andy Murray, who was a big part of the conversation as well.

Now this new generation starting to rise with Alcaraz…

This year's Australian Open champion, Jannik Sinner, another youngster.

We worry about the game as generations leave

and new generations have to take over.

And then people like Alcaraz come on to the scene,

-and I think so many of us exhale. -[McEnroe] Exactly.

[McEnroe] It's gonna be okay.

Ooh. Another one of those balls where…

-his feet got a little static. -[Agassi] Yeah, it's static.

Where he just runs the risk of not

…delivering the quality that he can absolutely produce.

[exclaims] Come on.

[Courier] That is not that easy to do.

[McEnroe] But it sure is fun to watch.

[Agassi] You get the feeling like it makes it fun for him to play.

[McEnroe] Yeah.

Game point for a 5-2 lead.

[crowd cheering]

[McEnroe] Andre, awesome to have you. They need you back down in the studio.

JC and I, we talk tennis all the time.

We always learn something when we talk to you.

[Agassi] Oh, I've learned from you guys.

[McEnroe] Let's get down to Mary Joe who's with Alcaraz now.

MJ.

Thanks, Patrick. Carlos.

Good second set.

You've got the break, almost a second break.

What adjustments did you make after Rafa had such a good start?

Well, I started playing more aggressively.

I mean, I started to put the returns in,

trying to read his game a little bit more… And, yeah,

it's been a good second set for me,

and hopefully keep going on this level.

And your smile, Carlos, is contagious.

Whether you win a point, lose a point, a big point,

you seem to find a way to enjoy it.

Are you having as much fun all the time as it looks out there?

Yeah, well, most of the time.

There are a lot of times

that I try to have a smile on the court,

but it doesn't mean that I'm enjoying so much,

but right now, I'm 100% enjoying this…

this moment.

You don't play in Las Vegas every day, so I have to enjoy this moment

in front of a beautiful crowd and obviously,

playing against my idol, you know?

But, yeah.

I try to put my smile on the court, and that's what you saw,

my best tennis.

We love seeing it.

Good luck closing out the second set.

-Thank you very much. Thanks. -Patrick.

[McEnroe] All right, Mary Joe. Thank you so much.

Alcaraz with that 5-2 lead.

Andre making his way back to our studio alongside Kay, Prakash and Andy Roddick,

the last American man to to win a major

and to be number one, we've got three of them

in the house here today with Courier, Agassi and Roddick.

Spain has had a few number ones themselves.

There's the Nadal family,

[Courier] Yeah.

Wife, son, sister, father, close by,

as Nadal serves to extend the second set with new balls.

[chair umpire] Love-fifteen.

[Courier] Starting to struggle with the double faults.

Is Nadal here in the second set?

[McEnroe] Six overall now for the match.

[Courier] It's always easy when you've been training

at sea level in Palm Springs and you come to 2,000 feet

of altitude to control the ball.

It doesn't spin as much, does it?

It tends to flatten out.

It's just tougher to get the ball to dive down the way you want it.

[chair umpire] Fifteen-all.

[Courier] We talk about the differences in players and similarities,

and everyone would want

to draw the comparisons with Nadal and Alcaraz.

The Spaniards, their fighting spirit and all of that.

But the facts are there are a lot of differences,

and they yuk it up here a little bit.

[McEnroe] He's got it.

[Courier] And Nadal is another one in the long line

of Spanish players who figured out a way quickly.

how to play their version of percentage tennis

as well as anyone.

He is risk-averse,

is Nadal, the way he plays.

He's certainly a dominant force.

But with high percentage.

He is the house. He's the casino.

He basically has long challenged players

to go outside of their comfort zone to beat him.

Alcaraz on other side of the net,

he's the big whale gambler. An appropriate metaphor here,

-analogy in Las Vegas. -[McEnroe] I like all the Vegas stuff.

[Courier] He just wants to take risk and see what happens.

He wants to light this crowd on fire with excitement.

Nadal wants to light the the crowd on fire when he finishes the match,

shakes hands and then celebrates.

That's what the difference is for me.

Alcaraz is sort of a natural born entertainer.

Nadal is more a natural born competitor.

-That make any sense? -[McEnroe] Yeah, it makes a lot of sense.

[Courier] These people know about entertainment.

[chair umpire] Game, Nadal.

[McEnroe] Nadal able to hold.

Federer had that mix, right? He was obviously the ultimate competitor,

along with Djokovic, but he also had that flair.

When he was dominating matches, he could do a little showtime.

But you wouldn't see the showtime type of shots from him when it counted.

[Courier] Nope.

And what Andre was talking about,

which I agree with wholeheartedly, is that eventually Alcaraz is going to get

scar tissue from losing matches that he maybe could have won

if he played a little smarter brand of tennis with all of his skills.

So it's worth kind of enjoying him

at this young, vibrant age where it's all excitement,

all risk, all daredevil, because I think, eventually,

he's going to stop playing with freedom,

and he's going to be a better player because of it.

[McEnroe] Yes. Do you want to win more? Do you want to entertain more?

[Courier] Make sure you pay attention closely

to these years of Alcaraz because these are magical moments.

But there's a lot of volatility and it's going to be fun to watch,

but eventually, I think he'll learn to tamp down the risk and get more reward.

If he doesn't, he's still going to be a thrill ride.

He's not going to win as much as he could.

[chair umpire] Love-thirty.

[McEnroe] A miss like that would drive Andre Agassi crazy.

Midcourt ball.

Don't need to go for too much,

but it's proof that Nadal… A quick point.

It's love-30, chance for Rafa to get back on serve.

[crowd gasping]

[crowd cheering]

Break point if for Nadal.

[chair umpire] Love-40.

[McEnroe] Saves one.

[chair umpire] Fifteen-forty.

[McEnroe] Twenty-two majors won by this man.

Two for Alcaraz.

[McEnroe] That was a late call.

Rafa's going to take a look.

He's not sure.

He'll take it. Second serve.

Another late call, but another fault call.

But will Alcaraz challenge it? He will.

[chair umpire] The ball is called out.

[Courier] Nadal's walking to the chair, seems convinced it's out.

We'll find out together in a moment on the replay.

[crowd clapping]

[McEnroe] Here it comes. And it is out!

So, a shaky game there from Alcaraz.

And Nadal back on serve. It's 5-4.

One of the most common texts I get when I'm on the road, Jim…

And you'll learn this as your kids get a bit older.

"Dad, what's the Netflix password again?"

[Courier] Exactly.

[McEnroe] I'm like, "Can you please save this?"

[Courier] Let's see if Nadal can save the set here.

Back in it now at 4-5, but still needs to hold to get the 5-all.

[McEnroe] Took a lot off that first serve.

Just 99 miles per hour, and Alcaraz jumped on it.

Oh, yes!

Clean winner.

[Courier] Serve speeds coming down for Nadal here in this service game.

Just 80 miles an hour on that second serve.

Alcaraz had a lot of time to think about what he wanted to do.

Delivers a gem, and he's two points from the set here at 0-30.

[chair umpire] 15-30.

[crowd cheering]

[McEnroe] Unbelievable!

On their feet in Vegas!

[chair umpire] Thirty-all.

[McEnroe laughs]

Oh, my goodness.

[Courier] That's the fastest serve he's hit in this game.

What a rifle shot to get back to 30-all from Rafa.

[McEnroe] Yes! Set it up beautifully.

Had Nadal on his heels.

Charlize likes it.

And so does Alcaraz, as that gives him a set point now.

Watch how he sets this up.

Up the line, Nadal on the stretch, drop 'er!

And there it is!

Alcaraz steps up and wins the second set.

So, the very first Netflix Slam

will be decided in the ten-point match tiebreak.

Let's send it down to Kay in the studio.

[Adams] Two breaks to end the set.

Andre, you've been all over this beautiful arena

in your hometown of Vegas.

What adjustments did you see?

[Agassi] You get up an early break in the first,

and Rafa was letting his game fly.

Then, early in the second, he got a little conservative,

gave Alcaraz a chance to step up and do what he does best,

take control of the match.

The serves are a little dodgy.

I don't know if it has to do with the altitude.

But I'm gonna guess that, in this break,

they're gonna tighten up the first serve percentage,

get more aggressive with their first shots.

Andre, Andy, he looked at me and said, "I hate the serves."

"I hate the serves."

It's something I have in common with both players,

is they're gonna walk off the court and hate what they did also.

We have some second serve highlights we can roll into at some point.

But if you get more looks at second serves,

Carlos is bleeding Rafa to that backhand side.

The movement isn't as clean, getting a lot of chip returns.

And you see Carlos winning.

He can set you up and have that dink drop shot over the net.

He's gonna be working all the time.

But he puts Rafa in that backhand corner. Rafa, not quick.

See how he's lunging a bit to that backhand side?

Carlos is bleeding that movement a bit.

Rafa just left the court.

You hope it's just to go to the restroom and there's nothing going on.

But he's punishing Rafa in that backhand side.

[Amritraj] That movement, it's affecting strategy on Rafa's side.

We're seeing him shorten the points,

go for a few flatter forehands, serve and volley a bit more,

avoid getting stuck in that corner over there.

You get a look at the stats over here.

Struggling a bit on that second serve, Carlos Alcaraz.

He found a way, though he lost.

Again, both players very low on first serve percentage. 49%. 65%.

Tough in this altitude.

[Adams] Prakash, what are you noticing with body language here?

Look, they're both very…

Rafa's a bit more serious. Carlos likes to laugh out there.

But they're both taking this seriously. The stakes are high for them.

They got a lot coming into Indian Wells in this high stakes environment.

I like how serious they're taking this.

I think they're using this as a barometer of where their games are at.

Going to Indian Wells from here will be a much easier adjustment.

But I definitely think they're both gonna value, highly,

being on the offensive in this third set.

There's no way Rafa wants to be digging out of the holes in those corners

the way that Alcaraz has been forcing him.

I'll give you my car if we don't see Rafa serve and volleying,

playing it out wide and coming in, trying to shorten the points.

Opening up the shoulders more on the backhand side.

He won't wanna get into rallies. He knows…

If we can see he's bleeding him to the backhand side,

that's not news to Rafa.

He's gonna open up the shoulders,

try to get the first strike in early in these points.

[Amritraj] When you're in an event like this, it's the decider,

it's the first to ten out there. You wanna win or lose on your own terms.

So I think we'll see that from both.

This has been such a blast, honestly.

I'm the luckiest woman.

Andy getting pissed off at serves, I'm getting pissed off at backhands.

How can you miss that?

Listen, I promise.

I'm never offended by truths, so that's where we're at.

But their teams will want them…

There's gonna be practice before they play in Indian Wells, for both.

[Adams] We'll send it to Patrick.

[McEnroe] All right. Thank you.

Alcaraz will serve the opening point,

and then, they'll each serve two points thereafter.

First player to ten. You must win by at least two.

First point goes to Alcaraz.

[Courier] These players both have patterns in tiebreakers.

For Alcaraz, this is when the drop shot will come out.

This is when he wants to wrestle control early in the points.

He's not as patient in the tiebreakers, traditionally,

as he is through the rest of the match.

For Nadal, this is where he ups his aggression.

Nadal has talked openly about, when he gets to tiebreakers,

he wants to be in control of what happens.

That will be difficult for him to do against Alcaraz.

This will be first-strike tennis, most likely.

[McEnroe] He got a serve out from Nadal.

That opens the court.

And he takes care of the midcourt forehand here.

One apiece.

[Courier] All that runs counter to what Novak Djokovic does in tiebreaks,

where he relies on his defense and consistency,

and tries to extract errors from his opponents.

These guys try and win it.

Djokovic tries to let his opponents beat themselves.

Very different mindsets.

[McEnroe] Alcaraz, again, taking the return early.

He's got the first mini-break of this match tiebreak.

Two-one.

Nadal is challenging the call.

Doesn't seem particularly confident.

He's walked to the other side.

[Courier] Both are prepared for this to go the wrong way.

Alcaraz is waiting to hit a second serve into the ad court.

Nadal, waiting to return in the deuce.

[chair umpire] Ladies and gentlemen, due to a technical difficulty,

they are not able to show the review.

However, the review official has told me the serve was out.

-Second serve. -[McEnroe] Okay.

That's trust.

Not able to show it on the screen,

but, apparently, in the video room, they could see it was out.

So, second serve.

[line umpire] Out!

[chair umpire] Two-all.

No!

[McEnroe] Three-two to Alcaraz.

They'll switch ends after each six points.

So, after this point, they'll switch sides.

Again, first player to ten,

with at least a margin of two.

If not, it could go on to 11-9, 12-10…

You get the idea.

[line umpire] Fault!

[crowd cheering]

[McEnroe] Nadal with that topspin.

It looked for a second like it was going out,

but it dipped quickly.

And it's three apiece.

Exactly what you said, Jim, was gonna happen,

is you can see Rafa putting a lot more into each forehand.

[Courier] Into the forehand and second serve.

That second serve, 102 miles an hour.

Remember, he had an 80 mile an hour second serve just a couple of games ago.

Both these guys trying to finish strong here,

and it is knotted at three apiece.

[McEnroe] The thing about Nadal, when he goes bigger,

and it's not just with the pace, it can be with the spin.

He's trying to get a bit more RPMs on that

to get the ball to jump, to move even more.

Exactly what we were all hoping and expecting to see…

in this first-ever Netflix Slam,

dead even in the tiebreak.

[line umpire] Out!

[chair umpire] Four-three, Nadal.

[crowd exclaims, cheers]

[chair umpire] Four-all.

[Courier] Good acceleration on the feet from Nadal just to extend this point,

and he just has to guess. He guesses cross.

And quickly down the line.

And back to level.

Four apiece for Alcaraz.

[crowd gasps, cheers]

[McEnroe] That was a great display of hands there from Alcaraz,

'cause he could see Nadal moving forward,

expecting the short drop volley.

And he just poked it deep and caught Rafa moving forward.

[line umpire] Out!

Out.

[McEnroe] Smart serve from Rafael, right into the body.

-Saw Alcaraz inching forward. -[chair umpire] Five-all.

[Courier] You gotta be ready for a forehand.

Nadal is not going to give him the wide angle to beat him

with a two-handed cross like he did earlier tonight.

He's going to go forehand there almost every time.

And that's exactly why, pressure on Alcaraz.

[line umpire] Out.

[crowd cheering]

[chair umpire] Mr. Nadal…

[McEnroe] Nadal will challenge it.

Gasol. David Ferrer, former top player from Spain.

Francis Tiafoe, one of the top-ranked American men.

They're waiting, will we get the video challenge or will it be…

just audio? Sounds like it probably… Oh, here we go.

We got it.

And it is… good.

By a sliver.

[chair umpire] Replay recorded. Five-all.

[McEnroe] First serve for Rafa at five-all.

[Courier] If Alcaraz crowds the baseline like he is,

it's likely to end up on his backhand, the serve.

Because Nadal is not going to worry

about the backhand angle if he goes up the middle.

[line umpire] Out!

[Courier] He gets a freebie, missed the return.

But again, more speed on that serve.

99 miles an hour from Nadal.

[McEnroe] He's picked it up…

[chair umpire] Six-five, Nadal.

[McEnroe] …on that serve, in this tiebreak.

It's all on the line now.

Alcaraz will serve these next two points. It's five-six.

Change of ends coming again after this point.

[line umpire] Out.

[Courier] A very late call from the lines person.

And we'll get a replay on that.

[McEnroe] Rafa not…

so sure about it.

And here it comes.

And it was long.

-[chair umpire] Stands. Second serve. -[McEnroe] Second serve.

No, he missed it.

They will switch ends with Nadal now in the lead at 7 points to 5.

One hour and 44 minutes.

First set going to the legend.

Six games to three. Second set…

to the upstart in Alcaraz. Six-four.

A couple of breaks late in that set.

[Courier] It's been a great break for all of us

to get a chance to see these two amazing athletes.

They both had physical challenges.

Nadal, injured in January, able to make it here and look good.

And Alcaraz, just a couple of weeks ago,

down in Rio, rolled his ankle on a wet clay court.

Still here, still fighting and still in it.

Down 5-7 in the match tiebreak.

[line umpire] Out.

[McEnroe] That's a great second serve right in the corner.

And he needed that.

[chair umpire] Seven-six, Nadal.

[line umpire] Out.

[line umpire] Alcaraz going deep, which opens up

the wide opportunity on the second if Nadal wants it.

[McEnroe] And he comes in behind Nadal. Look at the response.

What a return!

[Courier] It's Rafael's fault. He showed everyone

that they could stand that deep to return serves.

[McEnroe] What a good point.

[Courier] What an angle. That was fierce.

Just inside the line.

Seven points-all.

[crowd gasping, cheering]

[McEnroe] Complete mishit there. So it's eight-seven.

[Courier] That ball stayed in the rafters. It still hasn't come down.

[chair umpire] Eight-seven, Alcaraz.

[Courier] Catches the top of the frame

as he's going from low to high and, boom, straight up and out.

Well now.

[Courier] Chance for Alcaraz to close it out on his serve at 8-7.

That's easy pickings there as he sets it up to perfection.

And it's now a match point.

[chair umpire] Nine-seven, Alcaraz.

-[McEnroe] He mishit it. -[crowd cheering]

Maybe a little too cautious on that one, Jim?

[Courier] Against his instincts.

Played it pretty safe. Had an opportunity on a mishit for him

from Nadal to go nuclear and opted to stay and wait.

And this match will continue on.

Still match point.

[McEnroe] This one on Nadal's serve.

Eight-nine.

[crowd cheering]

Chants of "Rafa! Rafa!"

[crowd cheering]

Absolutely unreal.

[Courier] All or nothing.

[McEnroe] And it's everything.

[Courier] Nadal flattens it out over the high part of the net,

and it's a missile that hits its target. And this match will continue.

Can you believe it? 'Cause Tiafoe can't.

Oh, my goodness.

[Courier] That is some vintage stuff right there.

He knew that was the only shot he had to win the point.

And he pulled it off.

And the crowd, are loving it.

Nine points-all. A margin of two necessary to win the match tiebreak.

[line umpire] Out.

Mr. Nadal challenges the call.

Left service line. Ball was called in fault.

[McEnroe] That's long. Second serve.

It's good.

Right inside the line.

[chair umpire] Ten-nine, Alcaraz.

[McEnroe] Match point number three for Alcaraz.

[line umpire] Out.

[crowd cheering]

[chair umpire] Ten-all.

[Courier] Great reflex here from Nadal with a drop shot.

Alcaraz has as good a feel as anyone in men's tennis.

But he couldn't find it when he needed to finish it.

Finds that one, though.

[chair umpire] Eleven-ten, Alcaraz.

[Courier] 137 mile an hour. Ace.

[McEnroe] That's the biggest of the match.

And now it's match point number four for Alcaraz.

Will this be the one?

He's looking a heck of a lot calmer than the 10,000 fans here who are loving it.

[line umpire] Out.

[McEnroe] Was going for the serve and volley there.

[Courier] Alcaraz still deciding where he's going to stand. Now stays in close

Missed it.

I think Alcaraz is having too much fun. He doesn't want this to end.

[McEnroe] Yeah. So are we.

-[chair umpire] Eleven-all. -[McEnroe] Eleven apiece.

We're here for as long as it takes.

Another beauty of Netflix, right?

We just go and go.

No time limits here.

[line umpire] Out.

[McEnroe] Both players missed hitting some forehands…

…late in this match, trying to do a bit more

when they get a look at that.

[chair umpire] …Alcaraz.

[McEnroe] Fifth match point, third time on his serve.

He'll try to finish it.

[chair umpire speaks indistinctly]

[McEnroe] Nadal got it good.

Look at that. They'll switch ends again.

At 12 points apiece.

Alcaraz has had five match points.

Nadal has yet to have been able to get one.

[Courier] That plays on your head, if you're Alcaraz.

You've had all these chances. Can't find the center of the strings on that one.

Again, the smile comes out but I'm sure there's frustration building underneath.

Feels like Nadal's ahead, 12-12 at this point.

[McEnroe] Nadal had to…

pretty much guess.

-Alcaraz took his time, saw him move, and… -[chair umpire] Thirteen-twelve.

-Alcaraz. -…easily hit that forehand

into the open court.

[Courier] Nadal was looking for the wide second serve

and was surprised when it went to his forehand.

Didn't make clean contact on it.

So he's in save mode again. Match point number six on the line.

[crowd cheering]

[McEnroe] Carlos Alcaraz…

shuts the door on Rafael Nadal.

And what a first-ever Netflix Slam it was.

Goes to the 20-year-old.

But Rafael Nadal, to your point, just a couple of minutes ago,

Jim, has to be pretty darn happy…

with how he held up and how he looked.

But it's this man…

who gets the win.

[Courier] Understandably, this man gets the bigger applause.

We don't know how much longer we'll get to revel in his greatness on court.

But it's been great to have him here in Las Vegas for the first time.

The ultimate tennis warrior gives us the ultimate match tiebreak.

That was fantastic to see these guys doing battle.

The fans here in the building will never forget a chance to see these two Spaniards

just go toe-to-toe as they try to keep moving forward.

Alcaraz with so much of his career ahead of him, really just getting started.

And Nadal hoping for one more push at Roland-Garros. That's his real dream.

And matches like this are necessary for him, aren't they, Patrick,

for him to believe that his body can hold up for what's to come.

[McEnroe] The good news for Nadal was that he…

It looks like he found a little extra energy in that tiebreak,

fought off those five match points.

And, again, you'd think will feel pretty good about how he held up.

Both players will get set for the trophy presentation.

Both make a quick trip.

As you see, Rafa's son and his wife.

[Courier] With a little Babolat racket ready to go.

[Courier] Will make the trip over to the California desert for…

the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells.

Qualifying underway there today.

The main draw starting middle of next week.

[Courier] Nadal's already… They've notified the public.

He'll play on Thursday night

in the night session, in his opening round match.

So he knows when he'll start.

Alcaraz, as a seeded player, will play either on Friday or Saturday,

depending on which half of the draw he's in.

Both of them will go and you'd think feel a bit

better about themselves and their bodies.

Having made it through this two-hour tussle with each other here in Las Vegas.

[McEnroe] Of course, we'll see Novak Djokovic back…

playing on American soil.

We'll see Jannik Sinner, this year's Australian Open champ.

Daniil Medvedev…

-…and everybody. -[Courier] All the women. All the men.

And it'd be awesome… Is it somewhat apropos that The Netflix Slam

-ended on a net court? -[McEnroe] I guess it is. Absolutely.

[Courier] Nadal's forehand ticks the tape.

And drifts long in the high desert air here in Las Vegas

and that allows Alcaraz to finally

get a match point. That was a challenge for him.

But what a thrill. He's talked openly about how much he admires

and is inspired by Nadal.

A chance to be in the same venue with him and to compete against him is…

something he doesn't take for granted.

[McEnroe] We don't take these moments for granted either,

even in this exhibition atmosphere.

It lived up to…

what we hoped and expected it to be

which was an extremely competitive match.

And a high level on display from both players.

Signing a few autographs courtside.

Mary Joe Fernández has made her way down to the court.

And we are just a couple of moments away from the trophy presentation.

[Courier] Alcaraz has already perfected the short and sweet autograph.

[McEnroe] Yep.

We'll hear from both players, by the way, in the presentation.

Andre Agassi will be there as well.

What a treat to have him with us alongside…

Andy Roddick, Prakash Amritraj, Kay holding the fort down in the studio.

You know, pleasure to be part of this production here at Netflix.

Certainly delivered and then some.

So we are all set now for the presentation.

Let's send it down to Mary Joe Fernández.

[Fernández] Thanks, Patrick.

Ladies and gentlemen, what an incredible match

here at Michelob ULTRA Arena at the Mandalay Bay

from these two great superstars.

How about another round of applause for Rafael Nadal and Carlos Alcaraz.

[crowd cheering]

All right, let's hear a few words

from 22-time major champion, Rafael Nadal. Rafa?

[crowd cheering]

Are you tired? It took you so long to get up here?

No.

So sorry, I was talking with Carlos.

Rafa, that was so exciting.

It was nice to see you for the first time in Las Vegas.

What was the experience like for you to play in the first Netflix Slam?

It was great.

I was supposed to be here last year. Unfortunately, due to…

some issues, I was not able to be here but I enjoyed a lot.

Congratulations to Carlos for a great match.

And…

in a personal level, yeah.

Great. I was not able to play a lot for the last two years.

So, play here with Carlos in front of…

in front of an amazing crowd…

in Las Vegas means a lot to me. So, super happy,

There was such good energy, such a great atmosphere.

Playing with Carlos, someone who has said so many times you've been his idol.

What goes through your mind when you're playing against him

and everything that he's accomplished at 20 years of age?

Well, first of all, it's a big challenge.

Yeah, I mean, it's a completely different generation.

I think, in Spain…

We should be very, very happy about having somebody like Carlos coming.

You know, he's an amazing player. With only 20-years-old, already…

won two Slams and…

couple of very important tournaments so, yeah.

Good thing is, as a…

As a player, I will not face many times.

But as a fan, I will keep enjoying him for such a long time, hopefully.

Absolutely.

Finally.

This is being watched all over the world.

How about a few words in Spanish

for all your followers back home in Spain and all over the rest of the world.

[Nadal in Spanish] I can only thank all the followers…

…Spanish and Latino followers all around the world.

Throughout…

Throughout my career I've always felt

incredibly loved and supported by the Latino fans.

That so many people around the world could watch this match,

especially in the Latino community, a very important…

…and large community…

…it means a lot to us. My love goes out to everyone.

-[in English] Thank you. Well done. -[Nadal] Thank you so much.

Okay. Now, for the presentation of the winner's trophy.

Vegas' own Andre Agassi is with us.

Netflix Co-CEO…

Netflix Co-CEO, Greg Peters.

And the CEO and president of MGM Resorts, Bill Hornbuckle.

Bill…

Present the trophy.

Thank you.

How fantastic was that? How about one more great round of applause for these guys?

So I want to thank all of you for coming. Our fans…

I particularly want to thank Greg Peters and Netflix for helping us put this on.

Las Vegas has been on a roll.

We had a little car race. We had a little football game.

We thought we'd bring some tennis so I hope you enjoyed that.

We're gonna do it again.

So if I can… Carlo?

On behalf of MGM Resorts,

congratulations to the first and, hopefully, annual…

Congratulations to you.

Thank you. The Lion's Cup.

Carlos, congratulations. That was so exciting.

You had to have a lot of match points before you finally got the victory.

How was it playing in Vegas for the very first time

in your first Netflix Slam?

Well, it's incredible playing here in Las Vegas.

Honestly, as Rafa said, we were supposed to play last year but, yeah…

we couldn't.

Yeah, this year, I was really excited.

It was really exciting to

come here and play here in Las Vegas, a place that I really wanted to come.

And I enjoyed this atmosphere that has been incredible.

And, obviously, playing against Rafa. It was…

really, really special for me.

And doing it here in front of all of you has been amazing. Thank you.

You've talked so much about admiring Rafa.

He's been your idol and that you'd like to learn from him.

What have you learned the most? Not just today in the match

but throughout your career from Rafa?

Well, I think that fighting spirit that…

he never give up any ball, he run the…

You know, around the…

Every corner of the court and hitting amazing serves.

As you said, I had a few match points before I…

I got it and he make an unbelievable serve.

And he never give up so I think that's…

That I try to keep to my game.

And that mentality that he has.

You know, finding solutions when things are not going well every time.

So I learned from him that…

Yeah, he…

I try to keep it and I think everybody in life try to keep it as well.

Well, you're following in great footsteps.

Lastly, as well.

We heard Rafa speak in Spanish about how important the Hispanic community is.

Everybody's watching from all over the world. Back in Spain, it was primetime.

Can you share a few words also in Spanish?

[in Spanish] It's been a pleasure to play here.

As we've heard, a lot of Spanish and Latino people came to support…

…the game.

I feel so loved.

I haven't had the chance to come to South America a lot…

…but the times I have been incredible, I've felt…

…at home. I want to thank all the love we've received where we're headed,

…and from home, and of course…

…to Spain, to everyone who watched from home. Thank you everyone.

[in English] So much support from the Hispanic community.

Congratulations. Let's see you raise the trophy.

The first Netflix Slam winner, Carlos Alcaraz.

[McEnroe] All right, everyone, what a first Netflix Slam it was.

JC, great to share the booth with you.

I've been waiting a long time to do that. So awesome to see you and be with you.

What a great experience, our first time for a match like this in Vegas.

[Courier] It's amazing to have these two athletes.

And then have Andre and Andy Roddick and Prakash and Kay.

We had a great team that enjoyed it.

Hope you enjoyed Netflix's Broadcast here.

This has been a lot of fun to be involved in.

Thrilled to hear that the MGM plans to do more of these on the go forward.

What a great time here in Las Vegas.

And the players seem to be having the most fun of all.

[McEnroe] They enjoyed it, as did we. Thanks to MGM

and, of course, to Netflix for putting this all together.

Suffice to say, this was a…

victory for tennis today.

To see these two great players go at it here in Las Vegas.

Thank you for joining us here live on Netflix.

Hopefully, we'll see you again soon.

All the best from Las Vegas.

[upbeat electronic music playing]

[announcer] Ladies and gentlemen, thank you so much for attending.

Please drive safely on your way home.

And can't wait to top it again, next year. Thank you.