Netflix Slam 2024: Nadal, Alcaraz and Las Vegas, or the shining symbol of the new tennis bubble | Tennis | Sports

There they are both, vigilant, Batman and Robin in profile, coming to say that they are there to give what is asked of them, that after all it is a show. Simply To show. Welcome to the indescribable environment of Las Vegas, in this Nadal-Alcaraz announced with great fanfare at the end of last year, and which will take place this Sunday (9:30 p.m. Spanish time) in an experimental way:streaming? Yeah, streaming. That is to say real-time reading. The first test of this type carried out by Netflix with a sporting event in Spain. And for that, money, a lot of money on the line, and two of the strongest tennis players in the world, one in and one out. The city’s neon lights point at them and their faces shine on all types of signage or support: the same goes for the gigantic pyramid of the Luxor hotel, as well as the glass megasphere transformed into the latest attraction, where U2 has played, for example, as well as the boarding gate, the airport reception. “Hang on, hang on, hang on!” » resound the slot machines everywhere; coins and more coins jingled as they fell against the metal basket. Allow the metaphor: this is what tennis looks like today. Something is moving in racquet sport.

It was said this week that the ATP had signed a “strategic” (and above all millionaire) alliance with Saudi Arabia, in an agreement that definitively opens the door to the oil country, and now Las Vegas highlights the growing weight of the big countries . large-scale exhibitions, in which the continent and its distribution take precedence as much as the content. That is to say, ideal packaging and fireworks. Dollars and more dollars. Except for those who follow the competition closely, few will know who won the tournament in Acapulco or Dubai, or who were the last players to win a WTA title. However, many will have breakfast on Monday with the images of the two great Spanish icons coming together and doing laps on the Michelob Ultra Arena court. Nadal and Alcaraz have not faced each other since 2022, then Indian Wells and Madrid; But what the natural development of its sport could not provide, is now brilliantly organized by the platform, without the financial figures concerning the event having been revealed. It’s an exhibition, two sets and a tiebreaker if necessary, but the focus of tennis today is on Nevada.

The transmission channel is new, but a dynamic that is starting to gain more and more strength is not. While intermediate or discrete tournaments (the 250 or 500, Acapulco itself without going any further) begin to lose competitive support, exhibitions dot a historically saturated calendar. Concentrated so far in December, as pre-season, the unofficial matches gradually expand over time with the juicy incentives they offer to both camps, with the fan involved: media projection, entertainment for a new audience which requires other types of stimuli – the concentrated and instant pleasure that the footballer Gerard Piqué proclaimed with his Davis – and fixed through the roof, certainly superior to what other events included in the annual program can offer. This is how the Laver Cup promoted by the Swiss Roger Federer began, today already integrated as another tournament, in September. Alcaraz, he said, will play the next edition.

The Murcian is probably the biggest attraction for the new audience. He has tremendous traction and fresh legs to get from here to there. Last year he came to Mexico in November – he played in front of more than 20,000 people at La Monumental – and the following month he met Novak Djokovic in a bowl in Riyadh, where other top players were present. She will close this season with at least three exhibitions, including one in Riyadh in October. The Six Kings Slam. At his side will be Nole, Nadal, the Italian Jannik Sinner, the Russian Daniil Medvedev and the Dane Holger Rune; that is to say the best tennis players of the moment. And all six will compete for the highest prize ever. According to information from the British newspaper The telegraph, all will pocket around 1.4 million euros for the best performance, while the champion will reach almost 5.5 million, above the record of 4.8 that Djokovic pocketed for winning the last edition of the Turin Masters Cup, or the 2.7 that Alcaraz of Wimbledon, the most generous big, received. Sinner, winner two months ago in Melbourne, entered 1.9.

From the Emirates to St. Petersburg

“These exhibitions have the biggest stars in the world, as if it were an All Star. I would rather say that all these 250 which are played week after week, dilute the interest in our sport”, explained the Australian Nick Kyrgios a few years ago. “The schedule is too demanding, we hardly stop,” Alcaraz lamented in January. Scotsman Andy Murray recently weighed in: “I just think sometimes players are a bit hypocritical with the calendar. They travel all over the world to do exhibitions, but it’s their choice. They do not have to play them all, nor do they have to play all the ATP tournaments.

Alcaraz, for example, ruled out participating in the Vienna tournament because, as his director pointed out, Herwig Straka, his cache amounted to 750,000 euros. A figure that only the richest can reach. Fronts are opening for luxury circuits and exhibitions and the emergence of Saudi Arabia within the board of directors may alter the functioning of a system threatened by the economic power of this Eastern country, who has already designed a circuit parallel to the country’s traditional circuits. golf (LIV) and is trying, according to various information published over the last year, to capture a Masters 1000, the second in the pyramid after the majors. Since 2019, they have hosted the Diriyah Cup and the UAE hosts two other exciting events, the Mubadala Abu Dhabi Open and the World Tennis League. But the story does not end there. Last year, Gazprom, owner the monopoly on exporting gas via pipelines to Europe, organized an exhibition in St. Petersburg in early December.

The action now takes place in Las Vegas, where Netflix has guessed a breakthrough in the generational changing of the guard between Nadal and Alcaraz. The first – aged 38 on June 3 – will reappear this Sunday after the injury suffered in January in Brisbane which prevented him from playing in the Australian Open. Although his initial intention was previously to travel to Doha to compete, the Mallorcan preferred to wait and after making contact this weekend he will travel to Indian Wells to compete in one of his favorite venues; In fact, it will debut in the early hours of Thursday through Friday. The 20-year-old Murcian will also travel to the Coachella Valley, which will not force the machine in this friendly duel either, since he is still dealing with the grade 2 (moderate) sprain that occurred during his last intervention , just over a week ago after suffering a sprained ankle in Rio de Janeiro. This will be the fourth time they face each other – 2-1 in favor of the Balearics – while the spectators grab the popcorn, the tennis handles the news and the roulette wheels continue to spin Las Vegas.

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