Former World No.1 Andy Roddick has shared his thoughts on the Netflix Slam exhibition match between Rafael Nadal and Carlos Alcaraz in Las Vegas on Sunday. Alcaraz went on to win the contest by 3-6, 6-4, 14-12 but Roddick feels it wasn’t an impressive contest.
The American feels both players didn’t serve particularly well and Alcaraz was not running full throttle after recovering from an ankle injury that he suffered in the opening round at the Rio Open.
On the other hand, Rafael Nadal was returning to action after recovering from a muscle tear that he suffered in the Brisbane Open.
“They played well. Carlos [Alcaraz] looking for a little bit. There were some question marks about his ankle after he turned it in Rio. He wasn’t running full out, like he would run to his fore, and he wouldn’t put on the brakes like he does so well and then kind of get back into the court. He kind of ran through the ball. Neither of them served very well, but there were some good moments, and the drama of the match was fantastic,” Roddick said on the latest episode of ‘Served with Andy Roddick’.
Rafael Nadal saved five match points against his countryman but Roddick feels it wasn’t a great contest.
“I think people often equate, like, if a match is dramatic, they say it’s a great match, and I don’t always necessarily agree with that. I don’t think it was a great match, the kind of balls and strikes of it. But the drama was high; Rafa saved five match points,” he added.
Roddick, however, lauded the Spaniard duo for playing seriously right throughout the match.
“It was a great event, considering they had never done it before, at least in the arena. I obviously can’t watch because I’m doing the television, but in the arena, I thought it went off great. A 10 out of 10. High drama, went to the tiebreaker, they both seemed happy and into it, and they came out and, like, were actually playing from the word go wasn’t like a laughy jokey thing the entire time,” Andy Roddick said.
Alcaraz and Nadal will be next seen in action in the Indian Wells, which is all set to begin from March 9.
