las vegas Archives - World Tennis Magazine

The world’s top two men’s tennis players will square off in a special one-night championship match when all-time tennis great Rafael Nadal visits Las Vegas for the first time to meet current world No. 1 Carlos Alcaraz in “THE SLAM: Nadal vs. Alcaraz,” hosted by MGM Resorts International. The event is scheduled for Sunday, March 5 inside the MGM Grand Garden Arena with the winner taking home The Lion’s Cup presented by MGM Rewards.

Tickets starting at $75, not including applicable service charges or fees, go on sale to the public Friday, Dec. 9 at 10 a.m. PST via www.axs.com. All Club and Seat License members will receive access to a pre-sale Wednesday, Dec. 7 at 10 a.m. PST through Thursday, Dec. 8 at 5 p.m. PST.Members of AXS and Premier Live will receive pre-sale benefits Thursday, Dec. 8 from 10 a.m. PST to 10 p.m. PST.

“I’m very excited for my first visit to Las Vegas, one of the most iconic and entertaining cities in the world,” said Nadal. “I’ll be playing with my fellow countryman Carlos Alcaraz who’s had an amazing year. It should be a great night of tennis at the MGM Grand Garden Arena.”

Nadal, a native of Mallorca, Spain, is the all-time leader with 22 Grand Slam men’s singles titles. The sport’s GOAT, for many, has won a record 14 Roland Garros titles and finished the 2022 season winning his 21st and 22nd Grand Slam Singles titles. He is the only men’s player in history to complete the career Grand Slam twice and win two Olympic Gold medals in both singles and doubles. Nadal has been ranked in the Top 10 for a record 885 consecutive weeks, including 209 total weeks at world No. 1, and currently sits at No. 2 in the ATP World Rankings.

Alcaraz said, “I’m honored and so happy to be sharing the court with Rafa in Las Vegas. He’s an all-time great, of course, and his records and achievements speak for themselves. Rafa also is one of the nicest guys on Tour and I look forward to our match on March 5.”

Alcaraz, coming off his first Grand Slam singles title at the United States (U.S.) Open in September, became the youngest-ever men’s world No. 1 at 19 years and four months, along with becoming the first teenager since 1973 to sit atop the ATP Tour rankings. Alcaraz propelled into the Top 10 in April 2022 after winning his first ATP Masters 1000 title at the Miami Open followed by his win at the Barcelona Open. Alcaraz won five titles overall in 2022 and reached the third round or better in all four of the year’s Grand Slam events.

Both players have the same “suffering” style of gritty play, as documented in the book “The Secrets of Spanish Tennis” for sale and download here https://www.amazon.com/Secrets-Spanish-Tennis-Chris-Lewit/dp/1937559491/ref=asc_df_1937559491/?tag=hyprod-20&linkCode=df0&hvadid=312094770123&hvpos=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=12824307467413008084&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=c&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9011844&hvtargid=pla-491109661097&psc=1

In advance of their match, Nadal and Alcaraz will each participate in a 90-minute individual VIP clinic. The two clinics will be followed by tennis’ all-time winningest doubles team of identical twin brothers Bob and Mike Bryan as they take the court in a “celebrity” doubles match.

The Bryan brothers are considered the greatest doubles team of all-time. They held the world No. 1 doubles ranking for 438 weeks, longest in ATP Tour doubles history, and finished an ATP year-end No. 1 in the team rankings a record 10 times while together amassing 119 doubles titles. They have a total of 16 Grand Slam doubles titles together, one Olympic Gold and won seven of the eight Grand Slams in 2005 and 2006. The Bryan brothers retired in August 2020 to shift their priorities to the Bryan Brothers Foundation, providing opportunities for children in need through tennis and music to the arts.

Immediately following the tennis action, THE SLAM Gala supporting the MGM Resorts Foundation, Rafa Nadal Foundation and National Tennis Foundation will be held at Rivea and Skyfall at Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino. Tickets for THE SLAM Gala are now on sale at mgmresortsfoundation.com. Guests who purchase tickets will have the opportunity to take their photo with Nadal.

ABOUT MGM GRAND GARDEN ARENA

The MGM Grand Garden Arena is home to concerts, championship boxing and premier sporting and special events. The Arena offers comfortable seating for as many as 16,800 with excellent sightlines and state-of-the-art acoustics, lighting and sound. Prominent events to date have included world championship fights between Evander Holyfield and Mike Tyson as well as Floyd Mayweather vs. Canelo Alvarez as well as Floyd Mayweather vs. Manny Pacquiao; and concerts by The Rolling Stones, Madonna, Elton John, Bruce Springsteen, Paul McCartney, Bette Midler, George Strait, Justin Timberlake, Beyonce, U2, Lady Gaga, Bruno Mars, Coldplay, Alicia Keys, Jimmy Buffett and the Barbra Streisand Millennium Concert. The MGM Grand Garden Arena also has been home to annual events including the Academy of Country Music Awards, the Billboard Music Awards, the Latin GRAMMY Awards, iHeartRadio Music Festival, Pac-12 Men’s Basketball Championship and Frozen Fury NHL pre-season games hosted by the Los Angeles Kings.

ABOUT MGM RESORTS INTERNATIONAL

MGM Resorts International (NYSE: MGM) is an S&P 500® global entertainment company with national and international locations featuring best-in-class hotels and casinos, state-of-the-art meetings and conference spaces, incredible live and theatrical entertainment experiences, and an extensive array of restaurant, nightlife and retail offerings. MGM Resorts creates immersive, iconic experiences through its suite of Las Vegas-inspired brands. The MGM Resorts portfolio encompasses 33 unique hotel and gaming destinations globally, including some of the most recognizable resort brands in the industry. The Company’s 50/50 venture, BetMGM, LLC, offers U.S. sports betting and online gaming through market-leading brands, including BetMGM and partypoker, and the Company’s subsidiary LeoVegas AB offers sports betting and online gaming through market-leading brands in several jurisdictions throughout Europe. The Company is currently pursuing targeted expansion in Asia through the integrated resort opportunity in Japan. Through its “Focused on What Matters: Embracing Humanity and Protecting the Planet” philosophy, MGM Resorts commits to creating a more sustainable future, while striving to make a bigger difference in the lives of its employees, guests, and in the communities where it operates. The global employees of MGM Resorts are proud of their company for being recognized as one of FORTUNE® Magazine’s World’s Most Admired Companies®. For more information, please visit us at www.mgmresorts.com. Please also connect with us @MGMResortsIntl on Twitter as well as Facebook and Instagram.

ABOUT MGM RESORTS FOUNDATION

The MGM Resorts Foundation is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization and was created in 2002 as an employee workplace giving program. The Foundation makes giving easy and convenient for MGM Resorts’ 61,000+ employees and now guests, while empowering them to assist communities through donations to more than 1,500 non-profit agencies or programs of their choice. MGM Resorts International assumes all administrative costs, so 100% of donations reach community causes. Since its inception, the MGM Resorts Foundation has raised more than $100 million and supported more than 1,500 charitable organizations in U.S. communities and locations in which MGM Resorts conducts business.

ABOUT RAFA NADAL FOUNDATION

The Rafa Nadal Foundation has a very clear objective: to foster the integration and the personal and social development of children and young adults. Our work is based on our firm belief in the transformative power of sport and education, two tools that enable children and young adults to achieve whatever goal they may set their sights on, regardless of their race, personal and social background or disability. Our mission is based on the conviction that the world should provide a level playing field for all those involved in sports now and in the future. We support youth to assist them in reaching their full potential by empowering them to focus on personal success, self-respect and positive outcomes matter what the results are on the board.

ABOUT NATIONAL TENNIS FOUNDATION

The Inspiring Children Foundation (ICF) is the Las Vegas chapter of the National Tennis Foundation and serves as their showcase program in partnership with tennis legends Bob and Mike Bryan. For 21 years the program has been inspiring physical, emotional and mental health using tennis, mentoring, project driven learning and Entrepreneur skills to help children heal, grow and flourish. ICF serves 2,500 youth in-person and millions online which furthers the reach and commitment of the National Tennis Foundation to the development and advancement of under-served student athletes by providing opportunities through tennis and project-based educational and leadership programs. These programs are devised to promote academic excellence, healthy living, personal responsibility and character development. For more information, please visit www.inspiringchildren.org and nationaltennisfoundation.org.

By Charles Bricker

Mike Agassi had gone to his son after his epic five-set 2006 US Open win over Marcos Baghdatis that left him a bent-over cripple and pleaded to him to retire from the game right there. When he was unable to convince his son to call it a career and withdraw from his final tournament, he worked on Andre’s coach, Darren “Killer” Cahill. That, of course, wouldn’t work, either.

“There was no way Andre was going to go out like that,” Cahill recalled Monday. “He was never going to give up and he wasn’t going to retire on court. But we also were resigned that it was inevitable.”

“It” was the four-set loss to Benjamin Becker, in the next (third) round, in a match that surely left puddles of tears in every row of the Arthur Ashe Stadium, where Agassi stroked for the final time as an ATP professional.

Was it excruciating for Cahill to sit in the players box and watch the final demise. Never, said Cahill. “It was one of the most satisfying experiences I’ve ever had. You’re sitting in the coach’s box and somehow you remove yourself and you’re more of a spectator.”

Two days earlier, on Sept. 1, as Agassi dragged his beaten body on court to defeat Baghdatis, Cahill knew this was the final tournament and probably the final win. “To watch what happened in that match, with 22,000 people at 1:30 in the morning. . .” He didn’t finish the sentence and didn’t have to. Everyone knew how much it had taken out of Andre. It was so bad Mike Agassi wanted him to retire right there.

When the drama was over, Agassi went home to Las Vegas to get well and Cahill also went back to Vegas, where he had transplanted from his native Australia, to work out his next gig. It would be with ESPN.

And in four years, he has risen, quite amazingly, to elite status among tennis analysts. No one working anywhere in tennis broadcasting has the combination of knowledge, experience both as a player and coach and — this is the key — literacy of Darren Cahill.

No screaming. No bad jokes. No godawful anecdotes about some player’s dog. No over-the-top promotion of U.S. players and, best of all, none of that amateurish psycho-babble about what the player on court is “really thinking.”

What you get from Cahill is expert, thoughtful and almost invariably brilliant analysis — all wrapped up in a disarming Aussie accent that manages to communicate without such tedious cliches as “bread and butter shot,” “crunch time,” and “pulled a rabbit out of the hat.”

Cahill, who turns 45 on Oct. 2, is taking this week off after calling the Rogers Cup in Toronto last week, but he’s already gearing up for the U.S. Open, where in 1988 he upset Boris Becker on the way to a semifinal loss to Mats Wilander. He’ll be ultra-stoked for this Slam.

A series of knee surgeries cut his playing career sadly short, but this is a man of multiple talents, who soon found that he had a lot of tennis knowledge to impart to a succession of players, including Lleyton Hewitt, Agassi and, for a time, Roger Federer.

When he began at ESPN at the 2007 Aussie Open, I thought, “He’s out of the booth the first big-time coaching job that comes along.” That hasn’t happened yet, but it’s not surprising that the itch hasn’t been adequately scratched.

“Sure, the TV is great and I thoroughly enjoy it. I’ve worked with a bunch of people from whom I’ve learned a great deal.” And if the right coaching job came along? “There’s a great feeling to being on the side of the court,” he said. “You can’t replace the excitement. The pull will always be there.”

In fact, at Toronto, he found himself vicariously focusing on Paul Annacone, who had recently signed a see-how-it-goes contract to coach Federer, perhaps trying to guess what Annacone was telling the former No. 1.

In a sense, Cahill isn’t divorced from coaching. He’s part of an Adidas team that works in Vegas with Fernando Verdasco, Daniela Hantuchova, Thiemo de Bakker and, last week, Fernando Gonzalez. Yet as close as he is to players, he hasn’t traded in his right to be critical in the booth — a balancing act too many jocks-turned-TV guys have a hard time handling.

“I wouldn’t say anything with the headphones on that I wouldn’t say to their faces. You have to be constructive, but it’s no good coming in there and throwing the gauntlet down,” he explained.

He liked what he saw last week from Rogers Cup winner Andy Murray. “I’ve been an Andy fan for a long time,” said Cahill. “He’s evolved as a person and the way he handled his emotions and not having a coach there is part of that growing-up process. He’s learning to deal with situations. I thought it was interesting that he said he wants his next coach to teach me to be more aggressive.”

I told Cahill that remark confounded me a bit. Haven’t all his coaches tried to tell him that? “We can all be a little stubborn,” said Cahill. “When you have a style that had a 6-2 edge on Federer, you wonder why everyone is telling you to change.”

Cahill on Novak Djokovic: “He’s the one at the top who can improve the most. He’s had good results, but he’s not played like a top-10 all year. The next two or three years are key for him, but I don’t know what medical issues he’s struggling with. When he is, his game sinks.”

On Federer: “I think he’s got a lot to look forward to. He can play various styles. But, as Andre said, the older you get the more you have to be looking after the body.”

His U.S. Open favorites: “I don’t see anyone winning outside of the top three — and by top three I mean Nadal, Murray and Federer. I put Djokovic in the next group.”

Charles Bricker can be reached at nflwriterr@aol.com