There has been plenty of mystery around Rafael Nadal and his health – after all, he has played just 12 official matches since the 2022 US Open.
The 22-time grand slam winner lost to fellow Spaniard Carlos Alcaraz 3-6, 6-4, 14-12 (match tiebreaker) in the exhibition Netflix Slam before a sellout crowd in Las Vegas.
Despite his shocking run with injury, the 37-year-old Nadal showed no apparent sign of any issues related to his hip.
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Nadal said during a courtside interview with Netflix while up 5-2 in the first set that his performance at that point was "much better than expected".
The match was also a bit of a physical test for Alcaraz, who injured his right ankle last month in the Rio Open. Like Nadal, he didn't show any noticeable signs of being physically limited.
The question facing Nadal now is whether he will be ready for Roland-Garros in May. Nadal has dominated that event like no other, winning the major 14 times.
The match against Alcaraz was an encouraging sign, but Nadal said beforehand he wasn't sure what the future holds at Roland-Garros and beyond.
Nadal withdrew from the Australian Open in January after suffering what he called a micro tear on his surgically repaired hip. He later skipped a tournament in Doha, Qatar.
Nadal gets another test at Indian Wells this week. It'll be his first competitive tennis since Melbourne. He was in California preparing for the hard-court event before travelling to Las Vegas to face Alcaraz.
"The main thing for me is stay more or less healthy," he said.
"If that happens, then we can analyse (where) I am.
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"I need to spend more time on the tour, at least to practice with the professional players even if not playing many official matches.
"That's the important thing right now, is to be in rhythm again. I was not able to play the way I expected. I had to pull out from Doha, so let's see."
Men's tennis is seeing a sort of passing of the torch. Nadal's longtime rival, Roger Federer, took his 20 grand slam titles into retirement two years ago. Nadal stayed on tour, but whether he wins another slam is a big question.
Novak Djokovic, who turns 37 in May, could be the only dominant player from that generation to still be near his peak. The world's top-ranked player won three of his 24 career major titles last year.
But, there is a younger generation of players coming onto the scene.
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The 20-year-old Alcaraz already has two majors. Jannik Sinner, 22, won his first at the Australian Open in January, beating Djokovic in the semifinals before rallying from two sets down to defeat Daniil Medvedev.
Alcaraz said he has taken a lot of inspiration from watching Nadal over the years, particularly noting his ability to fight for every point has left an especially lasting impression. That was proven again in the exhibition when Nadal fought off five match points in the super tiebreaker.
"The way that he finds solutions when things are not going well, I think that's incredible," Alcaraz said.
"I would say that's the most I learned from him and I try to put in my own game."
Main draw Indian Wells action gets underway on Saturday (AEDT).
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