WESTERN & SOUTHERN OPEN

August 20, 2023

Carlos Alcaraz

Press Conference

N. DJOKOVIC/C. Alcaraz

5-7, 7-6, 7-6

THE MODERATOR: Carlitos, very bad luck. So little separated the two of you tonight. It's so soon after the match, but what are you feeling right now?

CARLOS ALCARAZ: Exhausted. No, I feel proud of myself, honestly. I talking and I don't know why I was crying because I fight until the last ball. I almost beat one of the greatest of all time from our sport.

It's crazy to talk about it right now, but I left the court really, really happy what I did. Of course, I've been talking with my coach, my team, that we are so, so proud of ourselves.

THE MODERATOR: Questions.

Q. Novak just said it felt like one of the matches against Rafa, like Australia. How did it feel to play this for you? How difficult was it out there?

CARLOS ALCARAZ: Well, yeah, today was really, really difficult playing against Novak. I mean, he always put almost five, six, seven balls in every point. So fighting and running from one corner to other one every point is really tough to deal with it almost the whole match.

I try to stay there, to stay good physically, but it was tough. As I said, I left everything on court. For me, obviously it's great that he knows that every time he's going to play against me, reminds him playing against Rafa or against the best ones because that means we are in a good path.

I'm working very, very well. But today, it was tough to deal with everything that Novak pushed to.

Q. You saved a couple of match points with serve and volley.

CARLOS ALCARAZ: It's something I feel comfortable playing, serve and volley, sometimes. Of course, in that moment I was seeing that from the baseline, for me it's even tougher to win a point. So I decide to do serve and volley. My coach told me the same from the stands. Go to the net. Go to the net.

I was seeing that it's working, so I decide to do more often in the third set 'cause, as I said, physically I was in the limit.

Q. There were a few serve-and-volley points, but the incredible match point saved, can you talk us through what happened in that point.

CARLOS ALCARAZ: Yeah, as I say, I feel comfortable. In that tough moment, you have to do what you feel comfortable. I think, yeah, I do a pretty well volleys game. Yeah, I decided to do it. It works, thanks God.

Yeah, we put the match into a tiebreak. Yeah, have been good in that moment, in that moment that works.

Q. Considering Novak's career and all the incredible matches he's played, how does it make you feel that within one year you played a few matches that he considers to be one of the greatest of his career, to do that so quickly?

CARLOS ALCARAZ: I don't know. As I said, for me it's great to hear that things from Novak, that he has played iconic matches, storied matches. He said some matches against me was one of the toughest that he has played, it's great. That means that my team and myself, we are doing the great work, we are in a good path.

Matches like this one, we know that we have to still working in the same way that we were doing.