US OPEN

September 7, 2025

Carlos Alcaraz

Press Conference

C. ALCARAZ/J. Sinner

6-2, 3-6, 6-1, 6-4

THE MODERATOR: Carlos, congratulations. Magnificent win. Questions, please. A special correspondent for question number one. Nico, representing the US Open lemonade stand, has the first question.

CARLOS ALCARAZ: Before you're asking, I have to say the lemonade was really good, before your question.

Q. Congratulations, Alcaraz. How do you feel winning the US Open? It's like your second time winning the US Open.

CARLOS ALCARAZ: (Laughing.) Well, it's a great feeling. I mean, it's great. I'm working really hard just to lift this trophy. It's my second one, but it's still a dream, a dream come true. The second one here is super special.

Probably I would say really it was the lemonade. (Laughter.)

THE MODERATOR: Questions, please.

Q. Well done, Carlos. You're obviously the champion. You're also No. 1 in the world now. How satisfying is it, and how much of an inspiration was that to win this tournament and to sort of knock Jannik off that top spot after having beaten him a lot last year, but still being behind him in the rankings?

CARLOS ALCARAZ: Well, it's, as I said, for me it's great. When you achieve the goals you set up yourself at the beginning of the year, it feels amazing.

Since I got the chance to recover the No. 1, it was one of the first goals that I had during the seasons, just to try to recover the No. 1 as soon as possible or end the year as the No. 1.

For me, achieve that once again, it is, as I said, it is a dream. Doing in the same day as getting another Grand Slam feels even better. It's everything I'm working for, and I'm really happy to be able to live these experiences.

Q. Jannik was saying that he thought one of his problems today was being too predictable. He praised you for being unpredictable. How important do you think the variety that you have in your game, how important do you think that is for your success? And when did you first start to realize you could do these many different things to hurt an opponent?

CARLOS ALCARAZ: Well, yeah, it is my style. I think every player has their styles. My style, yeah, it's about the variety that I have in a match. I feel I can do everything on court, to be honest: slices, drop shots, topspin, flat.

I just trust really much in my physical conditions. I feel like I can reach every ball, which give me the confident and the security of making good points and be able to play with variety. So I just, since when I was really, really young, I just got that feeling of doing everything. Just come to the net, playing from the baseline, drop shot, come to the net, slices.

I had to work on that just not to make too many mistakes on the matches, so I just been working on that. Keeping that style, the variety, but at the same time being solid from the baseline that give me the opportunity to make the opponents in trouble.

Q. Juan Carlos was in here a little earlier and explaining to us that after Wimbledon you trained together specifically for the next time that you were going to play against Jannik. I just wonder, after that Wimbledon, how quickly did your mind turn to thinking, I need to maybe change some things, I want to do some different things?

CARLOS ALCARAZ: Right after. Right after the match. Right after the match I just thought that I need to improve some things if I want to beat him, after that Wimbledon final. Obviously right after that I didn't practice, so I just took a week for myself not doing anything at all.

But right after the match it felt like, okay, when I start practicing, I just wanted to practice this, this, this, and this. Sorry, guys, but... (laughing).

I just thought about the specific things I want to improve if I want to beat Jannik. So I just spent two weeks before Cincinnati just practicing specific some things about my game that I need or I felt like I need to improve if I want to beat Jannik.

Q. I'm curious if, when Jannik says he feels predictable, can you predict him? Do you feel like you're reading Jannik's game well? Do you sense that he is maybe getting predictable?

CARLOS ALCARAZ: Well, I wouldn't say I read his game, that he was predictable, but I know him. So it's been so many matches against him. As he said, as well, he watch a lot of my matches just to study my game. I do the same. I watch a lot of his matches.

First of all, because I love watching him play. I think it is unbelievable what he's doing. Secondly, it's because I love to study him, how he plays, how he feel on the tournaments just to if I played him in that tournament, just to have feedback how he's been playing in the tournaments.

I wouldn't say he's predictable, but I know his style. I know what he's going to do or his main weapons on his game. So I just try to be focused on that. But, I mean, even though he could feel predictable, it's really, really hard to maintain the level and playing long rallies against him.

Q. Carlos, Juan Carlos also said your performance was perfect. What's your reaction to that, and what do you think?

CARLOS ALCARAZ: Well, it's great when you make your coach feeling like that way (smiling). It is not easy. He has a big status. He always want me to play at my best, and not too many times I would say he said that, that I played perfectly. So for me, it's a great win.

But, yeah, he's right. I think I played perfect. I played perfectly (smiling). I mean, I got to say that. If I want to win, you know, the US Open, if I want to beat Jannik, I have to play perfect, and I think he was right.

Q. In the Wimbledon final, it felt like the match was played more on his terms, lots of baseline rallies. Today you were able to bring in more of your slices and spins and that kind of thing. I just wondered what you thought the difference was how you were able to get on top today?

CARLOS ALCARAZ: Yeah, I studied that match. I studied the Wimbledon final. As I said, I spoke with my coaches, and we saw the Wimbledon final, and yeah, we spoke about what we would have done better in that match just in case I'm going to face him in another time.

We watch it. We put everything, or we note everything, and we work on it. We just played that game. It doesn't matter. At the beginning, we thought, okay, it doesn't matter if you lose or he wins or I win. I just wanted to do the right things. If I'm doing the right things and he plays unbelievable match and he beat you, it's okay, but at least you did the right things.

I think today worked really well. I did everything they told me that I had to do, and it worked. It worked pretty well.

Q. Obviously in terms of your rivalry with Jannik, you are each now one major title away from the career Grand Slam. You will have the first chance in Australia to go for that. How much of a target is that for you to achieve that in Melbourne?

CARLOS ALCARAZ: Well, I think it's going to be great. It's my first goal, to be honest. When I just go to the preseasons to what I want to improve, what I want to achieve, Australian Open is there. It's the first or second tournament of the year, and it is always the main goal for me to complete a career Grand Slam, calendar Grand Slam. So it's going to be great.

If I do first or second for me, to be honest, I don't mind. I just wanted to complete it. Obviously I'm going to try to do it next year, but if it is not next year, hopefully in two and three and four. So I will try to complete it.

If he does it first, it's a great achievement, but for me, all I want to think is to complete it no matter when.

Q. Carlos, you only lost one set all tournament. Do you think you found a new level here? Is this the best tournament you've ever played?

CARLOS ALCARAZ: Yeah, I feel that way. I feel like this is the best tournament. Since the first rounds to the end of the tournament, the best tournament so far that I have ever played. The consistency of my level during the whole tournament has been really, really high, which I'm really proud of, because it's something that I've been working on, to be really consistent. I think this tournament I saw that I can play really consistent.

Q. As we look at your sixth Grand Slam title, second one here, but we're already talking about Australia, do you have any time to enjoy what you have accomplished and put that in perspective as you are preparing for the next?

CARLOS ALCARAZ: Yeah, bad thing about tennis, I mean, it's not too many bad things in tennis, but one of those is you win a tournament, and right after that you have to be focused on the next one.

So sometimes you just have one day just to enjoy, or not even that, and going after that to another tournament, another place. So sometimes it's really difficult to realize that I won the tournament to enjoy.

So what I learned mostly this year is about to take moments of every tournament, of every experience that you living and enjoy, and enjoy with my team, with my family, with the people you have around. I think it's great to take a moment, see the trophy or see what you have done in the tournament, and appreciate that, keep it going, and enjoy.

I think that's really, really important. That's something that I'm trying to do after every tournament, every match, or every trophy.