ROLAND GARROS

June 7, 2021

Dylan Alcott

Press Conference

D. ALCOTT/S. Schroder

6-4, 6-2

THE MODERATOR: Questions, please.

Q. How does it feel to have a better win-loss percentage than Rafa Nadal at Roland Garros?

DYLAN ALCOTT: Well, that's not bad. I haven't lost at Roland Garros. He's lost once or twice. Yeah, it's incredible. I don't think I'll be winning 13, though. Has he got 13? Probably 14 the way he's going.

I really love clay. I love Roland Garros. I feel very lucky to be here at the moment with everything going on in the world. I just tried to remind myself when I'm out there of those moments and try and execute the way that I want to execute and have fun, to be honest.

I was a bit flat early on. I think you said to me before, I like yelling at myself, not angrily, but I'm like my own commentator. You don't need commentators, you just turn the mic on.

Mate, I'm ecstatic, I'm really happy.

Q. A third French, 13 career majors. What does it all mean to you? Are you able to put it into words and really express your feelings of what you've achieved and already are now halfway through a calendar Slam?

DYLAN ALCOTT: Yeah, you know, people think that my purpose in life is winning Grand Slams and tennis tournaments and gold medals and stuff like that. But my real purpose in life is trying to change perceptions so people with disability can do whatever they want to do. When I was a young kid I really struggled with my disability, and when I realized that was my purpose, I got a lot better at tennis. I got a lot happier, and I can enjoy myself out there a lot more.

I realize that I don't need Grand Slam wins to be able to do that purpose, but in saying that, that platform definitely helps.

Being able to go out there and do a sport that I love for a job, and it was live on the Wide World of Sports back home, it was on Eurosport, it was on France TV, people can watch this stuff now. And if anybody watches and goes, I thought wheelchair tennis would be bad; it's really great. Or, I didn't know they could do that, or I'm going to give someone in a wheelchair a job next time or ask them on a date or I'm going to treat them with respect at a cafe.

Because they've seen people with a disability just being themselves, achieving things, that's why I do what I do, mate.

But yes, I am humbled and stoked that I've won 13 Grand Slams. 13 is my lucky number. It's the number that I wore when I won a gold medal playing basketball. That was my number. So I had a good feeling today. And then let's hope I don't get stuck on 13, though. I wouldn't mind a few more. But we'll see what happens.

Yeah, it definitely was a lucky 13 today.

Q. We all know the kind of crowds that you can receive back home in the likes of Rod Laver Arena. What was it like today to have that crowd watching after a few Slams now when there's not been so many spectators?

DYLAN ALCOTT: Yeah, it's definitely different on a smaller court with a lot of people there. It's actually a cool vibe, mate. I'm lucky that I get the Rod Lavers and the Margaret Courts and the big arenas when I'm at home.

But the crowd turned out today. It was a good little crowd. A couple of Aussies I never met, which I love, and they're like, Come on, Dylan, you can hear their voices so clearly. And mate, I was just feeding off them as usual.

I struggled the first couple days here because it wasn't as much of a crowd and I was a bit flat to be honest. So to have a bit of a crowd today was really cool and tried to feed off them and they definitely helped me.

I normally travel with my partner Chantelle and my team but because of COVID I've only got François and my usual doubles partner Heath here. I asked them to make a lot of noise, which I'm sure you could have heard because I needed a bit of a G-up, but it definitely worked.

But I miss my team, that's for sure, and I miss everybody back home and things like that. It's not as cool traveling by yourself. You don't get to share with as many people, but completely understand with the current climate what's going on.

Q. You're obviously unbeaten on the clay of Roland Garros. You have a French coach, you spoke a little bit of French. Is there something extra he gives to you when you play on the clay or is it just the clay --

DYLAN ALCOTT: I'll tell you what he does well: Court hire, transport, anything where you've got to speak French. It is so good having a French speaker, I'm telling you. Stringing.

I didn't think of myself as a clay courter to be honest. Then of course got the opportunity to play at Roland Garros. And Tennis Australia where I train in Melbourne, have six clay court which they treat like the courts here, and I think that really helps. We get to play on the clay.

Before I came here I was hitting with -- Ash was -- Sam Stosur was there before she got injured, we were all training on the clay, Thanasi, everyone who's in Melbourne. It's a good vibe.

It was pretty cool to have that little training network on clay, and then I love clay now. I used to hate it because I got dirty but that was probably a bit stupid. So now I love it because it really suits my game. The ball bounces high, I'm a fast wheelchair pusher so I can help get through it and things like that.

Yeah, I always play really well here. It's weird, I play well at home, here, I play well at Wimbledon, always play bad at the US Open. You know, it's funny where some places you play well, some places you don't.

I speak a little French from school, as well, so I like to pretend that I can speak French. Très bien.

Q. I just want to ask you about that first set because Sam is a player who when he gets momentum can be very dangerous. What was it that you did to come from behind in that set? Was it just the need to G yourself up or was there more to it, as well?

DYLAN ALCOTT: I think I realize that you can't win the match in the first game. I was just trying to smash it. I was like, Mate, what are you doing?

It's a long match, know what I mean? So I think I was just getting a bit trigger happy and trying to spank it. Then I kind of toned it down a little bit and started playing within my means a bit.

I will say this, as well. We played doubled yesterday and Sam didn't play his best match, so he played way better today, and that really -- I was like, Oh, wow, I was surprised early. He played awesome.

To go from a match where he didn't play as well to play that well, credit to him. Because whatever he did worked, and I really had to grind it out.

And then I've just got a good knack of finding a way. I tell myself, Find a way, mate, find a way. Think about it, find a way to break down their game but also do what you want to do, and it seemed to work for me, which was great.

Q. Just wondering if you could talk about what the next few weeks and couple of months look like for you.

DYLAN ALCOTT: The next couple of weeks and months are carnage, if you're from Australia and you're away. Obviously I would love to go home now and come back for Wimbledon, but can't do that obviously with the lockdown and quarantine at home.

So I'm actually flying to Nice tonight to Patrick's academy, Serena's coach. We've got a tournament there, and then I go to Ile de Ré and then we try to find some grass courts somewhere and train for a little bit. Then go into the Wimbledon bubble, play that, then go home, quarantine for two weeks, get out for a week and then go to the Paralympic Games, and then play that and then quarantine for two weeks.

I don't think about all that stuff, know what I mean? I just think about the next -- what I can control. And what I can control is doing this (holding up trophy), and I can control putting a smile on my face. I feel so lucky that I'm away.

The Paralympic Games might yes or no go ahead, whatever, I don't know, all I can worry about is what I can worry about, which is training my backside off, doing the best that I can, and hopefully making everybody proud.

Q. I know you mentioned Grand Slams are not kind of your main goal or at least you don't lose perspective of other things around that. Is Golden Grand Slam one of the things that keep you awake?

DYLAN ALCOTT: Great question. I was hoping to win the Grand Slam in 2019 and won every match up until the final of the US Open, and I played the worst match I've ever played in my life, so I do not think about that ever again.

I used to have expectations of myself to win. You can have a goal to win, but the only expectation you can have is to be the best version of you. That's all you can worry about.

You know what, I can play the best tennis I can play and I can lose because the other person plays better. I can't control what happens out there, all I can control is my attitude and what I do.

And you know what? If I win the Golden Grand Slam, there will be tears running down my face and I'll be that happy. But if I don't, there will still be tears running down my face because I live the best life out of anybody I know. I think having that perspective is important.

So we'll cross that bridge when we come to it, but at the moment I'm still a long way away from that. All I'm thinking about now is having a delicious cold beer, which is delicious. I cannot wait for a Young Henrys beer, my favorite beer, but I can't get that over here, so I'll figure out how to get some somewhere.