ROLAND GARROS

June 4, 2023

Carlos Alcaraz

Press Conference

C. ALCARAZ/L. Musetti

6-3, 6-2, 6-2

THE MODERATOR: Well done, Carlitos. Was this your best match of the tournament so far?

CARLOS ALCARAZ: Yeah, I think so. I think this was my best match in the tournament so far.

Yeah, I think I played a good level.

THE MODERATOR: Questions in English.

Q. I saw a few days ago that you and your friends visited the Eiffel Tower in Paris, and I wanted to ask you what that experience was like, whether it gave you any inspiration, and why it is you think you tower above everyone else right now because you're playing so well?

CARLOS ALCARAZ: Sorry, say again? It was so long (smiling).

Q. What did you enjoy most about the Eiffel Tower? And "tower" means to be above everybody else. Why do you tower above everybody else right now?

CARLOS ALCARAZ: Well, yeah, I mean, the Eiffel, it's an iconic monument from here in Paris and everybody want to see it. Yeah, I had some day off, some moments, and I take that moment to visit. For me was great.

Yeah, that's nothing more to say, I think.

Q. You're so incredible quick on the court. I wonder if, in the last years you made any tests like 60-meter sprint and 40 meters, and what was the result? What was the time?

CARLOS ALCARAZ: Yeah, well, I'm working a lot in the sprint. You know, I do a lot of sprint like 30, 40 meters. But I don't count the time, honestly.

So I don't know the time that I could take if I made a race, you know, into the 30, 40 meters. I don't know, honestly.

But I consider myself fast (smiling).

Q. Do you ever hit a shot during a match and think I want to see what that looked like and watch the video after?

CARLOS ALCARAZ: Yeah. A lot of times. Some big shots I want to watch again in the screen during the match.

Q. Do you ever see an opponent or another player in a match you're watching hit a kind of shot and think that you want to learn how to do what that person did? Then do you work on that?

CARLOS ALCARAZ: Well, I mean, when I watch a shot from the opponent, I don't think that I'm wanna learn it. I just want a shot -- well, hit a better shot during the match. You know, I want to make the hot shot, let's see, not let him to take the hot shot during the match.

Q. For a good while you have had Juan Carlos as your wonderful coach, and you began early with your father. But could you talk a little about Kiko Navarro? Did he play a role in your career in learning the game? Could you just talk about him for a minute, please.

CARLOS ALCARAZ: Well, obviously he was an important person for me when I was young, but I start playing tennis with my father. That's obviously. But I had a first coach named Carlos Santos, as well. I work with Kiko and Carlos as well together when I was young.

Both was really important person for me that I learned a lot from them, you know, but it was some day that I had to move on. I had to, you know, improve a lot. It was Juan Carlos, the person.

Of course I learned a lot from that guys.

Q. I just want to know more about your childhood life. I think you definitely have so many childhood friends and you get along with very well. Like nowadays, professional tennis players aren't living like a normal person, but what kind of topics do you also talk with your childhood friends? How do you balance the professional life with normal persons?

CARLOS ALCARAZ: Well, of course I have a lot of friends, a lot of friends when I was a kid, and I still have that friends. When I have some days off, when I at home, I spend a lot of time with them. That for me it's really important, you know, to turn my mind off a little bit.

But I have, you know, mix the day off with the professional part. I have to be focused on the practice, to be focused on the tournaments. You know, I have, well, tennis schedule, tennis player have not too much time to enjoy life, to turn off your mind.

For me, you know, have the childhood friends from when I was a kid to enjoying life a little bit for me is really important, as well.

Q. I wanted to ask you about your next-round opponent. It could be Tsitsipas. You have a great record against him. Do you think in a sense that his game plays into you the way you play, and if you can talk a little bit about your next round?

CARLOS ALCARAZ: Well, first of all, he has to win. It's not over (smiling). In a Grand Slam, everything can happen. He has to win first.

But I can't talk about the guy Ofner because I have never played against him. But if I played against Stefanos, it could be a great match. We have played great matches. I won every match that we have played.

But it doesn't mean that I'm going to win every match that we are gonna play. I have to be really focused. He's a really tough opponent. But of course his game is a good game from my side.

Q. We were talking to Novak earlier today, and he told us that the presence of his kids provides him with a lot of peace of mind and balance. This deep into the tournament, especially. What do you do for peace and balance?

CARLOS ALCARAZ: Well, I have my family here, friends here. Of course my team is part of my family, as well. I consider them as a family.

So just stay with them, you know, make jokes, walking around, turning my mind off of tennis. You know, the day is really important for me, you know, to have that peace and balance during the tournament.