ROLAND GARROS

June 6, 2023

Carlos Alcaraz

Press Conference

C. ALCARAZ/S. Tsitsipas

6-2, 6-1, 7-6

THE MODERATOR: Well done, Carlitos. Do you feel your level is getting better with each round?

CARLOS ALCARAZ: Yeah, I think, yeah, my level is getting better every time that I'm winning. I think today was such a great level. I played really, really well. I would say one of my best matches on my career.

THE MODERATOR: Questions in English.

Q. When we watch you play, everything looks so simple and easy. When you are on the court, can you tell us what looks simple and easy to you, how do you play the game, and when you are not playing tennis, can you tell us something that you are really, really bad at just to make everyone else feel that in some way you are a human just like us?

CARLOS ALCARAZ: Well, yeah, today I would say everything that I did, it was easy. It seems easy for, I would say, for everyone, even for me, as well.

You know, I try to do it simple for me. Every shot that I'm making in the match means that I'm really comfortable on that shot. I feel great. I feel that every time that I make that shot, it gonna be in. So it's simple for me, as well.

Yeah, outside the court, I'm not really good at anything else. You know, just -- I don't know.

Q. Looking sad. You're not very good at looking sad.

CARLOS ALCARAZ: That probably one thing. Yeah, I don't know. A lot of things that I'm not really good. I'm bad. But I don't know what to say right now (smiling).

Q. Next is an interesting match a lot of people have been thinking about since the beginning of the tournament against Novak. How do you anticipate that challenge of facing Novak to be like? How, if at all, do you think your win over him last year will affect things on Friday?

CARLOS ALCARAZ: Well, yeah, I would say since the draw came out, everyone was expecting that match, you know, the semifinal against Novak. Myself as well. I really want to play that match.

Since last year I really wanted to play again against Novak. You know, we both are playing a great level, and as I said before, if you want to be the best, you have to beat the best. So I'm really looking for that match. I'm gonna enjoy it.

Of course for me, it's amazing to make history, you know, playing a semifinal with such a legend like Novak. So it's gonna be a great match for me.

I would say the match we played last year doesn't affect too much to this one. You know, it was one year ago. I would say both learned a lot from that match, so it's gonna be totally different, and let's see what happen on Friday.

Q. Which is more important: His experience or your youth?

CARLOS ALCARAZ: I want to think my youth (smiling). But it's gonna be his 45 semifinal of a Grand Slam; this is gonna be my second. I would say the experience is better in that point, but I'm not gonna think about that.

Q. At the end of the match, I came down and I watched the match on the television screen. The cleaners were here and they were tidying up, but they stopped. Everybody stopped to watch you play. So how does it feel knowing that when you're playing tennis the world stops to watch you?

CARLOS ALCARAZ: Well, it feels great, you know, to know that everybody wants to watch my match, my tennis. As I said before, I'm enjoying playing tennis, but of course I try to make the people enjoy watching tennis. Not only my match. I always make the people introduce into tennis, you know, and I would say I'm making that, and for me it's amazing. I'm really, really happy for that.