Roland-Garros 2023 - Carlos Alcaraz : "I don't know if I'm stronger or weaker than Rafael Nadal at the same age... that's not the question actually !"
Carlos Alcaraz avant de débuter son Roland-Garros 2023 en étant numéro un mondial et sans son ami Rafael Nadal !
Transcript
00:00 People often say that tennis is an individual sport,
00:04 but it's never more beautiful than when it's a collective sport.
00:09 BNP Paribas, faithful to tomorrow's tennis for 50 years.
00:15 For me it's still crazy, you know,
00:18 seeing myself in the top one seed in a Grand Slam.
00:22 But for me at the same time it's great,
00:26 it's something that I worked for, to be there.
00:31 I'm really happy to be number one seed here in Rangarosa.
00:35 I was just wondering where you think your game is now compared to last year.
00:40 Obviously you've had so much success, you made the quarterfinals last year.
00:43 How much better of a player are you now? How much more confidence do you have?
00:46 Well, talking about tennis, I would say I'm the same player as last year.
00:55 The only change I would say is that I'm more mature,
01:00 mentally I'm better, and I can read what happens on the court better than last year.
01:10 So for me it's really, really important and I would say that's the most different than last year.
01:15 Hi Carlos, can you tell us what you've been doing since you finished in Rome
01:23 and was there maybe some advantage in having some time away from tournaments?
01:29 Well, I took some days off, doing nothing, just chilling.
01:39 And being with family and friends is needed as well.
01:47 I trained, I had five days of practice in the academy, at home.
01:57 It was really helpful for me to be away from tournaments a little bit,
02:06 and have more intensity practice, physical and of course in tennis.
02:12 I used to do this this year because I didn't have more than four days to practice,
02:20 to play matches and matches.
02:22 For me to have this time to prepare Ranga Roas as good as I did these past days, it was great.
02:31 As you've gone from bigger and bigger tournaments, bigger and bigger stadiums,
02:36 it seems that you've never really been uncomfortable.
02:39 Is that you pretending and that you are uncomfortable?
02:43 Or are you really able to adjust and stay calm?
02:48 And how is it that you do that?
02:51 Well, at the beginning when I played against the best ones, in the best stadiums,
03:00 it was tough for me to get used to that and to stay calm.
03:07 But I learned from that moment.
03:09 I remember, for example, against Rafa, my first time in Madrid.
03:14 It was really tough and I can't name a lot of matches that I didn't feel comfortable playing.
03:26 But as I said, I learned from that and I always wanted to play in that stadium, in that tournament.
03:34 I tried to feel comfortable playing in that.
03:37 Right now I feel great playing in the great stadiums.
03:43 Carlos, when you say you've been chilling and relaxing, what does that mean for you?
03:47 Rafa at this time of year would be playing golf or would be out on his boat.
03:51 What do you do to relax and unwind?
03:54 Well, I play golf one day and of course have time with friends and family.
04:02 For me, nothing special.
04:06 Just spending time with them, quality time at home is really helpful for me.
04:13 So, as I said, nothing special.
04:19 Hi Carlos, with the Olympics being here next year, in what would be your first Olympics and likely Rafa's last,
04:26 have you considered the possibility of playing doubles with Rafa or is that something you would consider?
04:30 For me, it could be a dream, playing doubles with him in the Olympics.
04:38 Of course, let's see how he's doing this year.
04:49 Hopefully he's doing great.
04:54 But for me, it could be a dream to play doubles with him.
04:58 Hi Carlos, I wanted to know how you reacted when Rafa announced he wasn't able to be here.
05:07 Do you feel that makes the tournament way more open and more interesting this year?
05:12 Well, I felt bad when I heard that Rafa was not able to play here in Roland-Garros
05:21 and probably the rest of the year.
05:24 As I said before, as a fan of tennis,
05:29 I always want to watch Rafa play.
05:37 I always want to watch the best players in the world play in the tournament.
05:44 Of course, learning from them really close here in the locker rooms, around the club,
05:52 the tournament, for me is great.
05:56 It was tough to understand how it's going to be without Rafa this year.
06:06 Hopefully, to see him next year, he's 100%.
06:12 Hi Carlos, Howard Fendrich with the AP.
06:17 You dealt with some injuries late last year and at the beginning of this year.
06:23 How difficult was it for you to be away during that time?
06:28 What was it like for you during the Australian Open?
06:31 Did you pay much attention to what was going on?
06:34 Were you thinking, "Wow, I wish I was there"?
06:37 Or do you think, "It's okay, I'm still very young, I have a lot of these left to play in"?
06:43 Well, it was really tough at the end of the last year.
06:48 I wasn't able to play the NITO finals and I wasn't able to play the Australian Open.
06:57 For me, it was really tough because it was a tournament that I really wanted to play.
07:05 I thought that I had the opportunity to do a good result in Australia.
07:15 I got injured and had four or five weeks to recover from that injury.
07:24 It was tough, but at the same time, I'm a guy who looks at the positive things about everything.
07:33 It was a good time for me to prepare for the rest of the season.
07:40 I was more prepared about everything that was coming at that time.
07:50 I was preparing, practising, staying calm.
07:56 I was practising the mental part, staying calm and positive in those tough moments.
08:04 It helped me a lot to come into the competition as good as I did.
08:10 Carlos, do you consider yourself stronger than Rafael Nadal at the same age?
08:18 Stronger, less or equal?
08:21 I don't know. It's a different time.
08:31 When he was 20 years old.
08:34 I can't say if I'm stronger than him at the same age.
08:42 Of course, he did great things at my age, but I can't answer that question.
08:51 [BLANK_AUDIO]