“How do you feel after this tough and ultimately lost final?
Not very well. It was a tough final, but it was a good week nonetheless. He played very well, bravo to him. I hope the next final will be for me.
What assessment do you draw from your 2023 season?
I had a good year. I started it 250th, today I am 36th. Not bad. I could have won here, I could have had a better season, I lost several close matches. I gained experience and I will try to do better next season. I thought I had learned how to handle a final, but I lost three this year… Otherwise, I know myself better. I have progressed a lot in terms of my game and mentally, too.
“I don’t want to become world number 1 in three months because it’s impossible. I have to work, again and again. And maybe one day I’ll be a champion.”
Seeing Alcaraz, 19, achieve such feats, does that give you any ideas?
What Alcaraz has accomplished is incredible. I don’t know if I can do the same. I will give my best, but that is not my short-term goal. I don’t want to become world number 1 in three months because it’s impossible. I have to work, again and again and see what happens. This will involve daily work and giving my maximum in each match. And maybe one day I’ll be a champion. I hope ! I’m progressing quickly, but not as much as Carlos. What he did is crazy.
Your opponent today, Hamad Medjedovic, took two bathroom breaks. Do you think we should be able to do this in a tournament that tests rules aimed at speeding up the game?
No, that’s a very bad rule. If you want it to go faster, you shouldn’t put ten minute breaks between sets. But these are the rules, we have to live with them. We stopped for maybe eight or ten minutes between the first and second sets and then between the fourth and fifth. It’s like that. When he returned to the court, he was in it again. He can do it so he did it. It’s well done. I don’t know if he wanted to break my rhythm or get back into the match. Maybe it’s not against me and I have no problem with it, but the rule is very bad.
Do you think it helped him more or that it disturbed you more?
A bit of both. I lost my rhythm a little. After two intense tie-breaks, replaying the first point ten minutes later is not easy. I think it helped him. That’s why he did it, it’s not necessarily to harm me, it’s for himself. And he’s right to do it, it’s within the rules, there’s no problem.
But when you play a tournament without warming up, with “no-ad” (deciding point at 40A), sets in four games, eight seconds between your first and your second, fifteen seconds sometimes (after an exchange of less than three moves) To keep things moving quickly, it’s almost stupid to leave ten minutes between sets of four games. In Grand Slam, you made 7-6 in the first set, an hour of play, OK, that’s normal. Here we could leave one. I find that super stupid.
“There, it happened twice, twice I was fooled. All this extra-tennis stuff – we don’t talk about technique, we talk about experience – it’s something I need to do better.”
Beyond this match, can you improve your management of these waiting moments during bathroom breaks?
It is certain that I can progress. There, it happened twice, twice I was fooled. I need to improve on this. I need to gain some experience. Well, I had quite a bit (smile). It also happened to me at the US Open in a slightly different way: it was me who came out (of the court) and it sank me myself. All this extra-tennis stuff – we don’t talk about technique, we talk about experience – it’s something I need to do better. I think I’ll manage this without too much trouble.
What is your program before training with Rafael Nadal in Kuwait?
I’m leaving for Kuwait tomorrow (Sunday). I’m training all week with sparring and Rafa is arriving on the 8th (Friday), I think. From the 8th, we train together. I am continuing my land preparation.
Will we see you again at the Next Gen Masters next year to win?
No, I won’t come back. I played it once, which is good, but I won’t play it again. »
