Gaël Monfils after his defeat against Carlos Alcaraz: “Everything better than me”

“The match started on a very high footing and then there was this incident with your ankle… Frankly, you shouldn’t use the ankle to explain. I just got stuck a little, nothing crazy. He just played better. He’s still a step above. Maintaining this level is complicated for me. But it’s interesting because these guys push you to rise to their level. Having the opportunity to play them makes you better. My average level is increasing, but he… Today (Monday), he still played well (smile). He forces me to raise my level, but I can’t go as high as him. I feel like I’m getting eaten up, but at the same time, I feel like I’m playing well. But I’m less strong in everything, in fact.

“It’s weird for people to hear that I had a good match when I took 2 and 4. But I had a good match”

And yet, you put more than usual in the ball from the first exchanges. This time you didn’t wait.
I feel like I had a good match. So, I know it’s weird for people to hear that I had a good match when I took 2 and 4. But I had a good match. It’s just that the guy in front imposes something particular on me, a quality of ball… And then such coverage of the ground. That’s what impressed me the most, and I know what I’m talking about. I was hitting hard and there were a lot of balls where I wanted to go into the court, but they came back almost as quickly. With these slower conditions at night, it’s a little more complicated to get into him. And it covers so well… He did everything a little better than me and I couldn’t hold on enough to take him a little further.

You had already played in 2021 (victory for Alcaraz 7-5, 6-1). Where has he progressed the most?
I scored the same number of games (laughs). He was already very strong and I had a bit of the same feeling today. He was going far in return and I couldn’t give him any aces. It’s subtle because it’s very far away and it blocks one side… It’s complicated to get a free point. And he was returning well. It was already generally the same. Today, we really feel confident. In the last game he really wanted to close the match and he served amazingly. Well done !

The results of the American tour, Indian Wells and Miami, will remain positive, I imagine?
Yes, I won matches. But I want more. I always want more, to move up the rankings so as not to play Carlos Alcaraz in the third round. I want to be more aggressive on the break point against Ruud so as not to lose it. Yes, there are positives, but I have my goals. I want to increase my level of play and be more tenacious against guys like Carlos. »