Auger-Aliassime after his defeat against Alcaraz in Indian Wells: “I always felt in the red”

“Despite a very intense match on your part, you bow in two sets…
I needed to be exceptional to win against him. He played as world No. 1. I’ve never played someone who played so aggressively, and so quickly and so successfully. I had no respite. As soon as I made a slightly neutral ball, I was attacked. I always felt in the red, what. In the head, the physical, everything. The first set was very difficult physically. It shows what I need to do better. He has already raised the level of requirement of all the other players. When we face him, we know we have to play better than we do now…

When you say that you suffered physically from the first set, what does that mean?
I’m talking about the explosiveness of the exchanges, the changes of direction, which are quite violent if we compare with other matches. Against other players, there may be trades with some breathing room. There, we are always in aggression, always in sprint. The physical intensity in the first set was very high. That’s what I usually bring against other players. But there, he was higher than me.

You have to put the maximum at 100% in each keystroke, otherwise it makes you pay the price, right?
It’s completely the feeling. While knowing that you should not go too intense when hitting. We play a precision sport. The ball must not escape you. But at the same time, you feel that it’s not the same as against other players where you can just sometimes play an area a bit “quietly”. Yes, you have to be aggressive right away, otherwise he’s the one who moves well, who takes his forehand, who hits hard. From the return also in second balls, it puts pressure. I felt pressure everywhere. And I had the feeling that if I didn’t make a good enough return, it was him who took the lead right away.

Did you expect that, because you had perhaps not seen this Alcaraz during your previous meetings (he was leading 3-0 in confrontations)?
I saw his best version today. I played well in Basel last year, but he didn’t play very well. In the Davis Cup, he came from the US Open, he was a little tired after the first set. But he wanted to win, to take his revenge against me. I expected it to be a much tougher game.

What could you have done better in this high quality game?
At the moment, I regret nothing. I felt it just a little stronger than me. I would have had to make the perfect match. I have to win all the points that are important. But the reality of a match is not that, because you can’t win them all… It shows that I still have to be more demanding, to raise my level of play everywhere. In the forehand, he hits a little harder than me, he hits more. I have to improve this. On the reverse too, be more precise, more regular. In the idea of ​​being world No. 1, it is not nothing. When you really think about it, it’s a big challenge. I will try as best as I can. We’ll see if I can make it. He is exceptional. He is three years younger than me, he is already there. But I will accept the challenge to try to compete with him, Djokovic, Medvedev…

Is your observation motivating or discouraging?
At the time, it’s a little discouraging. I consider myself a really good player, I make the effort like many but in the first set, especially on certain points that he wins, you say to yourself: “But nevertheless, this point, I played it well, I hit a good zone, I went up…” And he makes the perfect lob, the perfect passing. You say to yourself:What do I need to do to earn the points?” It’s hard to accept on the court. But I’m going to drop the emotion of the match and see with my team what we still need to improve. »