“I thought I would lose the first set, but I fought until the end”

Happy after beating Stefanos Tsitsipas, a top-10 player, for the second time in less than a year, Carlos Alcaraz addressed the media in Miamiwhere he will play the quarterfinals on Thursday with very positive and hopeful feelings.

Comeback: “In the first set the truth is that I only thought about winning my services to start serving in the second. I thought I was going to lose it. I had a couple of break options and he was playing very well. But I fought until the last ball to get a good comeback”

Strategy: “Stefanos is a player who wants to hit him with the drive a lot and I tried to play two or three backhand exchanges in a row and then change from the baseline to forehands. That was the key, that he invested a lot to hit him with his best shot and for that playing from the line with the backhand was important”.

Fun: “Well, it was tough, but yeah, fun to play in front of this ‘crazy crowd.’ It was pretty amazing. It gave me a lot of energy to come back in the first set. To be able to beat Stefanos Tsitsipas in front of these fans was amazing, fun.”

Smaller track: “It wasn’t central, but it’s also a great stadium and packed with people. It was amazing to play in front of amazing fans.”

Pull out the best: “It is difficult to play against Stefanos. He pushes you to the limit. Always trying to go to the line, trying to hit very hard. It is very difficult to play against him. You have to play very well defensively, trying to get back to the point. He also serves very well”.