C. ALCARAZ/G. Monfils
6-2, 6-4
Q. You like the smile, you like the show, and Gael does the same. Must have been a very fun match for you to play.
CARLOS ALCARAZ: Yes, of course. It's always great to share the court with Gael. I think that both of us bring great tennis, great shots to the match. Yeah, I think for the fans it's great to see both of us playing great tennis, making them enjoying watching tennis.
Yeah, for me was a really good match. I think I hit really good shots, moving well, and really happy with my performance today.
Q. Afterwards you had a little talk with Neymar and Jimmy Butler. What did you talk about?
CARLOS ALCARAZ: Well, a little bit, well, everything. I had a bit -- I mean, we were talking about Neymar a little bit, how he's going with the knee, recovering, step by step. Yeah, he's here a couple of days, enjoying Miami a little bit, and yeah, that's all we talk about.
Then with Jimmy, as well, he has a really important game tomorrow. I wish him good luck, and hopefully going to reach the game.
Q. What is it like to play in front of Neymar, Jimmy Butler, Juan Carlos and del Potro? How does that energize you? You're already very energetic, but does that even raise the level even more?
CARLOS ALCARAZ: A little bit, I'm not gonna lie. Seeing them watching my game, obviously it's, let's say, some motivation for me just to raise the level, try to make them enjoy watching my game.
You know, that's all I was thinking about, but I obviously had to be focused on the match. I had to bring my own tennis to the match, and I think I did it pretty well. Hopefully they enjoyed.
Q. When that happens, when guys like that come, do you know in advance or do you just find out when you're playing a point and all of a sudden you see Neymar? Did you know he was coming?
CARLOS ALCARAZ: Well, most of the time I don't know who is coming to the match, but yeah, today I knew that they were coming. I talked to Neymar a little bit before the match, and he told me that he's coming with Jimmy Butler. So I knew in advance.
Q. Looked like you guys were really enjoying that, because Gael's always smiling after points and you got into that. Was it really enjoyable again to play?
CARLOS ALCARAZ: Yeah, it's always fun playing against Gael. It's really good for me sharing the court with him. Both of us, we try to smile all the time. We try to enjoy playing tennis almost, you know, every single second when we play a match.
I think thanks to that we can bring really good tennis, a really good show to the fans, to the people as well. I think it's a beautiful park to watch as well.
Q. He mixes it up so much. Do you enjoy that challenge of playing against somebody who will do something a little bit different, more of a showman?
CARLOS ALCARAZ: Well, it's different, let's say, but obviously I enjoy. I enjoy, as well. You know, I always say that for me it's really important to smile on the court, and thanks to that, I can bring my best tennis. You know, someone like Gael and entertainment guy, player, it's easier, you know, to smile on the court, to enjoy the game. Yeah, let's say it's different.
Q. Into the business end of the tournament now. How are you feeling overall with your game so far? Is it building up the way you'd want to build a tournament?
CARLOS ALCARAZ: Well, I'm really happy with the level that I'm playing, the performance that I have been bringing into the court. It's something that I'm working on to play as much matches as I can, you know, to this level. For me, it's great to feel this way on the court and hopefully keep going.
Q. What are you expecting from the next match? You have a short turnaround now. What are you expecting from your next opponent?
CARLOS ALCARAZ: Well, I'm playing against Lorenzo. I know he's a really talented player, a really tough one. The head-to-head I think is 2-1 for me if I'm not wrong. Yeah, I'm really looking forward to playing against him, and let's see how it's gonna be.
FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports