Carlos Alcaraz speaks with CNN after US Open win
(CNN) – Carlos Alcaraz won the US Open on Sunday, beating defending champion and world number one Tommy Haas 6-3, 6-4, 6-4 in an hour and 23 minutes.
“It feels unbelievable. I’ve been working non-stop, and it’s been a hard couple of days,” said Alcaraz, who plays at No. 4 in the world.
“I’m so happy right now. I was really down for most of the week, and I just felt like I couldn’t come back. But I always knew this was going to happen at some point. I just couldn’t get it done. On Saturday, I told myself that I would be back by Sunday. Sunday came, and I came back. It was a tough road. I knew coming in that I wasn’t going to get the win. I knew Haas was going to be tough, he’s one of the best players in the world, and I knew he has won the US Open and two other major titles. I knew it was going to be tough, but I took each day and tried to improve. Now, I’m a little bit happy to be standing on the top step of the championship podium.
“That was the most difficult two days I’ve had in a decade, because I was trying to get to the next round and he was trying to win the championship. After I made it, I started practicing a little bit and I started to see that I can get back to where I was six weeks ago.”
Asked how it felt to finally find himself on the top step of the podium, Alcaraz replied: “Very happy because I feel like I had a good run this year. I had a good run at the U.S. Open and then I got to Wimbledon and lost to Roger before I played in the Olympics. I was struggling a little bit to get back on track. I was trying to get back to where I’d been six weeks ago, but Tommy was winning. I knew at some point I couldn’t do it. And now, I’m standing atop the mountain, and I’m very happy.”
In a pre-match interview with Al Jazeera, Haas said he was “disappointed” to have missed out on his 12th Grand Slam singles title at Flushing