Hello Alexandre. How are you getting on physically?
"Physically, I'm fine. It's just that the tour is a bit long, obviously. I think I've been away for nearly six weeks now. So obviously it's a bit long. There's a bit of missing family, etc... that's starting to make itself felt.
"But this is the last tournament of the North American tour and, to put it mildly, the most important one, the Grand Slam. So we're going to give it our all and see what happens."
Do you have any regrets about your season? After all, you weren't far from being seeded for the US Open.
"A few regrets, (but) not really. Because, well, I gave everything I had to give in every match. Then there were a few defeats that were pretty harsh. So I haven't had an occasion where I can regret not winning the match. So, no, I don't really have any regrets."
You've had your draw and you face Stefanos Tsitsipas. He's a player you've lost to twice, but you still threatened him. Does that give you hope of doing well in this match?
"Yes, it does. He's not in top form at the moment, so we're going to have to try and make him doubt as much as possible. As early as possible in the match too, because we know that when these players gain confidence, that's when they're very hard to break down.
"So I have to be very good from the start of the match and, above all, give everything I've got. Then, of course, have a good game and we'll see."
We all know the situation he's in, his struggles. Is there a fear of reawakening him? You know he's dangerous, but he's in a bad way. So now's the time to take him on. But are you afraid of the mental aspect?
"No, I'm not. You just have to keep it in the back of your mind, tell yourself that even if you're badly beaten - maybe he'll serve for the set, or in the worst-case scenario he'll serve for the match, but he doesn't have absolute confidence at the moment.
"So we have to keep telling ourselves that anything is possible, that he could miss a game or an important point, because this is a slightly more complicated period. So just keep that in the back of your mind, but don't say to yourself 'I have to win because Tsitsipas isn't feeling confident at the moment'. He's still a very good player who plays great tennis.
"So, in any case, it's going to be a complicated match and it'll be up to me to give it my best shot."
How do you feel about your season so far? Because on the one hand, there's your first ATP title (in Hong Kong in January), there's the final in Rio, there's the victory over Alexander Zverev in Hamburg, the entry into the Top 40. But on the other hand, you haven't won a Grand Slam match...
"I won't hide from you the fact that it's not going to move me... As we say in tennis, it's not going to move me.
"I lost to (Novak) Djokovic. I lost to Jakub Menšík in four sets. At the Australian Open, I lost to Nuno Borges, who had been playing very well from the start of the season and had just made the final in Auckland. At the time, I'd also hurt myself in Hong Kong, tearing my leg. So it wasn't easy. And now, if I lose, it'll be against Tsitsipas.
"For me, the main thing is to give it my all, to go out with no regrets. And I prefer to have seasons where my ranking continues to go up, to go and win titles, great runs, like in Hong Kong and Rio, and good victories, as you said, against Zverev. But if it's to win against a qualifier or a lucky loser and say to myself 'Yes, I made the second round at the US Open', that's cool. I'm not interested in that, I'm interested in going far in tournaments.
"So, obviously, we're still hoping for the Grand Slams, where there are a lot of points and a lot of money. We hope to play well in these tournaments, but it's not an end in itself."
Are you going to do the Asian tour next?
"Yes, that's the plan, the Asian tour."
And is it really with a view to being seeded for the Australian Open? Is that your goal for the end of the season?
"Not really. It's more a case of trying to play well and get the best results possible.
"It has been a bit harder to string wins together. So first of all, we need to try and win again, let's say several times in the same tournament, because it was a win here and a win there.
"And then there are tournaments where, for example, there will be a 250 before the Shanghai 500 and 1000. So I'm trying to win a second title, especially as I'll be seeded first. So that's it, week by week. But I'm not really thinking about being seeded in Australia."
Do you plan your schedule around having a chance of winning a title? OK, you have to play the Masters 1000 because you're up against the best, but those 250 or even the 500 tournaments, do you keep that in the back of your mind and say to yourself, "I've got a chance of winning the title and I still want to build up a bit of a record"?
"Yes, that's exactly it. After the Masters 1000, you never know what might happen. Look at Terence Atmane, who came through the qualifying rounds and went on to reach the semi-finals in Cincinnati, so that's great.
"But in a Masters 1000, you're going to have to beat Sinner and Alcaraz in the same tournament. There's no doubt that the chances of winning the title are much slimmer than in a 250 or 500."
You're 28 years old. I drew a parallel with Tsitsipas, a player who belongs to a generation that has been somewhat lost between the old players who have left and the new ones who are already dominating. I have the impression that in France, it's more or less the same thing. Arthur Fils is already number one in France, and the Musketeers (Simon, Tsonga, Gasquet) have recently left. Your generation, you and Ugo Humbert in particular, don't you suffer from a lack of recognition?
"Personally, I don't particularly feel that way. I'm making my own career. I try to have the best possible career and above all to stop afterwards, at some point, with no regrets.
"But as far as recognition is concerned, I haven't really done anything incredible in my career so far. I've got a title in Hong Kong, a final in the 500, but that's still small compared with what Ugo Humbert, Arthur Fils, or even Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard have done, having already won a 500 at his age. These are players who already have a bigger record than me.
"I don't know, I think you'd have to ask them that question rather than me."
You weren't selected for the Davis Cup in September. Is that a regret?
"I was asked about the Davis Cup, and I said I'd rather not talk about it. I think everyone can make up their own minds and is entitled to make up their own minds about the players selected. I'm not saying anything and everyone can make up their own minds."
How much longer do you see yourself on the circuit? As you say, you entered the Top 100 at the age of 26. You've been playing for a long time, but do you still see yourself battling it out for a long time with the physical problems you're experiencing?
"I hope to last as long as possible. It's true that recently, physically at least, I've had more and more little niggles here and there. I'm trying to watch out for that, but the aim is to try and play as long as possible. And if at some point I stop enjoying going out on the court and making the effort it takes to be at my best, I'll stop.
"But in any case, for the time being, I think I've still got a few good years ahead of me. In any case, I hope so."
How are things going physically? As you said, you won Hong Kong, but you injured your leg. Of course, it's logical to dip into your reserves to win a tournament. But after that, it may have cost you a good performance at the Australian Open, which could have earned you more points and so on. How do you juggle all that?
"At the time, you don't know what you've got. It hurts. But in any case, as a top-level athlete, I think that every day you have pain that comes and goes. So you have to play with the pain.
"I tore my leg. I think it was against Arthur Fils in the quarter-finals in Hong Kong. After that, I won the tournament. Personally, I'd rather win Hong Kong, win my first title and take 10 days off to heal my leg than drop out in the quarter-finals and not win a title.
"You have to make your own choices, but little injuries crop up here and there. You have to juggle them. You have to know how to manage. As you get older, you learn to do that more and more, to deal with little physical problems."
In view of your clay-court season, with the final in Rio and the victory over Zverev in Hamburg, you didn't play on clay during the European summer. Was that a decision to prepare for the US Open?
"It was because there were Masters 1000 tournaments coming. The aim was to try and arrive having played on hard courts so that I could play well in these big tournaments.
"There's always the question of whether I'm going to play injured or not, am I going to play on clay to maybe win a 250? But you can't prepare as well for the big tournaments like the Masters 1000.
"There are lots of choices to be made every time, and you have to make one of them. The most important thing is to make the choice, to do it thoroughly, and not to have any regrets, because otherwise you never decide.
"I decided to play hard court to prepare for the Masters 1000. I've reached the point where I'm seeded for Toronto. The aim is also to play well in the big tournaments, so I made that choice to try and maximise my chances of doing well in Toronto. I made the third round, which isn't terrible either, even if you always want more."
Do you have any memories of that match against Djokovic at Wimbledon? Because your reaction on the internet was amusing after the draw. But you still gave yourself a chance to win that match?
"Yes, clearly. Even when you're level at one set apiece against Djoko, you know very well that you're not even a quarter of the way there because you know that he's going to come back, he's going to raise his game and so on. So that's it, I'm playing to win, but in the back of my mind I'm also trying to play the best possible match and enjoy myself. That's what I managed to do in that match."
Is that one of your best memories of a Grand Slam? You're not a guy with a huge Grand Slam record, but you've still often lost to very, very big names. Where do you place that moment in relation to the rest?
"Yes, it's in my top five. After that, it's true that titles and finals in Rio are moments when you come out on top. So they're still moments of slightly greater joy, even if it's against Djoko on centre court at Wimbledon. Winning is still more satisfying."