Wimbledon June 18 2011 Andy Murray

An interview with:

           

ANDY MURRAY

  
 

            Q.  It looks like you're going to play Monday.  The weather forecast isn't brilliant.  It looks as though the roof could well be closed.  You had experience two years ago.  You weren't that happy with the roof, as I recall.

            ANDY MURRAY:  No.  I think what happened was that is that I got asked to say what the feeling was like compared to playing outdoors.  It's more humid.  It slows the conditions down and the balls become heavier.

            Whether that's good for me or not, I never said that.  That was just what I said.  At the time I was the first one to play a match under it, and that is what the indoor court does.

            And the roof, I've never played on grass before.  It was a new experience for me.  It was obviously great to get the match finished, if you can.

            But who knows if I'll be on Centre Court or not.  I'll have to wait and see.

            Q.  What were your thoughts when you heard Isner and Mahut would be rematched?  What do you look forward to in that rematch?

            ANDY MURRAY:  Well, yeah, couldn't believe it.  I don't know exactly what the odds were, but I think because neither of them are seeded, it's, yeah, just extraordinary.  Their match last year was incredible.  It's not going to happen again.  It will never happen again.

            I feel for them a little bit that people might be hyping the match up a lot, and it's not going to be the same scoreline.

            I would like to see them play on a big court.  I think they deserve it.  Yeah, it is amazing they've drawn themselves again.

            Q.  What do you remember most from last year?

            ANDY MURRAY:  Yeah, well, I mean, I was obviously sort of playing matches and stuff at the time.  I think it took three days for it to finish, is that right?  And, yeah, it's just amazing.

            Like you'd go and practice and then you'd come back, and you'd be like, Oh, it's still going.  Then you'd go like for lunch, come back, it's like 34‑All.  It's just weird.  Every time you would go away and do something, you were sort of preparing yourself for the next match.  They were just going for so long.  It was amazing.

            Q.  We've asked you many times.  Just checking on the ankle.

            ANDY MURRAY:  No, it feels all right.  It feels good.  Had no problems with it in practice the last few days.  Been doing all the training that I wanted to do.  I haven't had to stop any practice, practice like at Queen's, so it's all good.

            Q.  You said you were hoping the fife or six days would go quickly heading towards the Championship.  Do you feel now that the curtain is about to rise, can you give us your thoughts as you return to the Centre Court?

            ANDY MURRAY:  It's gone quickly.  I think it's been quite tough for everyone because it's just been tough conditions.  Obviously a lot of rain showers on and off today is a good example.

            And, yeah, I think I've got good enough practice in.  I always look forward, yeah, to the start of the tournament.  For me it's quite a long buildup, the five or six days beforehand.

            Ready to go now.

            Q.  What is your reaction to the draw?  Pretty much what you might have expected?

            ANDY MURRAY:  I'm not looking anywhere past the first match.  It's not worth it.  It's happened to me before when I was younger, and you lose if you're thinking about playing against Nadal in the semifinals or whoever it is in the quarterfinals.

            There's tough matches everywhere, as you would have seen last year watching the tournament.  You know, Rafa had a couple of long five‑set matches that he nearly lost.  Roger nearly lost in the first round against someone that you would have never expected him to lose to, and for someone to push him so close.  I think Falla served for the match.  It's not just worth it.

            Q.  What about your first‑round opponent?

            ANDY MURRAY:  I know him quite well because we grew up playing a lot of the same junior tournaments.  When I went over to Spain I saw him quite a lot.  He's a solid, good all‑around player.  He serves pretty good; solid forehand.  Similar to a lot of the Spanish guys, so I'll have to work hard.

            Q.  We have a new star at Wimbledon in Li Na who, like you, holds the hopes of an entire nation on her shoulders, albeit a larger nation.  Do you have any words of advice for her?

            ANDY MURRAY:  Well, she's won a slam, so I should be the one asking her for the advice (smiling).

            I think she handles everything really, really well.  I've seen a lot of her interviews on court.  She seems very relaxed, easy to talk to.  It's great for the whole of tennis, you know, that an Asian star has come through and is competing right at the top of the game.

            So no other advice for her.  She's doing very well.

            Q.  How much time have you been able to spend with Darren in the last four or five days, and has it been court time or conversational time?

            ANDY MURRAY:  I spent a lot of time with him on the court.  Every day he's been with us through all of the practices.  He wasn't at Stoke Park yesterday, but every other session I've done he's been there.

            Danny's spent a lot of time with him in the evening.  They're both staying in the Village, so they spend a lot of time together.

            Q.  And conversational?

            ANDY MURRAY:  No, just we've been chatting when we're around.  We had quite a few lunches together.  I had a day off on Thursday.  We met for lunch.  Yeah, had a chat about things.  Yeah, it's been good.

            Q.  With the weather forecast not great, do you think players like yourself, Roger, and Rafa might have a little bit of an advantage in that you're the guys that are going to be playing on Centre Court?

            ANDY MURRAY:  There's definitely an advantage to get your match finished, for sure, if the weather's not good.  Yeah, it's an advantage.  No more to say than that.  If you can get on and get your match done, you know, you don't have to play back‑to‑back days.  It's tough over five sets.

            Q.  When people are talking about potential winners, they seem to focus on the big four as you're called.  Who do you think, outside of you, Roger, Rafa, and Novak can go on and potentially spring a surprise, maybe win here?

            ANDY MURRAY:  There's a lot of the big hitters, guys like Soderling, Roddick, Tsonga, Berdych.  They're all guys that I think have got a good chance if they play their best tennis.  They're all huge servers, big guys, over 6'4", very athletic.  They're the sort of guys that are going to be very dangerous.

            Q.  With or without Li Na's advice, how is this tournament different for you from the others because of the pressure and the weight and the expectations?

            ANDY MURRAY:  It's not.  It isn't different.  Everyone asks me every year.  It really isn't.  The buildup to the tournament is.  The four, five days are a little bit different than what I'm used to.  But once the tournament starts, it isn't.

            You get obviously the support on the Centre Court, and on the other courts that I play on.  I've always had really, really good support.  It makes a big difference.  It's just nice being able to go back home and watch the same TV that you always watch and stay in your own bed.

            It's way more relaxing in many ways than a lot of the other tournaments.

            Q.  Do you think there's a favorite for this tournament?

            ANDY MURRAY:  No.  I think, you know, you've got guys obviously like Roger and Rafa who have so much experience of playing in the slams and going deep into the slams, that I think experience‑wise they would be head and shoulders above everybody else.

            But Novak this year has played unbelievably well, so he'd be up there.  And then, yeah, I think there's, like I said, a bunch of guys that are very dangerous and have a chance to win.

            Q.  Do you think you're getting closer to them?

            ANDY MURRAY:  Yeah.  I mean, I think, you know, this year Djokovic has definitely improved a lot.  But I felt like when I played against him in Rome, you know, I was very close to winning it.  I served for the match, so I had my chance there.

            Obviously the French Open was a good tournament for me, and also Queen's.  So the last few months have definitely been closer.

            But to get ahead of him in the rankings, I can't have two or three months like I did after the Australian Open where I didn't win a match and wasn't playing well at all.  So I need to keep the consistency I've had the last few months up for the whole year.

            Q.  What would it mean for you to win a Grand Slam title?  Can you point to a thing or two that has to go right specifically here for you to take that step?

            ANDY MURRAY:  You need to play your best at the end of the tournament, that's for sure.  And, yeah, that's what I work towards.  That's, you know, why I play tennis now, is to give myself a chance to win these tournaments and be competing for them each time I play in them.

            So, yeah, it would mean a lot.  For all the players that have won slam titles and all the guys that have come close to winning them, it's a great feeling to get to the latter stages of them, but it's tough when you just fall short.

            That keeps giving me the motivation to keep doing the training and working hard to do it.

            Q.  Given how well you're playing now ‑ all four of you at the top ‑ and given this surface, how strong would you say the top four seeds are at this tournament right now compared to maybe any other you've played in?

            ANDY MURRAY:  Well, I think this surface, I believe there's less players that play well on grass than on the clay and hard courts now, and I feel like we've played good tennis on the grass in the past.  Last year I think Roger was the only one not to make it through to the semis, and that was a huge surprise.

            So I think this year, you know, everyone's playing really good tennis, and I think there's other guys, you know, outside of the top four that are playing really well, too.  So I think tennis is in a great place just now.  I think it's going to be a fun tournament; definitely going to be some surprises.

            I wouldn't be surprised if there were guys outside the top four who made it through to the semis.

            Q.  Do you think you've got a bit down on yourself after the Australian Open, and is that what contributed to your poor form, or was it more technical issues?

            ANDY MURRAY:  No, it wasn't technical issues.  That wasn't the problem.  It was, yeah, more mental state, sort of getting yourself in the right frame of mind for the matches and also for the preparation for the tournaments.  You know, getting a real plan of what you're going to work on.

            You know, I felt maybe a little bit like after the Australian Open I thought, Well, I need to change a lot of things in my game, change the way I was training.  That wasn't really the case.  I made some changes to my coaching setup after the bad run in the States, and that's definitely helped.

            I'd been thinking about it for a while, but I think it's natural when you work so hard to try to achieve something.  You don't quite do it, you know, you sort of question the work that you're doing, your game, what should I do to improve.

            But when you actually look back, you're not that far away from doing it.  It's very minor things you need to change.

            Q.  Do you think with the surface here, Roger and Rafa both had tough matches early on, do you think it makes upsets early on more likely?  Do you think you need to be more focused in the early rounds than in other tournaments?

            ANDY MURRAY:  I just think the court's slow now.  So a lot of the guys that weren't playing well on the grass four, five years ago I think are playing better.  There's a lot longer rallies, so it gives the baseline players a lot more chances to cause upsets.

            That's why guys like Falla last year had a good chance against Roger, because he was able to rally from the back.  The court was slow.  You know, especially if the weather stays like this.  When it's cold, you know, it's one of the slowest courts in the year.  That isn't an exaggeration.

            Q.  Along those lines, is that something that helped Nadal here have the success he's had over the last few years?  Were you surprised at all at how quickly and how much success he was able to have?

            ANDY MURRAY:  Well, I'm not really surprised by his success.  He's one of the greatest athletes ever, not just in tennis.  So you find a way to adapt to the surface and the changes.  I mean, maybe didn't take him as long to adapt because the court surface is slower.  Maybe 10, 15 years ago it would have taken him a bit more time to get used to it.

            But every year he tries new things; he's improving things; he's returning closer to the baseline than he used to; he's serving a lot harder than he used to; he's made technical changes to his serve; he's found a way to play great tennis on this surface.

            But it doesn't surprise me because he's a great athlete.

            Q.  Can you give us an indication of how you'll spend tomorrow?  Will you get a practice in?  How will you take your mind off the last hours before you come to work on Monday?

            ANDY MURRAY:  For sure watch some TV on Sunday.  I'll probably watch the end of the golf.  I'll practice for an hour tomorrow, have a chat to the guys before I leave here about, yeah, just the tournament, you know, how we're going to approach it, make sure everyone's mind's in the right place.

            Just go home, chill out, not think about the match until Monday morning.

Queen's June 11 2011 - Andy Murray

A. MURRAY/A. Roddick

           

6‑3, 6‑1

        

ANDY MURRAY

        

            Q.  You controlled the match really from start to finish.  You must be thrilled with that.

            ANDY MURRAY:  Yeah, I played really well.  Yeah, the start is very important against Andy, because he obviously serves very well and can put a lot of pressure on you if he can sort of get through quite a few easy service games.  Obviously I got the break straightaway and I played very well.

            Q.  Did it feel like a day when you could do virtually nothing wrong?

            ANDY MURRAY:  Oh, I mean, towards the end of the match ‑‑ I mean, when you have two breaks, you know, especially on this surface, it's a lot easier to go for shots and try things out.  And when I was trying sort of different shots, all of them were going in.

            No, I mean, the first set, I mean, it was for me ‑‑ you know, it was one break, pretty competitive.  There was quite a bit of long rallies, but I managed to win a lot of them.

            I came up with a lot of really good passing shots, which, you know, on another day you're not going to make every single one.  Today was just one of those days where everything went right.

            Q.  That must give you an enormous kind of sense of where your game is with Wimbledon on the horizon, the quality of your tennis today, the sublime way that you dealt with a very, very highly qualified grass court opponent?

            ANDY MURRAY:  Yeah.  Well, it was always going to be ‑‑ I was expecting, going in, it was always going to be a good match and a good test to sort of see where my game's at and know that I'm obviously playing well on this surface.  I'm moving well.  Ankle's feeling good.  I served well.

            Yeah, there's a few things that I'll just need to sort of top up on, make sure I do well in the week before Wimbledon.  But, I mean, the week's been pretty much perfect so far.  Came through a tough first two matches, and then today was, you know, a real test against someone that I might have to play if I want to go all the way at Wimbledon.  Played great.

            Q.  You had a day off yesterday.  Was the ankle already fine, or...

            ANDY MURRAY:  The ankle felt fine, but I don't know if it did help.  I obviously played very well today, but I don't think it was to do with the day off.  It was ‑‑ I sort of practiced for like 25 minutes indoors yesterday, and then I went outdoors for 20 minutes and it started raining, and then I went back indoors.  It wasn't exactly ideal grass court practice yesterday.

            But, you know, just to able to get out of the club sort at a decent time was nice, because like at the French Open I spent so much time at the courts getting treatment, seeing physios.  It was obviously a long couple of weeks there, and obviously the first few days here because of the rain and stuff.  It was quite a lot of hanging around, so it was quite nice to get out of here early yesterday.

            Q.  You said on the court, I just got lucky.  Are you doing yourself a bit of a disservice there?

            ANDY MURRAY:  No.  The thing is it was one of those days where everything is just sort of going your way.  It's not ‑‑ you know, like if there was a net cord, it would have gone my way today.  If he hit a good shot, it would miss by just a little bit.  Everything I was trying, every passing shot I hit was always in the right spot.  I hardly gave him a chance on anything.

            Sometimes against Andy you guess on the serves.  I guessed right every single time today.  I don't really remember him acing me hardly in the match.  I was just seeing the ball really early, and it's difficult to do that every single day.

            So it was a little bit of luck involved, but it's taken many years of practice to be able to play like that.  (Smiling.)

            Q.  Is he one of the players you enjoy playing against because he's always such a great matchup?

            ANDY MURRAY:  I enjoy playing against him.  You know, I think it's a tough matchup for me, you know, but he's very competitive.  That's why I always enjoy playing him, because he is one of the most competitive guys on the tour.  It's always good, long rallies.  Today was just my day.

            Q.  When you went on court you looked calm.  You stayed calm the whole time.  Do you know before you go on court how you're going to feel?  Can you feel inside that everything was serene and lovely today?

            ANDY MURRAY:  No.  I mean, I think sort of this week ‑‑ it can feel like that at Queen's because it's not so much pressure on you here.  The pressure will start in about eight days' time.  (Smiling.)

            So you just have to enjoy it, realize the goal here is to win matches, to get, you know, as many sort of matches on the surface before Wimbledon.

            Yeah, just felt nice and calmed.  Didn't get flustered and played really good.

            Q.  When Darren comes in presumably this week to work with you, is one of the things with a man who has taken people to Grand Slams be to manage your expectations, knowing the expectation of the country will be carried by you again over the next three weeks?  Is that something that he's important to you in that sense?

            ANDY MURRAY:  Yeah.  I mean, I think ‑‑ I mean, obviously he has a lot of experience dealing with guys that are going into slams with a chance to win.  So if it's something I feel like I need to speak to him about, then I'll talk to him about it.

            But, no, I mean, like even during the French Open if I spoke to him, you know, he's very much of the opinion that you're there to win the event.  That's how you go into it, with that mentality.  You don't get carried away with playing ‑‑ like a match today, I played great tennis, but, you know, not to get carried away.  If you play great in the second round, it doesn't mean all of a sudden you're going to win the tournament.  You just have to make sure every day you're switched on.

            Yeah, you have to take a businesslike approach to every single match.  Yeah, it's boring, but you've got to take it one step at a time, and that's what I'll do at Wimbledon.

            Q.  Before Wimbledon what sort of message do you think this kind of performance sends out?

            ANDY MURRAY:  Well, I mean, to myself it just sends out ‑‑ well, it gives me the message that I'm in a good place now.  I'm playing well.  I struggled at times this year, and I feel like now I'm playing really good tennis again.

            Physically I feel good, which is important.  My game's where it needs to be right now.  That's all you can ask for.  Regardless of how the match goes tomorrow, it's been the perfect week in many ways, and I'll use the next sort of five, six days to really work hard, get myself mentally and physically ready for Wimbledon.

            Q.  It's looking more and more like Tsonga the way things are going.  You have a good record against him.

            ANDY MURRAY:  Again, I enjoy playing against him.  He's a great athlete.  He's similar in a few ways to Andy.

            You know, he's very flashy, great shot maker, can be a little bit erratic at times, but he's one of the best grass court players in the world, for sure.

            Q.  You have a week before Wimbledon, but how much would it mean to actually win the tournament, win another title tomorrow?  How much are you focused on that?

            ANDY MURRAY:  Yeah, it would be nice.  I mean, like I say, it wasn't the priority coming into the tournament.  It will be come Wimbledon.

            But yeah.  I mean, winning in any sport is good, you know.  It gives you confidence.  Winning titles is something that you look back on at the end of your career and remember.  So obviously I'm going to try and win.

            Q.  You seemed very relaxed this week.  Now, obviously a lot of that has been at home, sleeping in your own bed, being around, friends around.  Can you give us a clue what you've been doing to chill out, what you've been watching on the telly, what sport you've been watching?

            ANDY MURRAY:  Yesterday I watched the Comedy Gala.  It was on quite late, around 10:00 last night.  I watched that.  Watched a little bit of The Apprentice.

            And then, yeah, I've watched quite a few of the matches, a little bit of James Ward's match last night.

            I spent a lot of time with the dogs at home and that's it, just what everyone else does in day‑to‑day life.  I haven't been to do the groceries yet.  My girlfriend did that this week, so I'm sure next week it will be my job.  (Laughter.)

            Q.  Have you been practicing your Go‑Kart racing this week?

            ANDY MURRAY:  I haven't, but I'm really looking forward to that.  Maybe tomorrow I'll take it easy on the court so that I'm fresh for that.

            Q.  You haven't been with Darren for that long a period, but how have you found working with him?  Where would you rate him among the world's best coaches?

            ANDY MURRAY:  Well, I think he's a great coach.  You know, like you say, I haven't spent much time with him, but just his approach to the team and the sort of role that he would play I think has been exceptional.

            He doesn't have a big ego at all, which I think can happen a lot with ex‑players that have been successful coaches.  You know, he's very calm, but he has strong opinions.  I think he explains things very, very well.  He listens very well, which I think is one of the most important things for a coach to do.

            I've learned from him in the brief time we've spent together, and I'm sure he can give me a lot more advice and help me a lot.  I spoke to him for a good 15, 20 minutes last night about how I have been feeling about the match today.  He's a very good coach, nice guy.  I enjoy working with him.

            Q.  Which day does he get here?

            ANDY MURRAY:  I think he gets ‑‑ he's here for Monday.  I don't know when he leaves or if he gets in Sunday, but he'll be there on Monday.

            Q.  Has he worked on your serve at all?  It was pretty special today.

            ANDY MURRAY:  No, we haven't worked on it too much, but I think it's ‑‑ the thing is when you come onto the grass, it's sort of ‑‑ the way you approach the serve changes a little bit, because on the clay, if you miss your first serve, second serve is a lot easier for guys to attack.  You have to use the first serve a lot to get a higher percentage in to sort of build the point up a little bit.

            You still want to get free points off it, as well.  But here, you know, I want to go for my first serve.  I don't want to think about, oh, I don't want to miss it, or, you know, I'm going for aces every time I throw up for the first serve.  That's a good attitude on the grass.

            Q.  Can you comment on James Ward sort of being in the spotlight?

            ANDY MURRAY:  I have seen him obviously around.  I haven't spoken to him too much.  I've seen him a lot of times sort of as I have been going on court just as he's been coming off or the other way around.

            I was getting a little bit jealous of all the attention he was getting.  I had to put in a good performance today to try and get some of the spotlight back.  (Laughter.)

            It's been great for him obviously to, you know, to get this far in an ATP tournament, and I think the big test for him will be after the grass court period is finished to make sure he pushes on from this, because he showed he can play against some of the best players in the world.  But when the grass court season finishes is when, you know, it will be down to him to put in the hard work and push himself up the rankings.

            Q.  Is it a refreshing change for you to have the spotlight taken away for a few days?  Does that make life a little bit easier?  Obviously most of the time all eyes are on you, particularly when the grass court season starts here.

            ANDY MURRAY:  Yeah, it does change things a little bit.  But, you know, I'm sure over the next sort of four or five days, you know, the spotlight will be back on me going into Wimbledon.

            But it's good for British tennis every time, you know, someone's doing well, and, you know, it would be nice to have someone else.  The girls have been doing well.  We've got a few young ones coming up.

            Yeah, I think the British tennis is in a good place right now in the women's side.  I think on the men's side I think it would be nice if someone like James could push on and get his ranking higher and be competing in these events more often.

            Q.  He's 4‑2‑up, so just in case the miracle happens, did you ever think in your lifetime there'd be a possibility of playing a final against a Brit, and if it did happen in this tournament?

            ANDY MURRAY:  Yeah, I didn't think ‑‑ I mean, well, right now it wasn't something I would have expected going into the grass court tournament.  But we've always had good juniors.  So you never know, you know, what was going to happen, but that would be pretty amazing if he managed to come through that match.

            I watched a little bit of the start.  He looked a little bit nervous but played a little bit better towards the end of the first set.  And if he could come through, it would be ‑‑ yeah, it would be amazing, yeah.

Queen's June 10 2011 - Andy Murray

ANDY MURRAY

        

      

           Q.  What have you done today?  Have you hit at all?

            ANDY MURRAY:  Yeah, I hit for about 50 minutes outside, and then I hit indoors for about 20, 30 minutes and then did some ankle exercises, saw the physio, and going to leave as soon as I'm done.

            Q.  I guess you would have preferred to play?

            ANDY MURRAY:  Yeah, I would have rather played today, obviously, got another match on the grass.  It wasn't to be.  I just have to take this day as a rest day, which in some ways is probably a good thing.

            Yeah, get ready for tomorrow.

            Q.  When did you hear he pulled out, at what stage?

            ANDY MURRAY:  I was warming up indoors and he came and hit on the court next to me for like two minutes, and then he came over and just said, like, I'm not going to be able to play.  I hurt, he said to me, his knee yesterday.  He had quite a lot of tape on his knee.

            I think he slipped on the grass and said it was really sore today just when I was warming up.

            Q.  I thought they said it was his ankle.

            ANDY MURRAY:  Yeah, I don't know.  Knee and ankle, I think.  He did slip.  He said he went over on his ankle and also hurt his knee, too.  So I don't know what his reason ‑‑ I mean, he hurt his leg.  That was it.  It looked like he was struggling to move, and even walking looked sore.  So good decision.

            Q.  With respect to what's happened today, you and Rafa have had good runouts, but obviously Novak and Roger haven't been playing.  Is there a chance they could turn up at Wimbledon slightly undercooked?

            ANDY MURRAY:  I wouldn't have thought so.  I mean, I prefer to try and play matches beforehand.  You know, like going into Australia the last few years, I've always gone in there having played only at the Hopman Cup, you know, which is an exhibition.

            Novak did that, as well, at the Australian Open.  Obviously played some of his best tennis there.

            I don't think ‑‑ I'm sure they'll play some matches and some exhibitions to get themselves better, but it's good to get a few competitive matches on the grass first.

            Q.  And Roddick?

            ANDY MURRAY:  Obviously tough match.  He plays very well on grass.  His best surface, I think.  I think he's played pretty solid.

            I think he had a good win today.  I didn't really see any of it, but 2 and 2 against Verdasco is a very solid score.  I have to play well to win against him.

            He obviously serves very well, so it will be important for me to serve well myself and not give him too many opportunities.

            Q.  Did you get a chance to see any of James Ward's games or have you spoken to him?

            ANDY MURRAY:  No.  He was just finishing warming up when I went on to warm up, so we'll see what the schedule ‑‑ it's changing quite a lot.  We got moved onto Court 1, and I was going to go on immediately following his set, so it could have been 20, 25 minutes after him.  So I was warming up while his match was going on and didn't get to see any of it.

            Q.  Were you quite impressed that he managed to finish that off?

            ANDY MURRAY:  Yeah, it was good.  You know, obviously ‑‑ well, it's always tough coming back the following day.  You know, it's never easy.

            I think he was in quite a good position last night.  I don't know.  I heard that Querrey hurt his arm last night.  I don't know if there was something wrong or not, but then, yeah, I was told it got called off pretty early, too.

            So it was good that he managed to come out and finish it off and has a good opportunity I think in the next match.

            Q.  Last time you played Roddick was in the semifinals at Wimbledon.  Looking back at that, it was a very close match wasn't it?  Two tiebreaks to settle it at the end.  In your career, how bad was that defeat?

            ANDY MURRAY:  He was playing some of the best tennis of his life.  I felt like I still could have played better.  It was disappointing, obviously, but he was playing unbelievably well.

            He served great I think in that match in particular.  He served a really high percentage of first serves.  Served very well.

            Yeah, like I say, grass is his best surface.  He always normally always plays well at Wimbledon.  He's had three finals, I think.  So he's one of the best grass court players in the world.

            Q.  You came in wondering if you were going to play this tournament.  You would have signed for the semifinals?

            ANDY MURRAY:  Yeah, I wanted to play matches.  So, yeah, the first two matches were tough, as well.  They weren't easy grass court matches.  They both ‑‑ both guys, Malisse and Tipsarevic both play well on the grass, so it was good to come through against those two.

            Obviously now will be a good test to see where my game is at against Roddick and look forward to it.  I felt like I played better in the last round.  Ideally I would have liked to play today to get another match, but look forward to tomorrow.

            Q.  Roddick is a big step up, isn't he?

            ANDY MURRAY:  Yeah, it is.  Like I say, he obviously serves very well.  I mean, he's been around the top of the game for a good ten years now probably.  Very, very tough match.

            Q.  Some people watching your matches against Roddick in the past feel there is an extra edge between you and him on the court.  Is that something you feel, or is it just another opponent and another match for you?

            ANDY MURRAY:  I have never felt it.  Maybe early on in our careers a little bit.  I'm sure he would ‑‑ well, I think both of us were probably more fiery quite a few years ago.

            But yeah.  I mean, I've always got on well with him off the court.  Used to practice with him quite a lot.  Maybe when I was working with Brad it was probably a bit more intense, because he obviously worked with Brad, as well.  But, yeah, last few years I haven't felt that at all.

            Q.  What do you think about Serena and Venus coming back, and how well do you think they'll do?  Serena, especially.

            ANDY MURRAY:  I mean, you'd expect Serena to do well.  I think that she's always played maybe better than Venus after layoffs, I think.

            But yeah.  You never know.  You never know.  I don't know what shape she's in.  I don't know what shape Venus is in.  But they've always played probably their best tennis on the grass.  They both serve very well.

            Yeah, I don't know.  I don't know how they'll do, but it will be interesting.  I think it's always good for the game when they're playing, and they're always interesting to watch.

                       

Queen's June 8 2011 - Andy Murray

A. MURRAY/X. Malisse

           

6‑3, 5‑7, 6‑3

        

        

ANDY MURRAY

        

            Q.  The difficulty in terms of your movement and ankle?

            ANDY MURRAY:  The grass is for sure harder than the clay for the ankles because there's a bit more grip on the surface.  There's a lot more short, sharp reaction, reaction, so you need to place your feet really well.

            And always, the first few days on any grass court, it's pretty slippy out there.  You have to be careful.

            I watched a few of the matches.  Guys were slipping down.  So I was really concentrating hard on my movement.  I actually thought I moved reasonably well.

            Q.  Was he more maybe difficult than you thought, dealing with the ankle and the grass and change and stuff like that?

            ANDY MURRAY:  I knew it was difficult because I had a few problems in practice.  But it's just so little time to get ready for it.  That was really the first true test on the grass to put it through.  It was okay.

            Q.  Can you talk us through when we last saw you in Paris when you first tried it, how it felt, what any doctors or physios said to you?

            ANDY MURRAY:  Actually I just saw a doctor now.  Straight after the match in Paris, I got home, got straight on the Eurostar, and then took the following day off, trying to ice it four or five times a day.

            Sunday I came into practice and it rained, so it was indoors.  But it was just really, really light, what I did.  And then, yeah, Monday I practiced for an hour and a half, two hours, did a bit of movement work on the court and felt decent, felt all right.

            Then obviously yesterday I had the doubles and practiced, played some singles points before the doubles and was feeling pretty sore, so I went into the doubles match using the tape, whereas in practice I was playing with the brace.

            It's just a lot of decisions to make in terms of the best thing to use for it, because at the French I ended up using very little on it, but here I felt like I needed a brace or some strapping.

            Q.  How did the brace feel?

            ANDY MURRAY:  Well, I've used the same one on my left side, but I've never had a problem with my right ankle ever.

            So it just feels different.  If you're used to running and with your orthotics and nothing else, then you put a big ankle brace in there, it feels a bit different, takes a few days to get used to.

            Q.  Are you seeing the doctor now?

            ANDY MURRAY:  Yeah, I spoke to the doctor just now.

            Q.  What did he say?

            ANDY MURRAY:  It was a lady.  (Laughter.) Yeah, it's just ‑‑ it's just sort of ‑‑ it's quite a tricky situation.  I want to play obviously here, play as many matches as possible, but I also want to go into Wimbledon pain‑free.  And obviously playing on it and doing obviously what I did at the French is not exactly the best course of action to get an ankle better.

            So each day you play you, may not be making it worse, but it's also not making it go away.  I have to make sure like the next few days and also the week before Wimbledon I do all the right things and take the amount of rest that I need to.  The good thing is from playing the match, I'm not necessarily doing it more damage, but also the pain is not going away.  So I want to get rid of the pain.

            Q.  So if you didn't have a tournament this week, would you just be doing next to nothing, just keeping weight off it?

            ANDY MURRAY:  I have been doing like a lot of like stability work for the ankle and strengthening work, and, yeah, I wouldn't be obviously playing practice sets or matches.  I may be still trying to hit a few balls.

            I definitely would have taken more than just one day off.  I would have taken three or four days off and done all the right treatments and then built into the surface slowly, and, yeah, you know, done a lot of stuff for basically just balance.  That's what you need to get back, and the strength in the ankle.  That's what it would be.

            Q.  So you feel you shouldn't be playing really?

            ANDY MURRAY:  That's a tough one, because the situation that we're in is you have very little time between now and Wimbledon, and you want to play matches on this surface.  So that's why it's tough.

            You know, if this tournament was irrelevant, which it's not, then I wouldn't be playing.  But it is relevant.  So the fact is that I'm here trying to play as many matches as possible.

            Q.  The longer you stay in this tournament, is it the more likely you'll start Wimbledon with pain in your ankle still?

            ANDY MURRAY:  I don't know.  I mean, no one knows that.  It's getting better all the time, but it's still ‑‑ it's still sore.  It's definitely better than it was after I did it.

            But during the French Open I was taking painkillers, and here I'm not taking painkillers.  I'm just taking anti‑inflammatories.  So I'm going to feel it a bit more because I'm not taking the painkillers.

            Q.  Would you consider painkillers, if necessary, going into Wimbledon?

            ANDY MURRAY:  100% I'd take them at Wimbledon if I was still feeling it.  Yeah, there's other things.  You can have injections or all sorts, but I would just rather get it better before Wimbledon, and I'll do the best thing I can to get it better.

            Q.  In all the circumstances, the kind of workout you had to have today, is that in a sense more reassuring that you come through a match like that against a player like that who caused you a few problems?

            ANDY MURRAY:  Yeah.  I actually did move really well.  I was moving good side to side.  I didn't have to move forward too often, but it's not ‑‑ it's not really that that it's that sore.  It's when it goes into the position like when I push up for a serve, or like on my backhand I feel it more than on my forehand sort of when I'm leaning back a little bit on my backhand.

            I feel I ended up slicing quite a lot of backhands today.  That's the thing.  I'm moving fine.  I move pretty well, but it's just a bit annoying because I hadn't really tested it that much until the match.

            When you do feel it, it's like, Oh...  But I've spoken to everyone, and they've all said like when you're feeling it, you're not making it any worse; you're just slowing the process down a little bit.

            Q.  Do you know now actually did you sprain it, twist it, or did you injure the ligament?

            ANDY MURRAY:  I injured the ligament.  There are three main tendons, and there was a partial tear in one of the three tendons.  Then there was a lot of bruising sort of like right at the back, like on my heel.

            That was the one that the doctors and stuff were more worried about rather than the tear, because it wasn't in the most important tendon in terms of like for your balance.

            So that was what it was.  It was ‑‑ it was a pretty good ‑‑ it was pretty good considering how it could have been way worse.  I mean, a lot of times when you do your ankle, it can take a good few weeks.

            Q.  Yeah, because when you hear about injured tendons and ligaments, you think months rather than days, don't you?

            ANDY MURRAY:  Yeah.  I mean, the thing is just different ‑‑ there's different grades of tears, and I was Grade 1.  I think there's three different grades, and mine was the first one, which was good.

            And the best thing about it was that I didn't have too much swelling.  The swelling is what would have been really bad.  I didn't have too much of that, which was what was good.  It's probably down to, you know ‑‑ the guys that were there, they did all the right things as soon as I got off the court, did everything perfectly.  So that was probably why it was okay.

            Q.  Are you looking forward to two weeks of ankle check?

            ANDY MURRAY:  Yeah, it's been pretty depressing at the press conference, even for one of mine.  (Laughter.)

            Yeah, looking forward to the next ten days.

            Q.  Your Andy wasn't there.  When he saw you, was that the best verdict to get?  Because he hadn't seen you at the French Open.  When he got to you fresh, did he say, Oh, that's not right?

            ANDY MURRAY:  I spoke to him every night.  And the physios, the ATP physios, spoke to him.

            Q.  He didn't have his hands on you, though.

            ANDY MURRAY:  Everyone that seen it for the first time, they're all about, like, positive that it's ‑‑ because the swelling hasn't been bad.  It's just ‑‑ it's really sore to touch.  When you get poked and prodded in that area, it's really sore.  But when I'm walking around on it and running, it's okay.

            So, you know, he saw me moving around on the court.  The only thing is the trying out all the different, you know, strategies in terms of taping and the braces and, you know, whether I was going to play or not.  There's been a lot of ‑‑ it's just been quite ‑‑ just quite a stressful few days to decide, because I was desperate to play here but also didn't want to end up messing up for Wimbledon.

            So it's just been difficult.  But everyone's given me a lot of good advice, but it comes down to obviously my decision in the end.

            Q.  You probably feel medically qualified?

            ANDY MURRAY:  I've got no qualifications in anything.

            Q.  But you've got a huge amount of emotion and ambition invested.  How do you balance the good advice with what you want to do?

            ANDY MURRAY:  The thing is that, like, when you play so much sport, you do know ‑‑ like an injury like when I hurt my elbow at Monte‑Carlo I knew that something was not right there at all.

            I had the injection, and then I knew that even after the match, when I finished the match, like I was going to need to take some time off.

            Whereas with this one, like, I know that it's not too bad, but it's also ‑‑ you know, I need to speak to the right people to tell me, Okay, am I making it worse?  Because I'm still feeling it.  I obviously want to try and run around and play 100%, and I just need to talk to them and ask them, Am I doing it more damage?  Is it going to be okay for Wimbledon, and, you know, exactly what I need to do every single day to get it better.

            It just takes a lot of long, tedious conversations.  You've just got to try and deal with it.

            Q.  Is the speed of the surface maybe not too ideal for you, considering the rallies will be maybe lengthy?

            ANDY MURRAY:  It's so slow, the court.  I don't understand why it's so slow.  I mean, I don't mind the slow grass court, but it's just so slow, slowest I've seen it.

            I don't know if ‑‑ the conditions probably had something to do with it.  And also, Paris was playing much faster than normal this year.  So it is really, really slow.  But it's good, because I've got to play a lot of rallies and test it out and do a lot of running, so in that respect, it's good.  But I'm surprised at how slow the courts are.

            Q.  In five, ten seconds after you did it, were you as frightened as you were that time in Hamburg when you did your wrist?

            ANDY MURRAY:  I thought at the time for sure I wasn't going to be able to finish the match at the French.

            Q.  Did you think, Oh, Wimbledon...

            ANDY MURRAY:  No, no.  No, the wrist, I couldn't hold the racquet.

            I knew as soon as I stood up I was walking around okay and it wasn't too bad.  Yeah, but the wrist was the worst injury I've had on the tour by far.

            I couldn't even hold the racquet, and that was much worse.

            Q.  What are your thoughts ahead to the third‑round match?

            ANDY MURRAY:  I played Janko quite a few times and he's tough.  He plays well.  Normally he plays better against better opposition.

            I think he's said that quite a few times, had good results ‑‑ I think he beat Roddick at Wimbledon, had a very good match with Federer a few years ago at the Australian Open, lost in five sets.  I lost to him a few years ago.

            He does like the grass.  He'll be tough.  I'll need to play better than today if I want to win.