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 11 2011 - Andy Roddick

A. MURRAY/A. Roddick

           

6‑3, 6‑1

        

ANDY RODDICK

        

            THE MODERATOR:  Questions, please.

            Q.  Is that the best he's played against you?

            ANDY RODDICK:  Oh, yeah, yeah.  I mean, he played great.  I felt like I hit the ball well.  My serve ‑‑ I have my serving stats.  I haven't seen it, but I had to be close to 70%.

            I remember missing one second‑serve return.  I felt like I missed a bunch of chips and stuff by an inch or two.

            It certainly does nothing to my confidence level going into Wimbledon.  I mean, I just thought he played too good today.  Everything he touched turned to gold.  Yeah, it's just ‑‑ he was too good for me today.

            Q.  When someone is playing like that, do you just get a feeling halfway through that there's nothing you can really do?

            ANDY RODDICK:  No.  I mean ‑‑ yeah.  You also say, Okay, you're halfway through, but if he's going to do this, let's make him finish it out like that.

            You know, we have seen a million times guys start off hot.  It's tougher when the top guys do it.  They have more substance behind it.  But you just stick it out.  I mixed it up.  I tried going in at different sides.  You try different things.

            He was too solid today.  He just played better than I did.

            Q.  What has he particularly improved the last two years, would you say, in his game?

            ANDY RODDICK:  Well, let's calm down.  He won two years ago before I played him.  You guys were having the same exact article you're gonna write tomorrow.

            Let's not act like ‑‑ he played great today.  He played great today.  He played really well.

            He played a lot better today than when we played two years ago, but, you know, let's not act like it's, you know, a completely night‑and‑day type thing.  The guy was still 3 in the world two years ago.

            Q.  Is the court the same as it was two years ago?  It just didn't seem the pace...

            ANDY RODDICK:  I thought it was actually quicker today, to be honest.  He's one of the best in the world taking and controlling paces.  He's very good at, you know, slow, slow, slow, and then he's able to strike.  And he had ‑‑ he had really good ball control today.  I felt like he was working it wherever he wanted to.

            Like I said, I felt like I played fine.  I felt like I hit the ball fine.  Yeah, he played really well today.

            Q.  If or when Andy Murray wins a Grand Slam, where do you think it will be?

            ANDY RODDICK:  I don't know.  Guys, I'm not in the business of predictions.  That's you guys.  I don't ‑‑ it just didn't ‑‑ I don't know.  I feel like I'm cheating the process if I start throwing out stuff like that.

            Q.  Can you confirm what you said in the last game to the crowd?  Was it "Keep it social"?

            ANDY RODDICK:  It was.  Good ears.

            Q.  Would you say that grass is as good as ‑‑ if you're playing him, grass is as tough a surface as any to play him on?

            ANDY RODDICK:  Guys, he's made two finals in Australia on a hard court.  I know you guys are looking for an angle here.  He played great today.  That's what I can comment on.

            As far as comparing percentages between a hard court and a grass court and if and when and how, I don't know.  He played great today.

            Q.  What did you get out of the week yourself?

            ANDY RODDICK:  I mean, it's night and day I think coming in and leaving.  I felt really good when I got here, but after having not, you know, played/played well for two months or so, getting that to translate wasn't always an easy thing.

            I thought I played well.  Got four matches, which is really important, and I feel ‑‑ I feel prepared going into the practice week for Wimbledon, so it was a good week for me.

            Q.  Lendl got to a point in his career where he didn't play the French because he wanted to really be up for Wimbledon.  Can you see where he was coming from and could that ever be you?

            ANDY RODDICK:  No, I don't think so.  I think his was a little different.  I think that was the one that he hadn't won.  I certainly have options.  (Laughter.)

            You know, I don't think that's the case.  For me, not playing the French this year was ‑‑ it was a matter of priority.  You know, I said, Okay.  Am I going to take a six‑day, seven‑day injury and turn it into potentially six to seven weeks with Wimbledon around the corner, with Davis Cup against Spain in my home town, which I tried really hard to get?  I want to make sure I'm 100% healthy for those.  What's my best chance of being healthy for those?

            I think I made the right decision.  Obviously it's tough when something's got to give and you don't want it to, but that was my reasoning.  I don't think I was along the lines of Lendl in my decision‑making there.

            Q.  Andy said yesterday he thought grass was your best surface.  Do you agree with that, or do you prefer hard?

            ANDY RODDICK:  I like both.  I think grass is my favorite surface just because we never get to play on it.  So I really, you know, enjoy when we do.  I enjoy the city that the grass courts are in.

            You know, I think all that makes it probably one of my favorite months of the year being over here. But, you know, I feel comfortable on a hard court, as well.

            Q.  You have a lot of support out there, as you always do because you're a big favorite here.  When you play him on a court there, when you play him at Wimbledon, do you get the sense that he has yet caught the British imagination in the way that Henman did?  Or is that...

            ANDY RODDICK:  You guys gave Henman a hard time up until he was three years retired.  You're forgetting you're trying to tell me a story, but I was actually there for the Henman years.

            Q.  I'm talking about the public, not us.

            ANDY RODDICK:  You guys are kind of the connection between this room and the public.  I mean, you know, a lot of times you guys help form the opinions, you know.  You know, I certainly look out on Henman Hill when he was playing, when Murray was playing, and there's great support.

            I mean, there is certainly a hunger for a Wimbledon title here.  It's amazing how when it comes to quarters and semis how he captures the imagination more and more and more.

            He's quite a talent.

            Q.  What about yourself?  Would you...

            ANDY RODDICK:  I'm quite a talent, too.  (Laughter.)

            Q.  Do you feel that there are quite I few things you still need to work on, or is it just a matter of touching up and fine‑tuning?

            ANDY RODDICK:  I think fine‑tuning more so than inventing the wheel next week.  Again, I think he did a lot right today.  I don't think I did a whole lot wrong.  Maybe just execution on a couple balls, but I can think of two or three maybe, you know, so I feel good going into the off week.

            Q.  At this stage in your career, what's the difference going into a tournament like Wimbledon as one of the seeds outside of the top 4?  Does that affect your mentality at all?

            ANDY RODDICK:  More counting?  Counting to 4 is easier than counting to 8 or 9?

            I'm not sure.  For me, it's similar.  I mean, there is more of you here talking ‑‑ or there's less of you here talking.  I might not get called for a pre‑ Wimbledon press conference this year.

            You know, stuff like that.  But nothing that really matters once I think you get inside the lines too much. 

           

Queen's June 10 2011 - Rafael Nadal

J. TSONGA/R. Nadal

           

6‑7, 6‑4, 6‑1

        

        

RAFAEL NADAL

        

            Q.  What are your thoughts on that?

            RAFAEL NADAL:  My thoughts was I didn't play bad at the beginning, no?  He was serving really well.  Second set I had my chances, in my opinion.

            Probably after losing second set mentally I lost my concentration.  First game mentally a little bit tired.  A lot of matches in a row.

            And after that, you know, with the break in the third it was a mountain for me to come back into the match.  Probably I wasn't there like usual, but certainly I think I need a little bit of break.

            Q.  You missed an easy volley at the net on game point.

            RAFAEL NADAL:  Not an easy volley.  It was a dropshot.  It wasn't a volley.

            Terrible mistake for that moment after he played a good return.  He played well.  He played well.  And I didn't play every point if was the last like I do usual, and for that reason the third set was tough.

            Q.  Is that because you're tired mentally and physically, as well?

            RAFAEL NADAL:  A little bit of everything, no?  I had a tough Roland Garros.  I had tough clay court season.  American season was two finals, too.  So I played all the matches possible this last four or five months, so is fantastic my result last five months, very happy for everything.

            Yeah, I came here.  I tried in all the moments.  So I tried in doubles, I tried in singles, I tried to practice hard.  Hopefully it was good preparation for me.

            Sorry for the tournament because I had my chance to be in the semifinals, but it wasn't possible today.

            Q.  How long will you rest?

            RAFAEL NADAL:  I don't know yet.  I just lost five minutes ago.  I don't know.

            Q.  Do you think you'll go back home for a few days?

            RAFAEL NADAL:  I'm sure.

            Q.  You must be looking forward to that.

            RAFAEL NADAL:  That's important for me, yeah?  Always be there with the family around, the friends and everything, having people close to me.

            So I need few days to be with them and hopefully come back full to Wimbledon probably next Wednesday or Thursday; Wednesday, I think.

            Q.  Is it concerning at all or is it also good that you got a couple of extra days off?

            RAFAEL NADAL:  Negative thing is I lost; positive thing is I have few days off and can stop a little bit mentally.  I can be a little bit more relaxed, because every day ‑‑ I play every day with pressure.  Wake up every day with that pressure that you have to play is not easy, and that's what happened for me last four months every day.

            Q.  Will you touch a tennis racquet when you go home?     

RAFAEL NADAL:  Do some physical performance.  I don't think so.  I don't have grass courts there.  Have maybe some serves, yes.  But rest of the things, nothing.

            Q.  What is the one thing, Rafa, you will look forward to doing most when you go home?  What will be the best thing about being at home for a few days?

            RAFAEL NADAL:  Be with the friends, be with the family, play some golf, relax, go fishing maybe.  That's relaxing, too.  You know, have a little bit of distraction mentally, think of other things, not tennis.

            Q.  Do you find it hard to switch off, to not think about tennis?

            RAFAEL NADAL:  You know, it's tough when ‑‑ is impossible when you have Wimbledon next week, that's for sure, but try to do different things to be ready for Wimbledon, that's true.

            Q.  Are you confident you can recharge your batteries?  Are you confident that you can recharge your batteries before Wimbledon?

            RAFAEL NADAL:  Yes.  I am very confident.  I didn't know if I will play well, but I gonna be there with high motivation and hopefully in perfect performance physically.

Queen's June 10 2011 - Andy Roddick

A. RODDICK/F. Verdasco

           

6‑2, 6‑2

        

        

ANDY RODDICK

            Q.  It has been one of those days, hasn't it?  You have to just get through it the best you can, and you did a pretty good job of it?

            ANDY RODDICK:  Yeah.  You know, you can't really act surprised when you get a day like that.  It is what it is.  But I was happy the way it went when I was out there.

            Q.  Can you talk about playing Andy?  Of course Wimbledon when you beat him, can you talk about that and facing him again?

            ANDY RODDICK:  Anything in particular or...

            Q.  Generalize it, about playing him again.

            ANDY RODDICK:  I mean, you know it's going to be tough.  I don't think there's going to be a lot of surprises either way.  I feel like, you know, we're probably in the two hands' worth of guys that really feel comfortable on this surface and feel like they can play well on it.

            You know, it's certainly going to be tough.  He's played a lot of matches.  He's playing well.  It's going to be a tough one for sure.

            Q.  What are your memories of that match, the Wimbledon semi?

            ANDY RODDICK:  You know, it was obviously a great result for me, especially on the heels of the way he was playing at that moment.

            You know, I remember people were talking about the Murray/Roger final already.  You know, I had to play well to beat him, though.  I had to play one of my best matches, and, you know, that's a credit to his level where it is consistently.

            Q.  But tactically you really appeared to have it all worked out that day.

            ANDY RODDICK:  Maybe.  I mean, if there's a point difference and we're in the fifth set, you know, that didn't go my way, we're talking about how I might need to change my tactics.

            You know, a lot of us know how to play a match.  You know, you guys can probably see how to play a match.  The difference is we're able to execute it sometimes, you know.

            The difference between the top guys is there's ‑‑ you know, you make it a numbers game and you kind of decrease ‑‑ the person has to be perfect in that certain percentage of opportunity.  You know, the top players, I think they give you less of an opportunity and you have to come up big when you do get it.

            Q.  How would you describe your rivalry with him?

            ANDY RODDICK:  I mean, I don't know.  We haven't played in a couple of years, so, you know...

            Q.  I mean, he was saying earlier that you had a fairly fiery one in your younger days.

            ANDY RODDICK:  Oh, sure.  Yeah, I mean, I think we get along fine.  You know, I certainly respect the work that he puts in.

            You know, if you've gotten into it and been intense on court, I mean, I don't ‑‑ I don't even pay two minds to that.  That happens with a lot of guys.

            Q.  If you look back at the 2006 match at Wimbledon ‑ I know you played him once, twice before ‑ would it be right to say that's the first time you really appreciated what a major talent he would be?

            ANDY RODDICK:  No, I think I had lost to him before that.  Normally when you're in the losing end you can appreciate the talent.

            No, I mean, I think the buzz was already out there.  It seems to be the guys that end up in the top, you know, 3, 4, 5 consistently, they're very good when they're ‑‑ they're already putting up results when they're 18 years old.  You don't see a lot of them developing late.  Andy was certainly a case ‑‑ I mean, he had a good sense of the court from a very young age.

            Q.  Talking about tactics, have you had to adapt a little bit on grass because it isn't perhaps the benefactor for your kind of game that it used to be?  You have to think different ways and play it different ways if you're going to succeed even on a grass court?

            ANDY RODDICK:  Yeah, well, not so much ‑‑ I don't have to do it as much.  You know, there's a lot of talk that it is pretty much impossible to serve and volley on the second serve, but that's not something that I've done a lot.  My chip stays down still.  No matter how slow it is, it still bounces low.

            You know, there are some adjustments to be made.  You know, you wish it was, you know, played a little bit more like a fast court more often, but you know, some of that is weather‑dependent, too.  We haven't had a real warm week.  It's naturally going to make it a bit slow, I think.

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.