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BNP PARIBAS MASTERSOctober 28, 2014Andy MurrayPARIS, FRANCE THE MODERATOR: Questions, please. Q. Can you tell us how you have been recovering since the Valencia final and how you're feeling at the moment. ANDY MURRAY: We flew here on Sunday night, so we got in early Monday morning. Then, yeah, I didn't do ‑‑I mean, I didn't practice yesterday. I just saw my physio, Mark, a couple of times yesterday for about an hour each time. Just tried to eat well, rehydrate, and that was it yesterday. And then today I went and practiced off‑site. I practiced there for only an hour, and then, yeah, came here, lunch, did more recovery stuff, and now I'm here. That's what I have been doing. Q. You'll be playing for the sixth consecutive week. When was the last time you have been doing that? Is that something you would have planned if there wasn't a spot at stake for the ATP finals? ANDY MURRAY: Last time I did it was when I was 18 after Wimbledon. I went and I played nine to ten weeks in a row over in America. I played challengers, ATP events, and then I finished with qualifying and then the US Open. So that was the last time I played that much. I mean, I lost in Shanghai on Thursday, and I didn't play again in Vienna until the Thursday evening, so I had a week there where I was able to take basically three days off. But still, you know, it's a lot of travel there from Shanghai back to London and then on to Vienna. Yeah, it's been a long few weeks, but it's been very beneficial for me. We gained a lot of confidence in my body again from playing this many matches, and then also from winning a lot of tough, long, close matches, especially in the finals, match points down. And the other one I was ‑‑ Ferrer was serving for the match, as well. So I have been fighting extremely hard in the matches and got some good results. So it's been nice. Q. When you look back at those past few weeks, does it have a special meaning regarding the season and the struggles and also looking forward to 2015? ANDY MURRAY: Well, yeah. I mean, you know, right now I'm No. 5 in the race and it's supposed to have been a terrible year for me, so I'm happy with that (smiling). I have come back well from a tough surgery, and there is still hopefully a couple of tournaments left between now and the end of the year where I can try to make more improvements. But if not, I'm still very happy, especially with the last few weeks. But also a lot of the tennis I played since really the French Open has been good. I have been making improvements in my game. I feel much better about myself just now, and hopefully next year will be a good one. Q. You said a couple of months ago that the World Tour Finals weren't really a goal for you in terms of qualifying. With how you scheduled the last few weeks, has that attitude changed at some point? ANDY MURRAY: Well, I always wanted to qualify for it, but I also was really wanting to get back into the top 8 players in the world, and it makes a huge difference for seedings in the major events. I still have a chance of getting maybe to 4 between now and the end of the year, which would be very important for the beginning of next year, as well. Really, the only way to do that is also to get to the O2, as well. I have never been in that position before, so at the time of the US Open I was‑‑ you know, I hadn't planned ahead. I wasn't thinking what I was going to do after the US Open. And then when I finished, I was like, Okay, I want to try and start winning tournaments again, I want to try and compete against the best players again, I want to start moving my ranking back up to try and set myself up for the next year. That was my main thinking behind it. And then obviously again when you start to get closer and closer to the O2 or the end of the year, you're getting asked about it every single day, and it's natural that it becomes a focus and you're focusing on the results and the points and stuff. But I'm telling the truth. It wasn't my No. 1 reason after the US Open for why I decided to play a lot of tournaments. I was more interested in trying to get myself back into the top 8 players in the world, because for the seedings and all of the Masters series and the major events at the beginning of the year, it makes a big difference. Q. Can you just tell us a little bit about the final in Valencia again, what it meant to you from coming back from five match points down and to win such a grueling match against Robredo? ANDY MURRAY: Yeah, it was ‑‑I mean, the first set I had a lot of chances, and then around like the middle of the first set, we played a lot of long rallies, long games, and physically I was struggling. So I tried, after I lost the first set, to try and shorten some of the points a little bit. It's not easy. When the court's that slow and against someone that moves like Tommy, it wasn't easy, but, I mean, physically at the end, both of us were clearly struggling. I'd say it's the hardest three‑set match that I have played in just because of the accumulation of the fatigue and the last few weeks, as well. Yeah, I just managed to, yeah, just keep going, kept getting one more ball back when he had the chances to win the match. Yeah, it was a big win for me. Q. These last few weeks, with such a tangible goal ahead of you in London, has there been a level of fun to it, seeing that goal and wanting to achieve it? Or it's just been day in, day out, you're going about your business, not really thinking about it? ANDY MURRAY: Well, the last ‑‑really, when I came back from Shanghai, that was when I started to look at it, to be honest, because before then, if someone wins a tournament like Shanghai, there are so many things can change in the rankings. But, yeah, the last few weeks has been ‑‑yeah, it's been fun. Obviously me and Ferrer have had some ‑‑Shanghai, Vienna, and in Valencia we have had matches that, you know, for the O2 have been very important for that. And, yeah, it's been nice. I hadn't been in that position for pretty much all of my ‑‑actually, once before I had a, when I think I was 19 or 20, I actually had a match here, I played Gasquet, and I think if I won that I would have gone to the O2 and I lost 6‑4 in the third. But, yeah, in the last six, seven years I haven't been in that position. So it's been nice to have a bit of a goal or a target at the end of the year. Q. You tweeted your excitement or support when Gala Leon Garcia got named the Spanish Davis Cup captain. Were you surprised or disappointed by the reaction of the Spanish men, which has been pretty much entirely negative? ANDY MURRAY: I mean, I have spoken to the players about it, and it sounds like the way it was handled was done horribly. I mean, that's how it sounds. I mean, whether it's a man or a woman, there has to be a communication there between the Federation and the players. It seems like the Federation and the players weren't getting along before the appointment was made. Yeah, I think it's important in tennis, because whoever is going to be on court, the players have to have a relationship with them that the captain or the future captain, it's good that they talk with the players and have a communication there. It sounds like the decision was made without any players being involved in that. From my side, whether it's a man or woman, I would never appoint a coach or a captain without, in an individual sport really, without speaking to the players or having a discussion with the players about it first. Q. So you had the back surgery last year. It went fine. But sometimes for players there is like a mental scar, and they have doubts about the way the body reacts sometimes. Do you feel you're over that now and you're 100% confident in your body? And when did you feel it really was 100% sure mentally for you about that injury? ANDY MURRAY: Well, I started to feel good about it like in Rome this year, and then the French Open, Wimbledon, all the way up to now obviously, and the US Open I clearly physically still had work to do, but that wasn't necessarily that I hadn't been working hard. It's just when you do come back from a surgery, it does take time before you can do everything you'd like to away from the court in training and preparation. And, yeah, right now I feel good. I have played, I mean, like I said, a lot of long matches and recovered extremely well from them, which wasn't the case, you know, for the last couple of years. And, yeah, hopefully that's going to be a good sign for next year, as well. You know, I'll be able to get a good off‑season preseason in and get myself prepared for 2015. Q. You said your game was improving lately. Can you just share with us which areas of your game you have been trying to improve? ANDY MURRAY: Well, winning matches. That's what I have been trying to do, to be honest. I have lost a lot of matches this year when I'd been up breaks of serve in the third sets or‑‑ I mean, we can go through all of them if you want, but if you just look at the results, a lot of those matches at the beginning of the year I was ahead. In Doha I was ahead, and Acapulco against Dimitrov, against Raonic, against Nadal in Rome, it's happened a few times this year at the beginning part. And, yeah, I just needed to get mentally a bit stronger in those situations again. And physically, you know, I have always felt when I feel strongly that proves how I feel mentally. I think the two are quite closely linked, for me, anyway. And that's been a big help the last few months. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
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