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WIMBLEDONJuly 10, 2015Andy MurrayLONDON, ENGLAND R. FEDERER/A. Murray THE MODERATOR: Questions, please. Q. Is there much you can do when a guy is serving the way he was today? ANDY MURRAY: Well, no, not really. He served fantastic, apart from the first game where I had the chance there. Didn't really have any opportunities. Then, you know, that puts pressure on you. The pressure builds throughout the set that way. Obviously got broken right at the end all of the sets.  But didn't actually play a bad match. Played pretty well. But, you know, he served really well. Whether I could have done more returning‑wise, a few times when I had opportunities on the second serve, I won, I don't know, I think I was over 50% of the second‑serve points won. It was that way right up until the end of the third set. I was doing fine there. But, yeah, he served it extremely well, close to the lines. Made it very difficult for me on the first serve return. Q. Is it any consolation that you lost to arguably the best player of all time who is close to his peak? ANDY MURRAY: I don't know if he's close to his peak. You'll have to ask him. But that's definitely the best he served against me. Q. Do you think the scoreline is a bit harsher than the reality? ANDY MURRAY: I don't know. To be honest, I mean, he clearly deserved to win the match. He had more opportunities than me. Like I said, whether it was only his serving, if I could have returned a little bit better, you know, if it was a combination of him serving extremely well, me not maybe returning so well on the first serve, I don't know. It's frustrating obviously when you're out there 'cause I couldn't get a racquet on a lot of the returns. Even when I was, I wasn't, you know, getting enough depth on the returns to make it tough for him. But at times I played some very good tennis. I served well. Best I probably served in the tournament myself. So, yeah, just a tough one. Q. You elected to receive. That's quite a bold move. Can you explain the thinking behind that? ANDY MURRAY: I wouldn't say it's bold. A lot of guys serve first. A lot of guys receive first. It really depends on what your preference is. You know, the way that it worked out today, I mean, the guy served unbelievable. That was the difference, not the fact that he served first. But, you know, the way that it worked out was that because he served so well and I got broken right at the end of each set, I didn't serve first in any of the sets. Normally, you know, if you get to a tiebreak in the first set, I serve first in the second. I don't really know if that made too much difference. If he served that way, it was always going to be tough. Q. Considering what he's doing at this stage of his career, how would you describe what Roger is accomplishing here when most people are not doing what he's doing? ANDY MURRAY: Yeah, I mean, there's very few players that have been able to do it, you know, on the men's side. Obviously Agassi played some great tennis into his 30s. Jimmy Connors is another one that played well late. I don't know if anyone's played as well as Roger maybe at that age. Serena obviously on the women's side is doing it. But they're pretty rare athletes. You know, they're two of the best that have ever played the game. You know, obviously the way that Roger plays, I spoke a bit about it the other day, you know, he doesn't put loads of strain on his body. That's why he's been able to compete, you know, into his mid 30s at the highest level. And, yeah, it's impressive. Q. Is this as well as you've ever played in a loss, a straight‑sets loss? ANDY MURRAY: I don't feel like I played that badly. There's a few things maybe at the end of the sets that I could have done a bit better. You know, some of those games at the end, I mean, the game at 4‑All or 5‑4 in the second set, I think both of us played some unbelievable points. It felt like every point was getting finished with a winner. But then, yeah, I don't know if it's the best I've played in a loss or not. It's tough to know just now. But I definitely don't feel like I played a bad match. Q. How far is Roger from being considered one of the greatest sportsman, not just tennis player, but sportsman that's ever been? ANDY MURRAY: I don't know. I mean, in my opinion, tennis is an extremely difficult sport. I think individual sports, you know, to be great for a long time, you have to have so many different ingredients to, I don't know, your abilities. You know, physical, mental. I mean, the way he plays the game is obviously nice to watch, as well. I think, you know, when people can talk about someone like Messi, people love the way he plays the game. He makes it look easy. It stands out more, too. But, yeah, he's a great sportsman, a great tennis player. I don't know, it's tough to say if he's the best of all time. Serena's got a fair shout at it, saying the same thing, as well, right now. Q. At any point in your mind did it come to you that, I need his form to dip a bit to have a chance? ANDY MURRAY: Sometimes the stats come up on the court. When I was seeing he was serving like 80% in the first set, then, you know, he was in the high 70s for most of the match. It was like I saw when he was missing the first serves, you know, I was winning over half of the points. And, yeah, I don't know how many times in the match he missed two first serves in a row, but it wasn't very often. Tough to gain much momentum that way. But, yeah, I'll have to have a think about it, because maybe I could have returned better. But I don't know, it did feel like he served extremely close to the lines today. Q. After that epic game where he comes back and wins at love, I think, how much did that take away from the momentum you had achieved there? ANDY MURRAY: I don't know. I can't remember everything that happened there. I remember that first point of that game I had a second serve return, and I didn't hit a good one there. I left it right in the middle of the court. He hit a forehand winner off the first point there. Yeah, I don't remember what happened the rest of the game. But I know that's what happened the first point. You know, if you want to build momentum there, yeah, I had so few opportunities. That might not sound like nothing to you guys, but when you're on the court, you get a Love‑15, I had the wind with me, the momentum a little bit, as well. So, yeah, it was a tough game. Q. Can you talk a bit about that huge game in the second set, the emotions you went through. ANDY MURRAY: Yeah, I mean, I was trying to fight as hard as I could. I served pretty well under pressure in that game. But, yeah, like I said, it just kind of felt like every point was finishing with a winner. And, yeah, I don't know how good it was to watch. I just know, like, that's how it felt. I needed to play great stuff there to hang in that game. Obviously he had a bunch of set points there. I obviously saved those set points. Had a lot of game points myself. You know, the crowd were getting into it, as well. Yeah, starting to get pumped up there. A shame I couldn't keep it up. Q. Speaking of the crowd, are you at all upset that there seems to be practically divided support for Federer and yourself in these home championships? Is that at all a problem for you? ANDY MURRAY: I don't know if that was the case. Out there I felt like the crowd were getting pretty pumped at the end of the second set. That's how it felt to me on the court. Anytime I fist pumped in their direction, they responded very well. But, you know, he's earned all of the support that he gets everywhere around the world. And also when you don't have any breakpoints or opportunities, really it's tough to get the crowd involved. But in all the matches I play here with him, the crowd definitely help me. In the Wimbledon final, the Olympics, and today. I think you're being a little bit harsh there. Q. I'd like to know your thoughts on the finals matchup. Will you find yourself watching it or will it be something you avoid? ANDY MURRAY: See how I feel in a few days. Yeah, 'cause that was obviously a tough, tough one today for me. But, I mean, it should be a fantastic match. You never know how, you know, both are going to play on the day. But I think Novak played some good stuff today. And, yeah, if Roger serves well, serves like he did today, he'll give himself a great opportunity to win that match. Q. Will you come to watch Jamie's match tomorrow? ANDY MURRAY: I'm not sure. I certainly won't watch the tennis. I may come and be here and see what the score is. If it's close to, you know, finishing, I'll maybe try to go out and watch the last game or two. But I find it very, very difficult watching. I would love to. But I get extremely nervous. I'll maybe ask Jamie if he would like me to come, if he feels like he would rather I wasn't there or I was there. I'll see what he wants. But I'll probably come and do what I did when he played the mixed doubles final. Q. I'm sure loss is not great anywhere, but does it feel tougher for you when you lose here than other places, especially with fans? ANDY MURRAY: Yeah, uhm, I think so 'cause, you know, I feel like this is my best chance to win a slam. When I played here, I feel like it's my best surface. I played consistently well here throughout my career. So it's tough in that aspect. Yeah, I mean, all losses hurt, obviously, especially in the major events. But, yeah, here is always tough. Q. I know it's short after the match, do you think it will be difficult to get into Davis Cup? ANDY MURRAY: You're French, so you're hoping that's the case (smiling). Q. I have to ask. ANDY MURRAY: Look, the match itself won't be hard. It's more making sure that I do the right stuff over the next week really, you know, 'cause like I said, the next few days are tough. When I've lost in slams in the past, it's always the same a few days afterwards. I do find it hard. The match itself won't be, because I'm always pumped to play the Davis Cup. I always enjoyed it when I played. But obviously need to rest and then prepare properly for the tie. That's the thing that I need to try and get right, which maybe for the next few days won't be so easy. Q. Is it ever frustrating that you and Novak are maybe in the prime of your careers, the prime age these days, and that should be your time to be at the top of the sport, but here is Roger almost 34 and he's still getting in the way? ANDY MURRAY: Uhm, no. I mean, look, it's great that I get the opportunity to play against them. I said yesterday, obviously when he plays like that, he could play for a long time. You never know when the last time you're going to play against him is at this stage. Look, I do enjoy it. I do enjoy competing against him. But, yeah, I feel like, you know, I still have a few years left. I do genuinely feel like I'm improving my game, as well. But, yeah, this year so far has been my most consistent year by far. In comparison to last year, it's night and day. I'm playing so much better than then. It's still an extremely tough time to win these major events because the guys that are around are phenomenal tennis players. Q. You played very well, but at the end of the sets, because Roger was always ahead, do you think he did something different, or maybe you felt too much pressure at that moment? ANDY MURRAY: I mean, I think in some of the games, he played some very good points. Again, maybe there's some things I could have done better. But, yeah, I'll have to see the end of those sets to really know. I didn't feel like at the time that I was feeling more pressure than the rest of the set. But as I kind of explained earlier, when you aren't having any opportunities yourself, it is tough to always play from behind and always playing catch‑up. The side where I got broken, the first two sets, it was tougher to play on that side because you're playing into the wind there. You know, he was able to play some offensive tennis, aggressive tennis there. That helped him. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
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