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DAVIS CUP FINAL: BELGIUM VS GREAT BRITAIN

November 28, 2015

Ghent, Belgium

MURRAY-MURRAY/Darcis-Goffin

6-4, 4-6, 6-3, 6-2

Belgium - 1

Great Britain - 2

An interview with:

CAPTAIN SMITH

ANDY MURRAY

JAMIE MURRAY

THE MODERATOR: Questions, please.

Q. Andy, how are you physically ahead of tomorrow's match?
ANDY MURRAY: I feel fine. Obviously good to get that one done in four sets. But, yeah, feel fine.

Q. Can I ask a nerdy tennis question and see if you can explain in a bit more detail the tactical adjustment you mentioned in the courtside interview.
ANDY MURRAY: Well, yeah, basically when Jamie was returning, I moved to the back of the court, which I think anyway allows Jamie a little bit more freedom on the return. When I'm up at the net, you know, if he doesn't hit a great return, then it's a lot easier for the guy at the net to put the ball away. When I move back, it's a lot tougher for them to finish the point, you know, off Jamie's return.

It also allowed Jamie a little bit more time to get into the net, as well, after his return. He got up to the net really quickly in the points after that. Obviously, he's extremely strong up there.

Then also we didn't get into too many rallies where we were just volleying straight to them at the back of the court. We started hitting a lot more volleys at the guy who was up at the net.

Again, that was to our advantage, as well, because they were very good when there was two of us up at the net and they were at the back of the court using lobs and angles and stuff. They were very good there. It was a good change.

Q. In terms of your career, Andy, highs and highlights, how does that rate, winning a Davis Cup rubber with big brother?
ANDY MURRAY: It was great. Like, it's obviously fantastic to win the match. Same thing against Australia and against France. But I don't feel that sort of high right now. I feel pretty calm. I know there's a long way to go. I'll probably reflect on that at the end of the tie.

Obviously to play in a Davis Cup Final with your brother and to win a point for your country is obviously great. We may never get the chance to do that again. So have to enjoy that.

Q. Andy, this obviously puts you in a great position. But your message to people who are about ready to hand you the trophy is that it's not over yet?
ANDY MURRAY: It's far from over. I said the same thing yesterday. Even if we lost the doubles, I would have said the same thing. I still think we have a very good chance in both of the matches tomorrow.

Even if I was to lose against Goffin, I think we have a very good chance in the fifth rubber, whoever plays for them. I think we have a very good chance in that one.

Obviously to be up 2-1 gives us a better chance of winning. Only having to win one of those two is better than having to win both.

But, yeah, I'm not getting ahead of myself. I know how good a player Goffin is. You don't get to be ranked 15 in the world in today's game with the depth that there is if you're not pretty good at the game.

Q. Andy, just wondering if you could compare how you feel now on the eve of a pretty huge match tomorrow with how you sort of felt before big Grand Slam finals.
ANDY MURRAY: I feel pretty relaxed just now. Pleased to have won today. Yeah, I'm sure there will be nerves there tomorrow. But, like I said kind of before the tie, I like being nervous. I think it helps me. It helps me concentrate. It helps me give, like, a little bit more effort. Might only be a couple of percent, but it all makes a difference.

I feel fine just now. Feel all right.

Q. Jamie, your take on the match and the atmosphere today? And how confident are you that Andy will get the job done tomorrow?
JAMIE MURRAY: I mean, it was an exciting match. Obviously on clay, you know, there's a lot more rallies, returns being made as well. You have a lot more time on the ball.

I guess they were the underdogs for the match. They came with a lot of different shots, a lot of angles, a lot of lobs, which made it difficult for us.

Not really necessarily used to playing like that, certainly not on an indoor fast court we've been playing on recently.

But like Andy said, we kind of made that adjustment on our return games. We created a lot of opportunities to allow us to break serve. Eventually I managed to hold my serve in the fourth set. Yeah, we were looking good.

But I think we're really happy to win. There's a long way to go. Potentially two big matches tomorrow.

Q. Jamie, was it just the adjustment? You seemed a bit slow to get going today.
JAMIE MURRAY: Again, I mean, look, I rushed a few shots that normally I wouldn't have done. Maybe that was the whole situation of the tie. Also playing on clay, haven't played for five, six months on clay, you know, it is different. Guys are able to hold the ball a lot longer. You're kind of a bit on your heels. Didn't really know what was coming because they weren't really playing to the book at all.

But we made the adjustments and we finished the match really strong, I think.

Q. In that kind of atmosphere and that noise, the whole kind of craziness going on, how reassuring is it for you when both of you look over your shoulder and see that your brother is next to you?
JAMIE MURRAY: Yeah, it's probably more reassuring for me than it is for him (laughter).

Yeah, it was great. We didn't panic. We stayed composed throughout. We fought hard for each other. Yeah, we got our rewards.

ANDY MURRAY: Yeah, well, the thing is, I mean, I trust Jamie on the doubles court so much. Even if he started slow, I knew he would get it going. He loves playing in big matches. He tends to perform very well on big occasions.

This year in all of the ties, even though against the States they lost against the Bryans, him and Dom, they almost won that match against a team who has been playing together for their whole lives basically, and Jamie and Dom have only played together a couple times, and they performed extremely well.

In the last couple of matches, too, the same thing. So I just trust him when he's on the court, when he's next to me. That's not just because he's my brother, but because he's an exceptionally good tennis player. Yeah, that's why we've played well together this year.

Q. Leon, could you give your assessments going into the final day.
CAPTAIN SMITH: Like the guys have said, there's so much to be played tomorrow. Potentially two big matches. You could argue it will not decide the tie, but it's a good position to be in, winning the doubles. They did very, very well today.

But, yeah, I would rather be having two shots tomorrow rather than one. We go away and make sure that Andy and whoever goes out for the second singles is absolutely ready.

Q. Jamie, as Andy said, you might never get that chance again you had today with your brother in a Davis Cup Final. Can you explain how much this moment does take you a long way towards your target, how much it means to both you and your family?
JAMIE MURRAY: Yeah, it's amazing to go out there and play with Andy, as it has been in the previous ties. Yeah, it was a huge occasion for us, our family as well, especially for those who were there watching.

We did the best we could. Fortunately that was enough to win the point for the team. Yeah, I mean, obviously tomorrow Andy's got a shot to win the tie for us. But like Leon said, even if it doesn't happen, we still got a chance in the fifth rubber.

But, yeah, I mean, I think it's potentially a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to play in the Final. I think everyone on the team wants to make the most of that.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

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DAVIS CUP FINAL: BELGIUM VS GREAT BRITAIN

November 28, 2015

Leon Smith

Andy Murray

Jamie Murray