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AEGON CHAMPIONSHIP

June 17, 2016

Andy Murray

London, England

A. MURRAY/K. Edmund

6-4, 3-6, 6-1

THE MODERATOR: Questions, please.

Q. He made you fight pretty hard there in that second set, didn't he?
ANDY MURRAY: Yeah. I got a bit unlucky the game where I got broken. I was 40-Love up and the first point I think net cord, and then the 40-30 point obviously slipped when I had, you know, pretty much a volley on the net. So that, you know, changed the match, you know, a bit.

You know, Kyle was hitting the ball big throughout the match, but at the end of that second set, you know, when he went up, you know, he was going for it. You know, kept good intensity there.

But, I mean, I know, I expected that. I mean, he has a big game. I have obviously trained with him. I know when he has time how well he can hit the ball, so, you know, I expected that.

Q. You have played obviously guys with the biggest games in tennis. Could you sort of give an indication of people, how big Kyle's forehand and serve is compared to some of the top guys you have played?
ANDY MURRAY: I mean, the forehand is big. I mean, the serve, he's not serving like 135. I would say a lot of guys serve that big, but...

Q. And the forehand?
ANDY MURRAY: Yeah, I mean, well, the forehand, yeah, it's a big shot. You know, that's his main weapon.

But also, you know, the forehand -- the serve isn't slow. It's a big serve. So, you know, when he's landing first serves and then getting the first shot of the rally on his forehand, you know, he can dictate a lot of the points.

And I think, you know, if you want to get to the top of the game, you need to have weapons and he has them.

So, you know, and it's not like he has a bad backhand. He doesn't have a real weakness from the back. His backhand is solid. He doesn't make too many mistakes off that side.

There is obviously things he's going to continue to improve, as well. But he is improving all the time. It's not like, you know, he's just sort of stabilizing. I think his game is getting better all the time, and that's, you know, very positive.

Q. Does it pleasantly surprise you how much he's added in the last sort of year or so? I know you have followed his career and worked a lot with him over the years.
ANDY MURRAY: Yeah, well, I think, you know, I think he plays well on grass now. Obviously, you know, this is a quite different surface to the other ones. You know, he's always played well on clay and the slower hard courts, but if he's now starting to play better on the quicker courts, that's a really good sign. Aside from his game getting better, he's actually starting to play better on more surfaces. I think there is no reason why indoors he can't play well, either. A lot of the indoor courts are fairly slow. You know, he played well obviously as the clay court but indoors in the Davis Cup. For a period of that match against Goffin he played extremely well.

You know, there is a lot of good things, a lot of positive things, you know, in his game just now. Obviously spent a bit of time with him on the practice court and stuff, and I really like his coach. He's got a fantastic attitude and has him working extremely hard.

The coach's attitude is really, really good and he's a good guy and he really wants the best for Kyle. He's going to keep getting better.

Q. You now play Cilic who is a tremendously consistent player in this tournament. Obviously involved in the final a couple years ago. What are your thoughts on that matchup?
ANDY MURRAY: Yeah, I mean, he has played well here and he has, you know -- he serves well. Obviously a big guy.

He has a big reach on the returns, too. He is a good returner. If you look at his stats, often he returns the first serve well throughout the year across all of the surfaces. Yeah, he's got good timing on the returns.

And then, yeah, I mean, he's obviously played extremely well at this event. I played him in the final a couple of years ago and it was a tough match.

Yeah. I think he's had a few injuries this year. I think, anyway. You know, when he's fit and healthy, he's always around the top of the game.

Q. Did you find the court a bit more slippery today? You seemed to have a bit more trouble today than previous matches.
ANDY MURRAY: Well, I was maybe in sort of positions on the court where, you know, I hadn't been the other days. You know, some of that is obviously down to the way Kyle plays. He can push you further behind the baseline. Obviously it's a bit slippier there. And the times when I came up to the net, you know, when I slipped up at the net it's, you know, it's a little bit greener there and fresher. You know, there are certain parts of the court that are, you know, are slippy. The back corners of the courts, they are, and, you know, the ball kids slipped a few times there as well just rolling balls. You do have to be careful when you're kind of out of the court and also up at the net.

Q. You played two British players now in succession. Is that kind of one of the new experiences for you on the tour? Is there anything that's kind of surprised you about how it's felt or perhaps different to what you expected?
ANDY MURRAY: No. No, not at all. To be honest, I didn't really know what to expect, but for me it felt the same as really any other match. Obviously, you know, the crowd's more split today than, you know, usual when the Brits are playing against anyone else on the centre court, so that's a little bit different.

But in terms of how I felt on the court or, you know, beforehand, I noticed nothing.

Q. John McEnroe is working here this week and Boris Becker was in the building today. Do you get the feeling from Ivan that one of the things he enjoys is being back amongst the boys he used to play against and being back on the scene, as it were?
ANDY MURRAY: Not really. Obviously you'd have to ask him. You know, a few of them weren't coaching the last time he was on the tour, and, you know, he seemed to enjoy it beforehand.

I don't know if, for him, sort of with John around and Boris and maybe some of the other guys that he's played against, Chang, as well, I don't know if that adds anything to it for him or not. You'd have to ask him. It's not something I have discussed with him.

Q. Working with Ivan this week, has he made any immediate changes, or is it difficult to do that during a tournament? Because he arrived just before. You'll do more work next week?
ANDY MURRAY: Yeah, I mean, there are certain things in practice we work on. There is nothing technical, just patterns of play and, you know, the shots that are going to help me win on grass, as well.

You know, but mainly working on sort of when I have time to work on some patterns of play that work well for me and in certain matches, as well.

But, I mean, next week we'll get more time. We haven't really -- we had one practice at Wimbledon for an hour and a half. The rest has mainly just been match warmups.

Q. Did you pinch your groin when you went down at the net?
ANDY MURRAY: Yeah, it hurts. I mean, when you slip like that it's sore. It's not -- you know, it's not a nice feeling.

Q. It's not a problem, though?
ANDY MURRAY: No, no, it's fine. But when you slip and fall over, you know, it is a shock at first. You just kind of -- you know, you'll see most players, they kind of stay down for a few seconds. The pain either stays or goes away. And then, you know, they get up and either get on with it or, you know, have to stop.

But it's just -- yeah, it just is more a shock at the beginning when you slip over and you kind of -- your mind immediately, you sort of fear the worst, and then after a few seconds you feel a bit better.

Q. Does that need treatment?
ANDY MURRAY: No, I don't think so.

Q. Speaking of Becker, that was a good diving volley today. You don't get many chances to do that in the course of a season on any other surface, do you?
ANDY MURRAY: Yeah, I mean, I never practice it. I barely hit any -- probably in my whole career, I haven't hit many. I'm not up at the net as much as guys from the past, but I know Boris talked about he used to practice them and stuff, but I have never practiced them.

That was just kind of instinct, big point, and, yeah, just thankfully didn't hurt myself. Because if you don't do it right, you can hurt your wrist or shoulder if you land funny. I managed to roll out of it okay.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

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