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WIMBLEDON

July 10, 2016

Andy Murray

London, England

A. MURRAY/M. Raonic
6‑4, 7‑6, 7‑6

THE MODERATOR: 2016 Wimbledon champion, Andy Murray. First question.

Q. It's been a couple of hours since you came off. Can you tell us if it feels different to the couple of hours after you won it in 2013?
ANDY MURRAY: Yes, I mean, it is different. I feel happier this time. I feel, yeah, more content this time. You know, I feel like this was sort of more for myself more than anything, and my team as well. We've all worked really hard to help get me in this position.
You know, last time it was just pure relief, and I didn't really enjoy the moment as much, whereas I'm going to make sure I enjoy this one more than the others.

Q. When you look back now, what do you feel you missed out in terms of enjoying it in 2013?
ANDY MURRAY: You just kind of get dragged in all sorts of different directions afterwards. I want to spend this time with my family and my closest friends, you know, the people that I work with. That's who I want to be around right now.
I'll make sure I spend a lot of time with them over the next couple of days. Yeah, look forward to that.

Q. You played a superb match. Do you think having played all those tough finals against Novak and Roger put you in a position where you're able to make the most of it?
ANDY MURRAY: Yeah, I mean, I wasn't really thinking too much about the previous matches that I played against anyone. I just saw this more as an opportunity to try and win another Wimbledon title. I was still, you know, as nervous as I was before the other Grand Slam finals.
But, you know, I sort of stuck to my game plan very well today, played well from the front pretty much the last three, four weeks. That was the same again today.
But I wasn't thinking too much about the previous experiences that I've had. I was just trying to find a way to beat Milos today.

Q. Many were expecting a confrontation between the biggest serve and the biggest return. Don't you think today you served unbelievably well?
ANDY MURRAY: Yeah, I mean, I served very well today. I knew I was going to have to. The start, it was tricky for me serving from one of the ends. Well, for both of us, the sun was right there. I wasn't serving as well at the beginning of the match.
But as it went on, I got a lot of free points from my serve. You know, my second serve has been good the last few weeks, as well. Again, that allows you to go for a little bit more on your first serve and be a little bit more relaxed there.
Yeah, I served very well today.

Q. Can you describe the difference between winning Wimbledon once and winning it twice. Lots of people win it once. Do you feel you've moved on to another echelon by coming back and winning it twice?
ANDY MURRAY: Yeah, I mean, I don't know, to be honest, exactly what it means in the grand scheme of things. I haven't had time to think about that. I'm just really proud that I managed to do it again after, you know, a lot of tough losses in the latter stages of the slams over the last couple of years.
I'm also aware of how difficult these competitions are to win once. To do it twice here, an event where there is a lot of pressure on me to perform well here, you know, I'm very proud with how I've handled that over the years.

Q. Talk us through what the position is now with Davis Cup next week.
ANDY MURRAY: Yeah, I mean, I'm going to speak to Leon about that tomorrow. Physically I feel okay just now, which is kind of normal after a match like that. You feel like you could play another five matches right now. But when I wake up tomorrow morning, it will be a bit different.
But I'm going to speak to my team about that today, tomorrow morning. I'll chat to Leon tomorrow.

Q. You've already said how you feel happier this time. Does it feel any more special being a father and winning? Have you got an extra drive, wanting to bring home the trophy to an extra member of the family?
ANDY MURRAY: Yeah, I mean, I've spoken a lot about that over the last few months, that it changes your life. Obviously having a child, you know, it gives you a different perspective. It also, yeah, has given me a little bit of extra motivation, as well, to work hard, train hard, and do all of the right things to give myself a chance to win these events.
A lot of people have said, like, when Roger had kids, he started playing some of his best tennis. Novak, the same thing. But the reality is you still have to put the work in. You still have to have the drive and the dedication to train hard.
I feel more motivated than ever just now.

Q. You said you won for yourself this time. How difficult is it to win for yourself when you have people telling you to win for the country, for other people, for a queen, for anyone else?
ANDY MURRAY: Look, I obviously want to win to make all the fans that come to watch happy. I'm not suggesting, like, this was only for me. I know it's something bigger than that.
But the last time it was such a big thing, you know, for a British man to win Wimbledon. It had been so long, I was so relieved that I'd done that. It was a question I'd been asked so many times over the course of my career. It's something you start to think about and put more and more pressure on yourself to do it.
Obviously my job over the last sort of few weeks is to try and block everything out that's sort of going on around me, just listen to my team, and try and carry out sort of what they're asking me to do.

Q. How long a road has it been from the time you had back surgery to this point?
ANDY MURRAY: Well, the back surgery was hard for a year. The last couple years, I mean, I played well in the slams. This year I played all three slam finals so far. Last year, you know, semis French, semis here, the final in Australia. I had some good runs.
But, yeah, from where I was kind of at the end of that year after I had the surgery, yeah, it's been quite a long, long road back. It's not easy to recover from that in the middle of your career.

Q. To you what are the two or three key things about the match today and your win?
ANDY MURRAY: I think obviously served well. You know, every time I got into rallies, I was hitting the ball clean from the back of the court, so I wasn't leaving too many short balls for him to sort of dictate points. As soon as I was in control of the rallies, there wasn't many rallies where I sort of gave up that control. I was moving the ball around well.
Then, you know, I think I returned pretty good today for the most part. I made quite a lot of returns, second‑serve returns as well, and just tried to build pressure that way, by getting as many returns back in play as possible.
It paid off in the tiebreaks right at the end of the sets.

Q. How do you read and react to his serve so well? He only aced you eight times. How are you anticipating it so cleanly?
ANDY MURRAY: I mean, I practice a lot. I practice my returns a lot. It didn't sort of just happen by chance. I work on it and put a lot of time into my return game. I don't know, my game sort of starts from there. I think that's it.
I mean, when I was sort of 15, 16, when I went over to Spain, I didn't really practice my returns loads. But since I came on the tour, it's something that I've dedicated a lot of time to.
I practice it for, you know, 30 minutes every day. Not a lot of players hit loads of tennis balls, and maybe at the end of practice they serve a little bit and return a little bit. Sometimes those two shots get left out. But, you know, they're the most important shots in the game, so I practice them a lot.

Q. You have talked about the tough losses you've had. Has it ever been hard to keep believing that you'd be back here?
ANDY MURRAY: Well, no, I mean, I spoke about it before the tournament. Like, I don't mind failing. Like, failing's okay, providing that you've given your best and put everything into it.
Obviously a lot of questions sort of would get asked of me after those losses. But, you know, failing's not terrible. I put myself in a position all of the time in these events to win them. Haven't won them all of the time. I've lost a lot of close ones against great players most of the time.
That's it. Just have kind of not being afraid of failing. Sort of learning from all of my losses. That's what I've done throughout most of my career.

Q. Your calm has been commendable for the most part. The television mics picked up at the end of the second set tiebreak when Ivan was up for a bathroom break. You seemed annoyed by it.
ANDY MURRAY: No, I wasn't annoyed. He's done that after every single match here after two sets. I don't know if it's a ritual of his or not. Yeah, I was annoyed at something, but not that.

Q. Can you tell us what you were annoyed at then?
ANDY MURRAY: No (smiling). It certainly wasn't that?

Q. Did you sort of thrive on the upcoming final as the sort of favorite for a change, superior player? Did you get more from that than you thought you would?
ANDY MURRAY: It didn't sort of give me anything before the match. I think when I was out there at the tight moments in the tiebreaks and stuff, sort of knowing I'd been in that position before, knowing how maybe he would have felt at those moments, being his first Grand Slam final, I do think that helped me a little bit during the match.
I didn't feel any different, like I said, beforehand or at the beginning of the match. It was just in the tight situations, you know, I think I maybe dealt with them a little bit better because I've had more experience of these matches and these situations.

Q. The tiebreaks in particular?
ANDY MURRAY: I think so, yeah. In the tiebreaks, I mean, you know, he maybe missed a few shots. The beginning of the second set tiebreak, the first point, didn't seem like it's that big, but it is, to get that mini break at the start of the tiebreak. He missed a very basic shot. I got a big lead after that.

Q. Someone mentioned on television that when he wished you good luck before the tournament, you texted back you had a good feeling about this one. Did you feel anything special heading into this tournament?
ANDY MURRAY: I did, I had a good feeling about it. I felt like I prepared really well obviously at Queen's. I practiced very well the week beforehand. And, yeah, I just felt good going in.
I wasn't expecting to win the event, but I knew if I played like I had through practice and through Queen's, I was going to be in with a good shot. Yeah, thankfully I was right.

Q. We met a man yesterday who on Tuesday came out of hospital after a month from having a crushed pelvis from being run over. On Wednesday he came straight here to see you. He was here today. He had the last of his morphine to get himself through the day to watch you. What does it mean to you to have that sort of support? Anything you'd say to that man in particular?
ANDY MURRAY: Firstly, hopefully he's okay, and get back on the morphine (laughter).
No, I mean, that's obviously, yeah, amazing. That's the thing. Like hearing those stories now, you know, I feel happy and proud. They're all the things I'm trying not to hear during the tournament because there is a lot of pressure and stress.
But the support that I had throughout the two weeks, especially today, was amazing support today. It really helps. It does make a difference when you're out there, for sure.

Q. I see you and your game becoming more enjoyable. Do you see this in the crowd and you enjoy it more every single year, or do you focus on the result?
ANDY MURRAY: Well, I definitely enjoy moments like this more than I did when I was younger. I find the matches stressful. I put a lot of pressure on myself in the matches.
I do feel like I'm able to, I don't know, play a more offensive game style now in pressure situations than maybe I did when I was younger because I was so worried about the outcome or thinking about winning the match.
I think now I'm able to sort of play each point a lot better, and therefore maybe my game's, I don't know, a little more exciting. I'm going for more shots and trying different shots that I wouldn't have done when I was younger.

Q. Were you at some point thinking it wasn't normal that you hadn't won another Grand Slam and that you can add more now?
ANDY MURRAY: I obviously would have loved to have won more. Like I said earlier, the guys that I've been playing against have won lots. A lot of people say the best three players of all time potentially. I've won some matches against them in slams, but I've also lost quite a few, too.
If I want to add to three slams, I'm going to have to find ways to win against them. It's very rare that you get through a slam without playing Novak, Roger or Rafa. But I still feel like my best tennis is ahead of me, that I have an opportunity to win more.
Everyone's time comes at different stages. Some come in their early 20s, some mid 20s. Hopefully mine is still to come.

Q. Besides a weak bladder, what is it exactly that Ivan has brought to the team that maybe was slightly missing?
ANDY MURRAY: I mean, I do think he's a leader. That's important. I mean, I spoke about it the other day. I trust in what he says, mainly because of the results we had the last time we worked together. I played my best tennis under him. He was always trying to get me to play more offensive tennis. I did that and got results from it.
I do think we trust each other. I just like that he's very honest with me and the team. He says exactly what he thinks. Don't always like hearing it, but it is often what I need to hear. I think that's it. It's not anything more sort of special than that.
But we have worked extremely well together. You know, maybe there's a little bit of luck involved in it, as well. But we do work hard.

Q. Those notes to yourself that you read, are they tailored to a specific opponent? Can you give us insight into what they may have been today?
ANDY MURRAY: Some of them stay the same the whole time. They're basic things I remind myself to do during the matches. I think when I play my best tennis, I do this, X, Y and Z, whatever it is on the notes. Then I have some notes of the tactics for the match.
Sometimes when you're in the heat of, I don't know, a second‑set tiebreak in a slam final or semifinal, it's easy to forget exactly what you're trying to do in the points.
Sometimes I just look at the tactics that I've written down for the match. I refer to them at change of ends. I find that it helps me.

Q. What were the key reminders today?
ANDY MURRAY: I'm not going to go into that. They're personal notes that I keep for myself that when I play my best tennis I feel like I'm doing these things. They're quite basic, fairly mundane. Would be like, Make sure you're moving your feet when you're nervous, for example. People have a tendency when they're nervous to not move, not use their legs. It's just stuff like that. Nothing too special.

Q. What do you make of how you're playing now compared with at any point during your career until now?
ANDY MURRAY: I mean, I think the last three months really, since probably Monte‑Carlo, have been some of the best I've played in terms of consistency. I mean, I made the finals of the last five tournaments, I think: here, Queen's, French, Madrid and Rome. I don't think I'd done that before in my career. I had my best clay court season, for sure, as well. I was fairly close there.
I'd say, you know, last few months have been some of the best in my career, for sure.

Q. Why do you think that is?
ANDY MURRAY: I don't know. I mean, some of it's confidence obviously. The team I've got around me just now have obviously helped me. I was struggling a little bit after Indian Wells and Miami. Wasn't playing so well. Also at the beginning of Monte‑Carlo either.
I spoke at the time there, when I won a second‑round match against Benoit Paire, I didn't play particularly well. He served for the match. It wasn't a very good match. I said afterwards, This could turn out to be a huge turning point really. It could be a big match for me. It turned out that way.
I started playing much, much better after that. Had a really good win against Milos. Had a good match with Rafa. That was it. Just kind of started playing better and better and better. Got a lot of confidence from that week. That's it.

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