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WIMBLEDON

July 8, 2016

Andy Murray

London, England

A. MURRAY/T. Berdych
6‑3, 6‑3, 6‑3

THE MODERATOR: Questions, please.

Q. How would you describe your emotions on again reaching the final?
ANDY MURRAY: Yeah, I'm pumped obviously. You know, I feel pretty calm just now, maybe because of the way the match went. It wasn't too stressful a match. Maybe like the other night was more relieved. You feel emotionally more drained after matches like that.
But today was obviously fairly, you know, quicker, there it wasn't as many complications. I feel fairly calm.

Q. Are you surprised about the result in the other semifinal?
ANDY MURRAY: Yes and no. I mean, you know, obviously Roger's won here I think seven times, and been in the final I think a couple more times. So anytime he loses, it's somewhat of a surprise.
But Milos has been playing really good tennis this year, and also on the grass. Yeah, I mean, Roger's also coming off the back of a period where he hadn't played too much, had a long five‑setter the other day. So it's not too much of a surprise.

Q. It's obviously going to be a new experience for Milos on Sunday. In some ways it's a new experience for you to go in as a guy who has the experience.
ANDY MURRAY: Yeah, I guess so. You know, obviously first time I'll play a slam final against someone that isn't Roger or Novak. So, yeah, that's different.
But, you know, you never know how anyone's going to deal with the pressures of a slam final. So just have to go out there and, you know, concentrate on my side, you know, do what I can to prepare well for it and see what happens.

Q. In recent years the men's final in terms of coaches, we've seen a Boris versus a Stefan. This year we have Ivan and John. Has there been any banter in the locker rooms about that?
ANDY MURRAY: I was told that John and him were not working together from Sunday. I don't know what the deal is exactly, or if John will be sitting in the box or not. I'd imagine he'd be in the commentary box, I think.
I haven't given it too much thought. I mean, I spoke about this before the Queen's final. I think it's more interesting for you guys than it is for the players 'cause I'm playing against Milos, I'm not playing against John, and Milos isn't playing against Ivan.

Q. Rightly or wrongly, you'll be considered a stronger favorite than you have for previous finals. Does that make any difference to you?
ANDY MURRAY: I don't think so, to be honest. I don't think so.

Q. On the coaching front, some people might look at a storyline and say you won two slams with Ivan before, then he left, then he came back. If you win this tournament, it will be a third one with him. Does that seem fair to you at all?
ANDY MURRAY: I don't think it's a coincidence. I don't think it's a coincidence. I obviously had the best years of my career with him. But there is other people that go into it, as well. The rest of the team that's working with me has helped get me into this position. There's no guarantees that I win on Sunday, obviously.
But, you know, I obviously wanted to work with Ivan again to try to help me win these events. That's the goal. But, yeah, there's a lot of people have helped get me into this situation. My whole team's responsible for that.

Q. Are you already feeling the benefit of having him come back?
ANDY MURRAY: Yeah, I do feel there's a benefit. Obviously, over the next few months I think, and at the end of the year when I get time to sort of train and work on things away from the court is when I'll start to really make, you know, bigger gains hopefully in my game.
But, yeah, just having him around has been positive, yeah.

Q. How would you assess your game today? What do you think you need to do especially well in the final?
ANDY MURRAY: I mean, obviously Milos has got a fantastic serve. So returning his serve is important.
You know, I thought I played pretty good today. I didn't give up too many errors. Made it very difficult for Tomas.
It was quite breezy. It was quite tricky on the court today in comparison with the other days, especially at the beginning of the match. It wasn't as easy to play really good tennis. But, you know, I hit the ball clean. Didn't give up, like I said, too many unforced errors.
It was good.

Q. What sticks out in your mind from that Queen's Club final against Raonic? How relevant or helpful or not is it to have had that recent matchup against him on the same surface?
ANDY MURRAY: Yeah, I think it can help. I mean, we played a few times this year. We played on all of the surfaces. You know, there's things that all players will do differently depending on whether they're playing on clay than grass.
So it helps to have played a match against him on the grass. You know, see some of the things he's doing on this surface a little bit differently.
Yeah, the thing that stands out for me was the return winner I hit on the breakpoint at 3‑1 to get back into the match. That was the turning point really. He hadn't lost serve the whole week. Came up with that return, the match changed from there.

Q. Do you recall the unique pressure of playing in your first Grand Slam final? Do you think it is going to be an advantage not only playing in them before, but won them?
ANDY MURRAY: Yeah, I hope so. I hope that's an advantage. When I played my first one, it all came round really quickly for me. At the US Open that year, you know, I played the semifinal over two days against Rafa. Then go straight into the final the following day. It just didn't feel like there was loads of time to sort of settle down and sort of prepare for it. I remember it went by fairly quickly.
I didn't feel so nervous before that one maybe because there wasn't as much time to get ready for it. But it is different. Yeah, playing a slam final obviously is different. There's a little bit more riding on the match. That's what makes these events special.

Q. On Sunday, what would it mean to you to again hold up the trophy?
ANDY MURRAY: Yeah, I mean, it would mean a lot obviously. Again, these tournaments are why I'm still playing and why I'm training hard and trying to win these events. That's what really motivates me.
Obviously to win them is great. They're very hard competitions to win. I've been in the latter stages a number of times, won some, obviously lost some tough ones, as well.
Yeah, I'd love to win it again obviously.

Q. For so long at these latter stages of these big tournaments the talk has been of the big four. What sort of opportunity does the other three not being here present for you?
ANDY MURRAY: Yeah, it's obviously an opportunity. I put myself in a position to try and win the event again. It's against, you know, someone new that I'm playing against in the final.
But Milos is a very tough opponent. He's played very well on the grass this year and has earned his right to the final by beating one of the best, if not the best player, ever at this event. So he deserves to be there.
Yeah, I mean, I guess this is the first time in a long time that Novak or Roger's not been in a slam final.

Q. You obviously have a very good record against some of the big servers. Can you give us an idea of how different Milos' serve is compared with Karlovic or Isner?
ANDY MURRAY: Yeah, I mean, Milos serves maybe a bit harder. But because Karlovic and Isner are significantly taller, they can serve more of the spots, have probably bigger second serves, as well.
You know, Milos is better from the ground than both of those guys. Has probably a better return game, as well.
But, yeah, I mean, he obviously serves extremely well. He's got one of the best serves, obviously. That's why he is where he is.

Q. Having played in all the Grand Slam finals, does it feel a little bit extra special walking out on Centre Court for a Wimbledon final, given that you're the home player and all the history of these championships?
ANDY MURRAY: Yeah, I think so. Wimbledon for a lot of the players, but for British players growing up, this is the biggest competition. To get to play in front of a home crowd in a Grand Slam final is very, very rare. There's not many players that get the opportunity to do that.
Yeah, this one always feels a little bit more special.

Q. Do you have any plan for the Rio Olympics, such as winning a gold medal?
ANDY MURRAY: Yeah, I think that's the plan. That's the plan of most of the players. You obviously want to try to win a medal.
Yeah, I'm looking forward to it. I love being involved in the Olympics. Yeah, hope I can have a good run there.

Q. This will be your third slam final in a row and 11 in total. Do you ever get used to being in a Grand Slam final or is the nervousness and excitement the same?
ANDY MURRAY: I think they're still the same. Like I said, maybe now more excited than when I was younger. I guess the tournaments start to mean more to you the older you get and you start to appreciate the history of the events probably more as you get older. When you're 18, 19, you're probably not as aware about those things.
So, yeah, it never feels normal. I never take it for granted. I know how difficult it is to make the finals of these events and how hard they are to win.

Q. In football, keepers and their coaches have a specific way of studying the tendencies that each player has when they shoot the penalties. How scientific is the preparation when you play a big server? Do you study the videos? Do you have someone pinpointing where they serve at specific moments?
ANDY MURRAY: I mean, yeah, you can look at all of those things obviously to see if you can get a better read on it.
But for me there's things I do during the match that help me see the serve better. Normally as the match goes on, I see the serve easier. There's things you can pick up. You know, that was what happened in the Queen's final. I didn't get many opportunities in the first set. Then started to read the serve a little bit better. There were a few things I picked up on. Started to return much better.
I mean, there's things you can do in preparation for the match. Obviously you can look at videos, you can look at stats, if you want any of that stuff. But then there's things you can pick up when you're out there, as well, just with your eyes.

Q. Do you usually want that kind of thing? Do you usually see those videos or want that kind of information?
ANDY MURRAY: Not all the time, but sometimes I do it, yeah. It depends. But, you know, it's quite easy to get your hands on any video or stats now from any of the tournaments that you want.
But, you know, things change from match to match, as well. That's where stats can be great, but things can change obviously the next day.

Q. When Milos was in here, he said you were successful at sucking him into your style of game when you played at Queen's. Can you describe the techniques that you used to do that and the effect you think it has on an opponent?
ANDY MURRAY: I don't know what that means. I don't know what I was doing to suck him into my style of play (smiling). I don't know. I generally don't know what it is I do.
I go on the court with tactics and a game plan, obviously like all players do. Some are better at executing it than others. But you also have to be able to make adjustments out there when you're playing the match, which I had to in that Queen's final because I was obviously behind.

Q. You're in another final. An incredible achievement. An entirely unofficial straw poll this week by celebrities and fans has shown there's a little bit more to do to win the nation's heart where it really counts, which is the naming of Henman Hill. One woman said she would want three Wimbledon wins to win your allegiance. What are you willing to do? How far are you willing to go? Are you happy to leave Henman Hill to Tim?
ANDY MURRAY: Yeah, Tim can have it. That's fine. It's not that important to me (smiling).

Q. Ivan won so many slams. He had a real confidence, in‑your‑face style. Does that presence somehow affect you, rub off on you? Do you learn from that?
ANDY MURRAY: Yeah, I do think it helps. I do think in these situations it can make a difference. I don't think he'd be doing this job if he didn't believe in me and believe that I could win these events, because he doesn't need to. That helps.
But, you know, also the information I get from him, the psychological help that I get from having him around, being able to chat to him at these events, before the big matches, you know, makes a difference.
That's why I think we've been a good team. I think we both trust each other.

Q. Do you think John might be helping Milos? Do you sense that might be the case?
ANDY MURRAY: I mean, it's possible, for sure. I mean, I don't know. I don't know what their relationship is. I don't know how much time they spend together. I don't know. But it's possible, yeah.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

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