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WIMBLEDON

July 4, 2016

Andy Murray

London, England

A. MURRAY/N. Kyrgios
7‑5, 6‑1, 6‑4

THE MODERATOR: Questions, please.

Q. Take a wild guess and say you were watching Jamie there.
ANDY MURRAY: No, I never watch his matches.

Q. You must be thrilled with that performance, I would imagine.
ANDY MURRAY: Yeah, I thought I played well. The first set was obviously key. He served extremely well in the first set. He was up in the high 80s for first‑serve percentage, which to win a set against someone serving like that is big and totally changed the way the match went, I think.
I played a good return game at 6‑5, and that was it.

Q. Nick came in here. He was quite emotional in his press conference. He was saying that he felt he hadn't competed in the second and third sets the way he wanted to. I think he used the word 'pathetic'. Do you think this is something that he needs to work on in terms of staying present in matches all the way through?
ANDY MURRAY: Yeah, of course he does, yeah. Yeah, of course.

Q. How do you kind of fix that?
ANDY MURRAY: I mean, everyone's different. It's about, you know, finding the right people to help you with different things.
For some it may be a coach. For some it might be a psychologist. Sometimes it might be speaking to family about stuff. You know, there's not one way of tackling it.
But if you want to continue to get better, then you speak and listen to, you know, as many people as you can, and take onboard the things you think will help you.
But everyone's different in terms of how they, you know, improve and address their problems.

Q. How do you deal with someone who in his own words switches off, loses belief, isn't playing the way he can?
ANDY MURRAY: Just keep your head down really. Concentrate on your side of the court. Control what you can, basically. You know, you can't always control what your opponent's doing or how your opponent's playing. But you can apply yourself, you know, to every single point and fight for every point. You know, don't give up any cheap games or anything like that.
I did a good job of that today. I don't think I gave up a breakpoint. I was solid on my serve. Then, you know, created a little chance end of the first set.
After that, you know, in the second set especially, I just tried to make as many balls as possible. That was it.

Q. You've changed your coaching team over the last year. You've come into press conferences from matches being faced with politics of discrimination of being on a court. You've handled it all with great statesman‑like authority, then gone on and looked comfortable. How much has the years of experience helped you get there? How easy is it to get that right team to make you feel where you are now?
ANDY MURRAY: Yeah, it's not easy. I think for tennis players, as well, especially it's hard because you're responsible for the team that's around you. In a way, you're in charge because you're the one that's funding it, paying it. Sometimes some people might be telling you what they think they want you to hear rather than what you really need to hear.
When you're young, it isn't that easy to make those decisions. Sometimes if you don't think someone on your team is doing something right, when you're 19, 20 years old, to tell someone who is 40, Actually, you know, I think you could be pushing me, I don't like it when you do this, that takes time to learn how to do that. You know, it's not easy.
But over the years, yeah, you start to know what it is you need and what you want. A lot of the guys on my team have been around me for a very long time. Obviously the more stability, the better.
Coaches do change sometimes because it's a lot of travel, it's a lot of work. Not everyone's willing to put in that work.

Q. How well set up do you feel today at the moment? You seem very level, great performances out on court.
ANDY MURRAY: I think today was very good. I knew it was a dangerous match. I was very switched on from the start. I'm fully aware of how difficult my next opponent is, as well. I know Tsonga is one of the best grass court players in the world. If he plays well, I'm not on my game, I can lose that match for sure.
So I need to make sure I have a good practice tomorrow, stay focused on that one. Take it one match at a time. I know everyone goes, Oh, that's boring. But that's what you do as a professional. My job's to try to win my next match, it's not thinking about anything else.

Q. With each game, your tennis seems to be getting better and better. How pleased are you with its development through the tournament? Does that give you the confidence that when it matters, your best tennis is still to come?
ANDY MURRAY: I think if I play the level I'm playing at just now, I give myself a chance in most matches.
But the trick is to keep that up, to maintain that level for the whole two weeks. I've done a good job of it so far. I do feel like when I've needed to in the tournament, I have played some good tennis. And today was one of my better matches, for sure.

Q. Can you feel the pressure cranking up now as we move into the second week? What's the key for you to dealing with that?
ANDY MURRAY: I mean, I think I've kind of explained it already. I concentrate on my next match, and that's it. I know the next one, like I said, is a very tough match against Tsonga. He's a really, really good grass court player, very, very dangerous. I played him here a couple of times before. Both matches were hard. They weren't easy. A few of the sets came down to just a couple of points. I'm aware I'll have to be playing at my highest level to win.
In terms of dealing with everything else, I've been dealing with it for years. I feel no different this year to any other year when I played here.

Q. I think people are fascinated by the diet of top sportsmen and women.
ANDY MURRAY: The diet?

Q. Yes. I don't know if you're prepared to tell us about your daily calorie intake, what you're having for breakfast, if you're having 50 pieces of raw fish, for example.
ANDY MURRAY: Well, this morning I had a bagel with scrambled eggs. I had half a bagel with peanut butter. I had a smoothy, which had milk, bananas, berries in there. I had a whole melon for breakfast.
Before my match, I had salmon with rice.

Q. And after the match?
ANDY MURRAY: I had pasta with broccoli and chicken.

Q. A watermelon or a honey melon?
ANDY MURRAY: No, it wasn't a watermelon. Cantaloupe I think is what it was.

Q. You made it clear that the events of Saturday afternoon, Novak losing, haven't really entered your mind, you're switching off from that. You don't read newspapers during Wimbledon. You watch television. When the pundits come on and talk about looking forward, do you turn it off?
ANDY MURRAY: I mean, I watch the matches. I don't watch anything else. Normally when I watch tennis, I don't listen to the commentary. I watch it with the sound off normally.

Q. John McEnroe said he's starting to get a little bit concerned about whether Nick will fulfill his potential. Do you think it's premature with him being only 21?
ANDY MURRAY: Yeah, I would say so. I think he's got a bit of time on his side. But obviously, you know, there's a few things he needs to improve and get better at. The sooner he does that, the better for him and his career.

Q. Do you already have one eye on longevity in your career? Ryan Giggs, we know how he extended his career through Yoga, meditation, things like that. Is that something you've already started to do?
ANDY MURRAY: Yeah, that was something I started doing a lot more of when I had my back surgery. Really that was sort of the time. I can't afford any more surgeries like this. I need to start looking after my body much, much better than what I was.
I used to train extremely hard. I don't think I looked after my body as well as I should have done. That was something that changed a few years ago. My back, now that I have been looking after it, doing way more different types of stretching, sort of injury prevention work, my back is no issue whatsoever. Whereas for two years, I was in a lot of pain because I was training hard but not doing the right stuff to get it better.

Q. Any specific types of Yoga?
ANDY MURRAY: I do Gyrotonic, it's called, and pilates also.

Q. Nick said at the net you apologized. He said, Just make sure you go on and win it. While you're concentrating on each game, do you allow yourself to think what it might be like to lift that trophy on Sunday again?
ANDY MURRAY: No, not really.

Q. The thought never enters your head?
ANDY MURRAY: No.

Q. When you're away from the tennis, are you watching the Euro, watching the machinations of the Tory leadership?
ANDY MURRAY: And Labour leadership.
Yeah, I've watched a lot of the Euros, yeah, quite a lot. Obviously when I get back, when the games have been on in the evening, I've watched some of them. Yeah, all the usual stuff I always do. Nothing different.
I just try and stick to the same routines on the off days, practicing at the same time, afternoon just home with my family. In the evening I watch a bit of sport, watch the news. That's it.

Q. We know you love your other sports. On Wednesday will you try to avoid finding out the Wales score? Are you caught up by the fairytale of the Welsh at the Euros?
ANDY MURRAY: I think it's an amazing story, unbelievable what they're doing. Obviously, you know, the closer you get, the more people start to think there's a chance you can go all the way.
But, no, I mean, if I see the result, I see the result. I won't sort of watch the match back if I happen to miss it.

Q. Are you quite friendly with Gareth Bale? Are you mates?
ANDY MURRAY: No, I've never met him. I love watching him play. I've never met him before.

Q. You've spoken about how you keep your body in check, how you stay healthy. What do you do to keep your mind focused? Any mind meditation or exercises to keep yourself focused throughout a two‑week tournament like this?
ANDY MURRAY: More sort of prematch and during the matches, yeah, there's some things that I do on the court.

Q. What sort of things would that be?
ANDY MURRAY: I have notes that I read before the matches. When I'm on the court as well. Then, yeah, when I'm away from the court, I just don't listen to anything that's sort of being said in terms of the tournament or about the tennis really. That seems to work for me. I don't find it a distraction at all.

Q. May I ask what's on the notes?
ANDY MURRAY: My notes have been stolen from one of the tournaments last year, so I'm sure you can find them online if you want.

Q. The same stuff?
ANDY MURRAY: I mean, it changes sometimes from match to match. Yeah, things change. Certain things you might think help you more than others. Yeah, always sort of making adjustments.
But, yeah, the gist of them is pretty much the same.

Q. Nothing special for this year?
ANDY MURRAY: No.

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