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OLYMPIC GAMES RIO 2016: TENNIS

August 14, 2016

Andy Murray

Rio De Janeiro, Brazil

A. MURRAY/J. Del Potro
7‑5, 4‑6, 6‑2, 7‑5

THE MODERATOR: Questions, please.

Q. I don't know if you know, it's Father's Day here in Brazil. How do you think you can tell this story to your daughter in the future?
ANDY MURRAY: I don't know, to be honest. I don't know. Obviously when she's old enough, I'll try to explain to her what I did, you know, for my job, if you can call it that.
I'm sure there will be some videos somewhere so I can show her some of the matches, if she's interested. Maybe she won't be. A lot of tennis players that I've spoken to, that have children, they just see that person as their father. They're more interested in the other players.
So I'll just wait and see.

Q. You opened your Olympics by carrying the flag in the opening ceremony; you ended it by having the flag raised. Have you thought about the bookends and what does that mean to you?
ANDY MURRAY: It means a lot. Obviously, getting to carry the flag at the opening ceremony was an amazing experience. I was very honored to get the opportunity to do that. I found that quite emotional, as well. The day after I found out, the day I did it as well, I had to sort of kind of regroup and get my mind on the matches.
So to finish it with a match like that, as well, obviously I was very emotional at the end. It's been a buildup of emotions over the last 10 days or so. Just very happy that I got over the line tonight.

Q. (No microphone.)
ANDY MURRAY: It's difficult to say right now. I'm so tired.

Q. Juan Martin del Potro had a terrific tournament. Curious to get your opinions on his play.
ANDY MURRAY: I played against him today. I didn't see any of his matches until yesterday against Rafa. I think at times tonight he played extremely well. He's done amazing really to get back to playing and competing at this level again after all of the issues that he's had with his wrists.
Mentally I can only imagine how frustrating that must have been to kind of keep going through the same problem, having to try and come back. It's amazing that he's come back from it, but also to get back to the level he's playing at just now. He deserves a lot of credit for that, and he should be very proud. It's not an easy thing to do.

Q. I know you don't particularly like to compare achievements. Winning two gold medals, first person ever to win back‑to‑back gold medals, do you think that's the biggest achievement of your career?
ANDY MURRAY: I don't know, to be honest. I'm really happy, obviously, that I won tonight. I don't know. It's not really for me to say. I can't really answer it just now either.
I know tonight's one of the hardest matches that I've had to play for a big, big title. I think, you know, the US Open final I played against Novak when I won my first slam was very hard. But tonight I found really difficult. You know, emotionally it was tough. Physically, it was hard. There were so many ups and downs in the match. It was one of the toughest matches that I've played to win a big event, for sure.

Q. At Wimbledon you were saying that that second Wimbledon is something that you were going to enjoy a lot more; that it was one for yourself. Do you feel anything different as far as this one is concerned compared to the Olympic gold medal four years ago?
ANDY MURRAY: Well, I mean, obviously at the time, that was the first time I won any sort of major event. It was a home Olympics. It was an amazing couple of weeks for me after losing in the Wimbledon final just a few weeks before.
But, like I said, this has been much harder than London. The match in the final there was fairly straightforward in terms of the scoreline and stuff, whereas tonight anything could have happened. It was like breaks of serve all the time. So many ups and downs.
Yeah, this one means a lot. But I won't get the chance to enjoy it as much because I'm playing a match in 48 hours, unfortunately.

Q. It struck me that you're grouped in with a quartet of players, all of whom won Grand Slam titles, one who won more Grand Slams than anyone else. Now you've done something that nobody else has done in the history of tennis. Is it too soon to say how satisfying that is or does it give you a sense of pride that you're above them in some ways now?
ANDY MURRAY: Well, I don't think I am. But I know the fact that it's not been done before means it's a very difficult thing to do. I wasn't thinking about that today when I was playing. The fact that it hasn't been done before obviously shows that it's very hard. I'm very proud to have been the first one to have done that.
It hasn't obviously been easy because a lot can happen in four years, especially for tennis players. We have so many events. Since London, I had back surgery, as well. So many things can change. My ranking dropped a lot during that period. I've gone through some tough times on the court, as well. Yeah, a lot's changed since then.
I'm happy that I'm still here competing for the biggest events. Yeah, I'll try and keep going. Who knows about Tokyo. But if I'm still playing in four years, when I'm 33, I don't imagine I'll be playing the same level as now. But I'll try and enjoy tonight's win.

Q. Can you talk a little bit about the atmosphere of the match with all the shouting and songs. Have you ever played in a match like that? How did you deal with it? Was it tough? Was it exciting? Was it energizing or counterproductive?
ANDY MURRAY: I think it was a great atmosphere. To be honest, there wasn't really many problems, I don't think. I would say the crowd was fairly split, which we kind of rarely play in atmospheres like that. I mean, normally at slams, it's not quite the same. The crowd come to watch great tennis. Obviously you want to support one player, but it's quite different. You know, you don't hear songs being chanted like that, the other side of the fans kind of booing when they're singing those songs.
In Davis Cup, when we play Davis Cup, it's 10,000, 12,000 people. It's a home tie. Majority of the fans are supporting the home team. Very rarely do we have it when it's split like that. It makes for a great atmosphere, I think.

Q. When you won the third set 6‑2, he seemed to be pretty exhausted. I thought you were fresher. But you lost three times your serve in the fourth set. Were you also tired, but you didn't want to show it? Was it mental or physical or what?
ANDY MURRAY: Well, yeah, I mean, I was tired. We played four hours. That's hard, especially on this surface. Very humid. On a slow court, as well. There was a lot of running, too. Yeah, it was physically hard.
I served badly tonight. I didn't serve well. That made the match even tougher than it was already. I just had to try and find a way to get through it, even though I wasn't serving well.
You know, managed to get enough breaks of serve, and a big hold at 4‑All. I held one big game at 3‑All, I think, in the fourth set when I was down 15‑40 on my serve. A few aces and stuff so... Came up with some good serves at the right moment. Might even have been at 5‑All. I can't remember.

Q. Novak Djokovic has had such a hold on the men's tour for the last several years. Here you are coming off of Wimbledon and Rio where you've won convincingly. Can you talk to us a little bit about your confidence now going into the US Open and potentially really challenging Djokovic in a way that you have not in the past.
ANDY MURRAY: Yeah, I mean, I think the last few months, really since kind of Monte‑Carlo, since the clay court season started, I've been competing for the biggest events in every tournament. I haven't won every one, but I've been close, or thereabouts. I had some good wins against top players, as well.
But, yeah, I mean, Novak obviously the last two years really has played amazing tennis, his consistency. What I've done, like, the last four months, he's been doing for the whole year. I need to try and find a way to keep that going.
The US Open is obviously the next big goal. I played in the final of all the slams this year. Had a disappointing US Open last year. You know, I'll try and have a good run there.

Q. Del Potro does not have the backhand he used to hit years ago. Do you see him in the capacity of being in the top five again or is that asking too much?
ANDY MURRAY: I think it's definitely possible. I think with the more matches that he plays, the more confidence he will get in his backhand and his wrist, you know, that it's strong enough to hit the shots that he needs to hit.
I think because over the last few years he's had trouble hitting backhands, he's improved his slice backhand a lot. He's always had a big forehand, but he's really going for it more. He's obviously been practicing that shot a lot because he's not been able to hit the backhand. It makes for a very difficult match.
Maybe the clay courts, where he has to generate more of the power on his own, will be tough for him. The other courts, the other surfaces, he's beaten Novak and Rafa here, he beat Wawrinka at Wimbledon. If he stays fit, there's no reason why he can't be up at the top of the game.

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