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MUTUA MADRID OPEN

May 11, 2017

Andy Murray

Madrid, Spain

B. CORIC/A. Murray

6-3, 6-3

THE MODERATOR: Questions, please.

Q. What do you think wasn't working for you today?
ANDY MURRAY: Well, most things weren't working particularly well. Yeah, wasn't great. I mean, I started the match okay, but when I started to go behind, I didn't find any way to improve my game or to make it more difficult for him. I just kind of let the same things keep happening, making mistakes very early in a lot of the rallies. I wasn't building any points really.

You know, I didn't help myself sort of find a way into the match to start playing better. That was disappointing because, you know, you're not always going to play your best tennis, but you can still find ways to make it difficult for your opponent, and I didn't do that at all today.

Q. Can you put your finger on why that is? Is it a mental thing? A physical thing? Are you tired?
ANDY MURRAY: You know, I'm not tired. I think, you know, today mentally definitely could have been better for the reasons I just gave, clearly if you're not finding a way to turn the match around. It wasn't until really almost the last game where I said, Okay, I'm going to try, and I stood way back behind the baseline. I was playing baseline high, slow balls to try and get the ball in the court and make it, you know, a little bit different for him.

But, you know, that wasn't until it was almost too late really. Maybe because I was sort of getting frustrated rather than slowing down, I was trying to speed the points up.

Like I said, then the mistakes can build up quite quickly and the match can get away from you fast. That was what happened.

Q. It's the second time that he's won a match against you. Do you see anything particular in his game that when you're not in a good day can make it difficult for you?
ANDY MURRAY: It actually felt quite similar to the match I played against him in Dubai. You know, he serves well. He moves extremely well. You know, he never gives matches away. He makes a lot of shots. He's very consistent.

You know, if you're not on your game, and he's moving well, making a lot of balls, he can make it very, very tough for you.

Today felt kind of similar to that match that we played in Dubai.

Q. Seemed to be a bit of back and forth with the box, ironic and smiling. Was that frustration or something in the game plan that you weren't happy with?
ANDY MURRAY: Anything in the game plan is agreed by both me and my coach. So if a game plan isn't working, it's not my coach's fault because I always go over them, the game plan. It's not that my coach comes and goes, Do this, this, and this, and I just sit and say, Okay, I'll do that. We discuss, we watch videos, and we come up with a game plan together.

It was more frustration at my game. Like I said, the fact that I kept doing the same things, the same mistakes repeatedly, you know, is frustrating.

I should have tried to do more about that, and I didn't. That's the most disappointing thing for me today.

Q. Gerard PiquÃ© wants to create a different format of Davis Cup with the help of the ATP and everything. Have you spoken with him? If so, what can you tell us about those conversations?
ANDY MURRAY: I've tried to speak to him a couple of times, but we've exchanged messages. I've called him once or twice, but we haven't actually spoken in person or on the phone about it.

But yeah, I mean, doing new things in tennis is never easy. It's always, you know, a lot of obstacles. It's difficult with the calendar and the schedule that we have.

I think that it's a really exciting idea. If it comes off, I think it would be a very, very good thing for tennis. Whether it will or not, you know, is a different question.

I think there's still a lot of things that need to be worked out before it potentially happens. But I think it would be a very good thing for tennis. Tennis needs an event like that, and I think it would be very good.

Q. Do you think this elbow injury you had a few weeks ago kind of cut your practice time and your rhythm, that's maybe why you're struggling on the clay, or it has nothing to do with it?
ANDY MURRAY: No, it didn't. I practiced a lot when I had the problem. I just couldn't serve for a couple of weeks. I think it was normal in maybe Barcelona and Monte-Carlo that I wasn't maybe going to serve as well as I would normally, you know, because I was still getting better.

But I was able to practice everything else. I was able to do everything physically. That's no reason for how I played today, you know, the last few weeks.

So, yeah, that's not an excuse. However, you know, when you do miss a period of time, getting back into playing matches, you know, the most important thing is to play. I didn't for a month. That set me back a little bit.

Q. How much are you reading into a defeat like today perhaps because the conditions are very different to Roland Garros, maybe you're not going to put too much weight on it?
ANDY MURRAY: No, I mean, I definitely think I need to be concerned about today. It's not always the worst thing losing a match, but it's sometimes the manner of how you lose the match is what can be concerning or disappointing.

Whereas my match, like, against Thiem in Barcelona, I was disappointed to lose, but I felt like I competed really well. I did some good stuff in the match, found a way to turn it around and make it, you know, a tough match for him.

Whereas today I didn't really do any of that stuff. That's concerning. So I need to think about exactly why that is, what I can do about it.

You know, things can turn around quickly in tennis. Borna lost in the qualifying here a few days ago. Now he's in the quarters playing very good tennis. Things can change fast.

But you need to have the right sort of ideas, correct ideas, understand why you're in the position you're in. Hopefully I can do that, you know, with my team, and play better in Rome and Roland Garros.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

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