	products recent interviews FastScripts archive about ASAP Sports

Our Clients:

Browse by Sport

Find us on

Subscribe to RSS

Click to go to
Asaptext.com

View our
e-Brochure

ROLAND GARROS

June 1, 2017

Andy Murray

Paris, France

A. MURRAY/M. Klizan

6-7, 6-2, 6-2, 7-6

THE MODERATOR: Questions, please.

Q. At one point in the match, you said, I can't control my racquet, and your serve stats were quite low at times. Was there any physical problem with your elbow till today or any other physical issues?
ANDY MURRAY: No, I just didn't serve very well the first set, really. I didn't serve well at all. But served pretty well for decent parts of the match, but at the end didn't serve well.

Q. He's kind of a tricky player to play. Has a big forehand, lefty, and everything. Can you talk a little bit about maybe how he affected your game today?
ANDY MURRAY: Yeah, he's very tough to play against, because he's, you know, a huge power off the forehand side. He has very good touch. Dropshots are good. He's dangerous when he's on the run.

You know, he's very fast, but also, when he does reach the balls on the run, he goes for big shots when most players in those positions are going for more defensive shots.

So, yeah, he's not easy to play against, because he can generate power from, you know, very defensive positions. So you always have to be alert.

And, yeah, my plan was to go into the match and try and play a solid match, which maybe first set I didn't, but I felt for the most part, second, third, fourth I played some good stuff.

Q. How pleased were you to come through a tricky period on fourth set?
ANDY MURRAY: Yeah, I was happy with that. Obviously I didn't start the set so well, but I did also have quite a number of chances in the fourth set, too. I was creating opportunities, not getting them, but managed to get the break at the end of the fourth. Then I feel like I probably should have broken at 5-All, didn't, and then played a good game at 6-5. Served I think three aces in that game and closed out the tiebreak.

So it was good to turn that set around.

Q. Crowds usually cheer for the underdog everywhere in big tournaments. Would it have been problematic for you had you lost that fourth set tiebreak? How did you feel for a potential fifth?
ANDY MURRAY: I felt, physically felt very good today, which was the most positive thing today for me. It was pretty hot out there, and, you know, quite a long match.

But, yeah, physically I felt good. So obviously going to a fifth would have been tough, especially the way I had sort of come back into the fourth and then had a bunch of chances at 5-All. Had I lost that tiebreak, you know, it would have been difficult.

But physically I felt good. So that was very positive thing for me with a lot of the issues I have had this year to come through a match like that in that heat and feel good. It was very positive for me.

Q. It felt like you were covering the court really well in the second set but not so much in the first. Is there any reason for the difference in those...
ANDY MURRAY: Well, I think sometimes, you know, it's not just necessarily the movement that's the issue. If you're leaving the ball in the middle of the court and letting a guy sort of whale away on forehands and dictate all of the points, it feels like you're not moving well. When you're sort of stepping up and getting a little bit more on your shots, hitting the ball a bit deeper and dictating more of the points, you know, it's a little bit harder for guys to hit through you.

That was definitely the case in the match today. I changed my return position. I stepped way back on the second-serve return and was getting good height and depth on that shot and was unable to dictate more of the points there.

In the first set I wasn't doing that. I was stepping in and not getting a good hit on the returns. So that was another positive thing for me today, which I maybe hadn't been doing in Rome and Madrid, was when I was in a tough situation I found the solution, made some changes, and it worked out.

Q. Can you clear something up in the first set. You seemed to say to the umpire, If it happens again I'm going to sit down, or something. Is that correct, or was it something to do with the camera?
ANDY MURRAY: Yeah, I don't like it when the Spidercam is -- I don't know how many times I have spoken about it in here. You guys know, I don't like it when it's in my ball toss. And it was there at the beginning of the match. It was the same thing yesterday in the first round. It happened three or four times in the first round where it was there. I asked for it to be moved. They moved it. Then it comes back.

I just don't like it there. It puts me off, and I asked a few times today, and it kept coming back. I just said, If it's there in my ball toss again, I'm going to sit down and wait for it to move, you know, because I just don't feel I should have to be asking for it every change of ends to not be there. It's quite a simple thing to change.

Q. Would you take it up maybe with the tournament or perhaps...
ANDY MURRAY: It's not a big deal. It's really not that big a deal. I mean, the umpire said he asked before the match not to have it there. It's not a big deal. We have spoken about it before at tournaments just to not have it there.

But it's a very small issue. Not something to, you know, to get too worked up about. But I just don't like it. I'd prefer if it was not there when I'm serving.

Q. You said in your immediate post-match interview you'd like to improve your on-court behavior. Is that ever going to happen in a big-pressure match like that with all that's going on out there?
ANDY MURRAY: What do you mean, in terms of what?

Q. You said on court you said you wanted to improve your behavior on court. Was that talking about talking to yourself or the crowd or your box, or what did you mean by that?
ANDY MURRAY: Well, I mean, just getting frustrated on the court is something that I have always battled with and always fought, ever since, it was probably since I was 20, 21 years old, and it's more venting. Sometimes when I don't say anything, I come in and I get asked, Oh, you seemed very flat on the court.

You know, that's just how I am. I feel like I have improved it from where I was in the middle of my career. Yeah, it's something that I constantly, you know, try to get better.

Q. Del Potro next. Do you feel like you're playing at a level to win that one?
ANDY MURRAY: Absolutely, yeah.

Q. Or what would you need to improve to win that one?
ANDY MURRAY: Absolutely. Yeah, it's a tough match. Not easy third round. He's, in my opinion, one of the best players in the world, you know, when he's fit and healthy.

This year he's had a lot of tough draws. If you look at the matches that he's lost, I think he's played Novak a few times. I think he lost to Raonic in Delray Beach. Obviously, I mean, Novak in Rome. Miami I think he lost to Roger. So because of the ranking that he has, he's kind of in that bracket where he's met a lot of the top guys early on.

But, yeah, I definitely feel like I'm capable of winning that match. I mean, I'm playing way better than I was two weeks ago, and today's match will have done me a lot of good, because physically I pulled up well and felt good, so I will gain a lot of confidence from that. And also, today I hit a lot of balls out there today, more than the first-round match.

It seems like everyone thinks I didn't play particularly well today, but there was some good stuff against a tough opponent. It's not easy to play against someone like him.

So, yeah, hopefully I will keep improving in the next one.

Q. There seemed to be quite a lot of distractions out there of various types. Is that something the organizers have to get a grip of? Or I presume it wasn't Sophia crying, for instance, in the middle of the last set. There just seemed to be lots of noise.
ANDY MURRAY: I didn't think there was lots of noise. I mean, there was one point where someone shouted out when he was serving. But I don't remember any times apart from maybe literally one or two in a three-and-a-half-hour match. I didn't think there was any real issues out there in the court.

Q. You were heard at one point saying, Flattest I have seen you guys for a long time, which I presume is in relation to your coaching box. What is it that you're looking for from them which you don't feel you're getting during a match?
ANDY MURRAY: I think a lot of time when I'm playing and especially when I'm frustrated or down, you know, I don't always project, you know, a lot of positivity on the court. Sometimes I think also for my team it's difficult to know exactly how I'm feeling or what it is that I need when I'm on the court. So I think my job is really to try to be more positive, you know, whilst I'm out there.

And I think that helps, kind of helps everyone, you know, my whole team. I think they also feed off that a little bit, as well.

But I think, you know, the last few months have obviously been tough, not been a lot of good stuff going on out there. When I'm getting frustrated, I think it's not easy for them, either.

Like I said, it was a good match for me to get through today. And hopefully we get a chance to do better in the next one.

Q. One more question about Klizan. He said about a year ago, he said he would like to manage to top 10. That's a goal. Do you think he has the potential to do it?
ANDY MURRAY: I mean, getting to top 10 is very tough. I think it's not about maybe -- to get to top 10 you have to play well the whole year, and that's obviously the challenge for him, because I think through a lot of his career he's played unbelievable for a few tournaments during the year but maybe not played at the same level for long enough, enough consistency.

But I think he has the ability to play well in a lot of the surfaces. He obviously likes clay. I played him indoors last year, and he played well. He's won on hard courts before. If he applies himself every single week and works on his consistency, then it's possible.

But it's not easy to get into the top 10. It's just tough.

Q. You had some gracious things to say on court about the French fans. Could you take a moment and just sort of do a little compare and contrast? Fans of the four different slams, I don't know, the loudness of the New York crowd and intelligence of Australia, whatever. Secondly, at Wimbledon, the crowd is so behind you in every move, every success, every failure. Is there any downside when it's just so intense on the upside and the downside?
ANDY MURRAY: Well, I mean, I think at Wimbledon I certainly can't complain about the support I have had there over the years, and I have played -- that's been my most successful major. So, yeah, I have certainly no complaints there. Definitely a completely different atmosphere to the US Open. Wimbledon is pretty much silent during the points. You know, US Open, there is a constant, constant noise and energy there, you know, which is very different.

Here I think, you know, the crowds get into the matches, and I do think they are very knowledgeable about the game. They appreciate good tennis. They like to see players fighting and trying hard. You know, they don't like it if players are throwing their racquets or, you know, complaining about a line call or whatever. They don't like to see that.

I mean, all of the slams are very different in terms of the atmosphere that you get, but you'd expect that. Different cultures, you know.

It's great. That's what makes them special.

Q. As someone whose development was shaped by a family member, wonder if you can reflect on the transition like with Toni leaving Rafa's camp this year, the transition, someone who has been involved a lot longer than your mother, but just talk about the transition that you have to make.
ANDY MURRAY: Yeah, I mean, my mom hasn't coached me since I was very, very young.

But I would think that Toni would still be heavily involved in Rafa's tennis. He's obviously not going to be at the tournaments, but I would think when they're back in Mallorca, I would think he'd still be on the court during practices and watching his matches. I'm sure he'll still be helping him.

But, you know, I'm sure there will be a small period of adjustment for Rafa, as well, because he's used to, you know, looking up into his box and seeing Toni there. He's been the one constant in his career. But he's also played a lot of tournaments with Toni not there.

As well, he's had two coaches I think for pretty much all of his career, it seems like, with Francisco Roig. So he has played without Toni before, but I would imagine it would be, yeah, a smaller adjustment for him, but I'm sure Toni will be pretty heavily involved, still.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

ASAP Sports, Inc. | T: 1.212 385 0297