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CITI OPEN

July 29, 2019

Andy Murray

Washington D.C.

THE MODERATOR: Questions, please.

Q. (Question regarding playing doubles.)
ANDY MURRAY: I mean, yeah, it has for sure. I mean, I think like at Wimbledon, for example, few scheduling things, matches getting canceled, supposed to be going on late...

At Queen's, had matches with Feli where we ended up playing two doubles matches straight after one another, things like that.

Doubles, it's not the priority basically. I think when you get more of the top singles players playing, the draw here is brilliant, really good doubles matches. People enjoy watching. If they get on tonight with Stefanos, I think the mixed doubles, as well. People that are usually on the opposite side of the net, competing together, as well, I think that's fun.

Yeah, the mixed doubles is cool. The excitement when Roger and Serena played in Hopman Cup, things like that, it's just rare. You don't see it probably enough. When we do, people like it. They seem to enjoy it.

Q. What do you think can be done to get top players to play doubles more often?
ANDY MURRAY: Good question. There's things that could be done that would make it more likely that guys would play. I think more of the top women play doubles in the slams because, like at Wimbledon, there's no chance if I was playing in singles, playing best-of-five singles, best-of-five doubles, physically I'm just not going to do it. Whereas more of the women do because you're able to when you're playing best-of-three.

At the slams, that's something that I don't know if I like that idea. At these events, I'm not sure. I think, I mean, they could make it mandatory. They could make it mandatory that you play three or four doubles events a year, something like that, which I wouldn't be anti.

A few of the guys do anyway. If you made it mandatory, it would be easier to sell the product, I guess.

Q. Are you close to playing singles? Are you still a little ways away from playing singles?
ANDY MURRAY: I think I'm closer than what I maybe thought I was. I hadn't played any singles at all until obviously after Wimbledon I started doing a few, like, singles drills, not like points serve and return, but a few point-based practices.

When I got here, I played a set yesterday. Then I played seven or eight games today. I was doing pretty well. I felt good. The conditions here are tough, obviously, for the players. That's the thing that I'm sort of lacking. My cardio isn't great just now because I spent all of my time in the gym recently, been building up strength, improving the flexibility in my hip.

Obviously when I've been playing doubles, as well, the doubles practices, you don't get your heart rate as high. When I'm playing singles, that's the thing I'm a little bit behind on.

In terms of moving, how I'm feeling, pulling up the next day, in these practices, I'm really happy with where I'm at. I'm quite close, but it's stuff that will need to get better.

Also, like if I was to play a tournament in a few weeks' time, I could do it. Maybe to get to where I want to get to, I need to play matches and get a little bit more work done in the gym on my cardio.

Q. In the United States, more people play doubles than singles. Do you think the ATP, tournament management, has a role to educate the broadcasters, ESPN, Europe, to bring doubles more?
ANDY MURRAY: Yeah, I do think that tennis in general, whether it's the ATP, the slams, TV, whoever. Yeah, they could do a better job of selling doubles.

Like I said, often it is seen as just being, I don't know, sort of an extra to the tournaments. It fills courts and times, but it's not often given center stage.

Sometimes like tonight, when it does, it would be interesting the feedback that the tournament gets. At the Wimbledon men's doubles final, they had a great crowd at the end. Lots of people stayed behind for that. I think when I played with Feli at Queen's, they had good crowds. People seemed to enjoy it.

Yeah, I think everyone has a bit of a responsibility to show that side again. Like you say, that's what most social tennis players play around the world. I don't think it's just in the U.S., I think it's also in the UK. I trained a lot in Spain. A lot of the clubs in Spain have a lot of doubles, too.

They could certainly do a better job of it. I would be interested to see what the feedback is from the matches played this week. Should be some really good doubles matches.

Q. Has it caused you to reflect and think will you ever get back?
ANDY MURRAY: Yeah, after this latest operation, I didn't have particularly high hopes because I've had high hopes through most of the kind of rehab, surgeries and stuff. Through until that point, I had no success. My hip was nowhere near where it needed to be.

Whereas now, just not being in pain, it's amazing what that will do to you. I don't know, just how I feel every single day when I wake up, it's amazing. I couldn't remember what that was like.

So these last few months have been brilliant. I'm really enjoying myself. There are things I could do on the court now that, when I played here last year, was winning tough matches against good players, I can do way better than I did last year. I couldn't serve for roughly a year. I couldn't use my right leg at all. Now I can extend it back behind me. I can push up for serves. It's brilliant.

The question I sort of ask is, more recently, Why not? Why should I not be able to get back to playing? What's the reason I shouldn't be able to get back to where I was? There is no good reason for why I shouldn't be able to.

It just takes time for the muscles to recover that were cut during the operation. But once they're fully healed, which will probably take from nine to 12 months, why shouldn't I be able to? What's the reason?

Q. (Question about consulting with Bob Bryan and performance in 2018 Citi Open.)
ANDY MURRAY: So the first part of that, like about Bob, I spoke to him. It started around the grass court season last year when we started talking to each other because he just had the issues with his hip over the clay court season. Then it was here when he had the operation during Washington last year.

From there, he was, like, my guinea pig. I was messaging him two or three times a week, asking how he was getting on, trying to find out if it was potentially an option for me to give it a go.

Yeah, we're not unbelievably close, but I communicated with him loads over that period. He's done extremely well to get back to the level that he's playing at. I'm glad he did it because if it wasn't for him, I wouldn't have maybe given it a go even.

I also spoke to in January, there was an NHL player called Ed Jovanovski who also had the same operation. He told me in January that his hip was great after having it. But I'd seen that he stopped a year after he'd come back from the operation. He said he stopped because he said he was too old. Nothing to do with his hip. He was at the end of his career, 38, 39 at the time. I spoke to him, and he also said it was brilliant, a great operation and stuff.

Tried to speak to as many people as possible that had the operation, lots of different surgeons.

Yeah, last year I was just in a lot of pain. I actually saw the end of that match a couple weeks ago. I couldn't walk. I was watching myself walking. I was like, Wow. It was really bad. I was struggling a lot. I don't remember how I got through the match in the end.

Yeah, I was upset because my hip was really, really painful.

Q. (No microphone.)
ANDY MURRAY: I like it here. I really like it here. Obviously what happened last year, it was a shame. I was going through a tough time when it happened. I spoke to her here. I had no hard feelings towards her. Certain things happen. Yeah, I was just going through a tough time, so I maybe didn't take what was said well. Maybe she didn't mean exactly what she said, whatever.

I'm happy to be back. I love the city. Pretty nice place to visit. Yeah, had the option to play with my brother again, which I haven't done for three years. I mentioned to my brother after Queen's, I was saying to him, I wish we got the chance to play over the grass, but I didn't know where I was going to be physically if I was going to be able to play. It's nice that we get the opportunity to play together again here. That will be fun.

I mean, again, for me it was quite a difficult time because I had no idea. My hip was really bad again in Australia after that match, for a few days afterwards. I did delay flying home the following day because my hip was completely gone, it was finished. I didn't know whether I was going to be able to. I had been given no guarantees from anyone that if I had this operation I would get back to being fit and healthy again.

Watching it, it was maybe not the right time, but it was nice to hear some of the things that some of the other players were saying. I spoke to a lot of players in the locker room and stuff. When I was going through such a tough time for myself, it was just nice to hear things from people you respect, care about, saying nice things about you. It helped in some ways.

Obviously looking back now, maybe it wasn't appropriate because a few months later I'm obviously back feeling brilliant. I'm happy. I'm sure I'll get back in singles pretty soon.

Q. (Question about schedule.)
ANDY MURRAY: Next week I'm supposed to be playing with Feli Lopez in Canada. Potentially in Cincinnati. Basically what I'm doing here is I'm for the most part practicing singles and playing doubles to compete.

Each week, just going to see. If I keep progressing, I feel good in three weeks' time, I'll play singles as soon as I'm ready. I'm not quite ready this week. I hope at some stage soon I will be. If practice keeps going well, my body feels good, if I am capable of playing singles, I'll stop playing doubles.

But the plan is for me to go next week to Canada and play doubles with Feli. I would also do the same thing in Cincinnati if I wasn't ready for singles. Then just keep going on that path for now until I'm ready.

Q. (No microphone.)
ANDY MURRAY: I mean, it's possible. Yeah, best, best-case scenario. Best-case scenario probably would be Cincinnati. If I wasn't able to play in Cincinnati, then a good chance I'd probably wait until after New York because I wouldn't want my first tournament to be playing best-of-five, so yeah.

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