BNP PARIBAS OPEN

October 8, 2021

Andy Murray

Press Conference

A. MURRAY/A. Mannarino

6-3, 6-2

THE MODERATOR: Questions, please.

Q. You look like you played really well and enjoyed that first experience back in the desert for four years.

ANDY MURRAY: Yeah, I mean, I kind of played how the conditions allowed a little bit. I mean, it was very, very breezy on the court, like a strong breeze from one end. So from the far end of the court, it was really blowing into your back there. So, yeah, I mean, I thought I played how the conditions allowed.

I've played well in the wind over the years. Yeah, did a good job of that tonight.

Q. The question I think the nation really wants answer to is how you got your shoes and your wedding ring back, and whether somebody stole them?

ANDY MURRAY: So basically the day after or the day that we realized they were let's say misplaced or sort of someone had moved them, I went and I spoke to the lost and found a couple times at the hotel that day. They said they'd found nothing. I spoke to security. They said they found nothing.

I was like, Well, they're gone. I was going to file a police report to try to get them back or to increase my chance of getting them back. Anyway, I went and spoke to the hotel, explained to them that was what I was going to do. They then decided to take all of my details down, the details of the shoes, ring, took me out to the carpark and asked exactly where it was I parked. I asked them if they could look at the cameras, et cetera.

Yeah, about an hour later they turned up. One of the employees at the hotel found them in their lost and found. So, yeah, thankfully managed to get them back, which was good.

Q. A shoe-related question. At the US Open and here how does a player at the ATP level travel with so few pairs of shoes that it's a crisis for you when something happens to your one pair.

ANDY MURRAY: Yeah, so I didn't travel with one pair. I had two pairs of shoes that were under the car. I came to California with three pairs, which one of them I kind of finished with a couple of days ago. I have two more pairs for the trip here.

I mean, I personally have never had any issues over the years with, like, broken shoelaces or anything like that. Obviously what happened at the US Open was new for me. Yeah, obviously from now on make sure I come to the courts with two or three pairs of shoes in case something like that happens.

But, yeah, I don't always think that players do travel with that many or not enough shoes. For example, at the US Open, that would have been at the end of like a four-week whatever, four-week trip. Maybe you take, like, six pairs with you. Yeah, sometimes towards the end, like, maybe you run out, not run out, but you have less pairs.

But, yeah, I mean, the shoes that I have now, like, I'm trying to use a bit sparingly because they don't make them anymore. These are the ones I played with for a long time. I'm also a bit mindful of that. I don't want to change if I don't have to. I've had enough sort of issues with my body to worry about having to change shoes and stuff again.

Have to be a bit mindful of that because I don't have an infinite number of them either.

Q. How difficult a conversation was that when you called home to say that you thought you lost your wedding ring? How relieved were you when you found it?

ANDY MURRAY: It wasn't too bad, to be honest. My wife's pretty laid back with that stuff. There's been a number of occasions where it's fallen off my shoe. Like once I was swimming in a swimming pool. Like when my hands get cold, the ring can slide off. I lost it. Didn't realize till later in the day.

My physio went back into the swimming pool. He used to swim, like, at British level. He was under there looking for it. He managed to find it.

I've almost lost it quite a few times but it always finds its way back to me somehow. Yeah, this time was no different.

Q. Can I ask you about the match. You said on court concentration had been an issue or problem for you in previous tournaments. Can you put your finger on why?

ANDY MURRAY: Yeah, I think there's many factors. It may not necessarily be like that you're not concentrating on the match, but it may be concentrating on the wrong things as well. I might be focused on maybe what just happened rather than, like, what's about to happen, sometimes looking back a bit. Sometimes in matches when I've had chances and opportunities, maybe I'm looking forwards too much, maybe concentrating on the wrong stuff.

I'm trying to be a little bit more present and focus on just every single point. I think tonight I did a good job of that. I did well considering the conditions.

I don't think I played, like, amazing tennis or the best tennis that I can play. But I still won comfortably against a very good player just by knuckling down on every point.

Q. This year you have played 12 tournaments between ATP and challenger. It is the highest amount in the last five years. How are you feeling about your game on the court and physically?

ANDY MURRAY: That's not a lot obviously of tournaments (smiling).

Yeah, physically my body responds well to playing matches. That's one of the hardest things about being out, is that you just can't replicate the intensity of match play. So you can do all of the work in the gym, do as much practicing as you want, but getting on the match court is different. Your body responds differently to that. Certainly mine does. I've heard many athletes talking about it across a number of sports, talking about match fitness.

Yeah, I don't know whether it's due to adrenaline or that will to win, you push your body just that little bit harder, 5%, 10% extra. Unless you're out there competing regularly, your body doesn't get used to that.

I want to keep playing whilst my body feels good. I don't want to overplay obviously. I have played quite a few tournaments recently, but I've not had any really deep runs. I've had enough sort of rest between the events.

Yeah, whilst my body feels good, I want to try to play as much as I can between now and the end of the year to set myself up as best as I can for next season.

Q. How important are the challenger events in your overall state and ability to win matches like you did tonight?

ANDY MURRAY: Well, I think certainly at the beginning of the year, obviously helped. With what happened in Australia, I mean, I was so disappointed not to be able to play there. It was, like, either sit at home and wait till there's some tour events or get out there and compete. That certainly helped me.

Maybe it wasn't necessary for me to play the one after the US Open. But, again, yeah, I was starting to feel good about my game. I thought I played a good match obviously in New York. I wanted to get out there and compete and try and build some momentum.

Those tournaments, they're not easy ones to win, as well. They are always slightly different conditions. They play with quite different balls. I don't know, it's just a little bit different. Obviously all of the players play extremely well.

Yeah, again, I would say for me now it's been a bit of a challenge because I don't really know any of the players that I'm playing against that well. It's something that I would say I've struggled a little bit with, just figuring players out.

That's why, again, playing the matches and remembering, like, my own game, how I need to play the points, remembering how to win. That was always a huge strength of mine, that I found ways to win matches maybe when I wasn't playing so well.

Those challenger matches have been good for me to try to get that winning feeling back, as well.