BNP PARIBAS OPEN

October 12, 2021

Andy Murray

Press Conference

A. ZVEREV/A. Murray

6-4, 7-6

THE MODERATOR: Questions, please.

Q. I can appreciate there's a huge amount of frustration when you play well but you don't win the match.

ANDY MURRAY: 'Well'? Okay.

Q. I completely understand your frustration in not coming through.

ANDY MURRAY: No, I'm not saying he played great either, but I don't think I played well today. Yeah, I mean, there's a lot of mistakes. There was some good stuff in there, but it was mixed in with bad. There was no sort of, like, consistency I don't think. I don't know, like my sort of average level was just not really there today. It was either good or bad. Yeah, I wouldn't put that down as playing really well.

The positive for me to take from it is I obviously had opportunities again. Yeah, I mean, I guess that's positive. I didn't feel like I played a great match and still had chances, so that's positive.

But, yeah, I'm disappointed because, I mean, I obviously want to be winning these matches. I haven't in the last few months. Yeah, something needs to change.

Q. Why do you think physically you are so strong now where you've been struggling up until Wimbledon? Is that just a question of your body getting used to the hip, do you think?

ANDY MURRAY: Well, it's pretty hard playing, like, top-level professional sport with a metal hip. There's obviously lots of sort of I guess compensation sort of happening around that area, like the pelvis and the lumbar spine. Yeah, I would imagine my body is taking some time to get used to that.

Yeah, on top of that I'm not young either. I've played a lot of years on the tour, as well, so there's some wear and tear in other parts of my body, too.

I mean, I felt good sort of physically again the end of 2019. Obviously I don't know exactly what happened there, but this is physically the best I've felt for a while. I'm sort of battling my game a little bit. Yeah, the consistency isn't there. I don't know, the decision making is not great in the important moments still.

Yeah, there is sort of the I guess moments that I was always - I think for the most part - very strong in, and I haven't been this year. So disappointed with that.

Q. The Australian Open, the government of Australia has strongly suggested that players get vaccinated before coming. Players that are unvaccinated will probably face more quarantine requirements if they're allowed in at all. Do you agree with that policy as someone who has been vocal about the importance of vaccines?

ANDY MURRAY: Yeah, I mean, my understanding is if you're unvaccinated you're still allowed to play, it's just the rules are going to be different, and that's understandable.

Well, my understanding of the virus is that you're significantly more likely to catch the virus if you're unvaccinated, and you're also more likely to pass it on, as well.

Obviously Australia in particular has been very, very strict over there. The public there have had to endure a painful 18 months or whatever. If people are going to come in to the country and potentially risk an outbreak in their community or whatever, yeah, that's understandable.

It's not to say you can't play. You might just have to leave a few weeks earlier than everyone else. That's the player's choice. If the local government puts that in place then, yeah, I would support that.

It would be great if more players got vaccinated.

Q. The situation when Sascha Zverev had to change his shoelaces, did that have any affect on your game?

ANDY MURRAY: No, I mean, I don't think so. Those sort of things happen obviously in matches. It's not perfect for either of us. Yeah, it was a genuine, legitimate thing. You can't play if you have no shoelaces. No, I don't think it had any bearing on the outcome.

Q. Would you like to see the tours take a stance? Other sports are saying, You can't play if you're not vaccinated. This is an individual sport and there is no commissioner. In a perfect world would you like to see the ATP and WTA say you can't play without being vaccinated?

ANDY MURRAY: I mean, I don't really know how to answer that because I think it's quite complex with how or sport works. Obviously a lot of the leagues, for example, over here in the different sports, I know there's different rules within the different states, but it's all in one country, whereas with tennis, obviously it's global, there's different rules in different countries.

I think some of the players maybe would feel like if they're not vaccinated and they're going to a country where vaccination is not mandatory that they shouldn't be forced into it by the ATP or the WTA potentially.

But like I said, I support vaccination. I hope that more of the players get it done. Well, I don't want to come off the court having played a match and, again, be talking about something like that. I'd rather focus on the tennis. We're concentrating on the vaccine a lot because a lot of the players haven't taken it yet.

Hopefully people gain more confidence in it over time, can see the benefits outweigh any of the potential risks or side effects that people are worried of. I'm not saying that that never happens. I understand it is in rare cases, like people can get some side effects. For the most part the benefits way outweigh any of the risks.

Hopefully more of the players can see that.

Q. You spoke of decision making on court. How does an elite tennis player upgrade his decision making? Who is the best decision maker you think you've ever faced?

ANDY MURRAY: I'd probably say Novak in important situations for the most part. I would say he probably would have made the right decision more often than not, more than most players. I would say right now Medvedev is right up there. A very smart player and stuff.

I think a lot of that comes with confidence and also how you're feeling about your game and your shots. I think if you're not quite feeling your shots that well, are not sure how the ball's going to come out of your racquet sometimes, that's when there's a little bit of indecision, that split-second decision, you sort of maybe change your mind or whatever, and that's when the mistakes can come.

I guess the case of getting through some of those match, just keep building, and hopefully with some more wins hopefully get back to winning tournaments in the latter stages of these events and that will improve.

You can also look at it as well, I guess, to analyze it with the video and stuff. If there's a sort of recurring pattern of shot that you're maybe making a mistake on or making the wrong decision on, you can look at that and try to adjust it.

But, yeah, they're the sort of things you can do.