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THE ARTOIS CHAMPIONSHIPSJune 11, 2007Eric ButoracJamie MurrayLONDON, ENGLAND THE MODERATOR: Questions, please. Q. How do you think the match went today? JAMIE MURRAY: It went well. We played a great first set. We returned well and stuff. I don't think they volleyed particularly well. It was important we made a lot of returns. We did that, won the first set pretty easy. Obviously no breaks in the second. I guess we were starting to get a little bit frustrated because once you get to a tiebreak, anything can happen really. Fortunately we made a couple of good points to start on their serve. We got a big lead. That was that. Q. How much easier and more comfortable do you feel on a grass court than you did a few weeks ago on clay? JAMIE MURRAY: Yes, I mean, for us it's our style. It's like fast, bang, bang, bang. Whereas with clay, you obviously have to work the points a bit more. I mean, we got a lot more cheap points on our serve. Don't have to work for the points so much, which is obviously easier. I mean, it helps playing in front of that crowd. We were really fired up to do well and stuff. Yeah, we did that. Q. Is it that fast? JAMIE MURRAY: Well, I mean, it is fast. I mean, serving, I served like 135 miles an hour. I don't think I've ever done that in my life. You swing the ball around and stuff. Clay, the ball is sticking to the surface and coming up. I'm sure it's not as fast as it used to be, like 20 years ago. It's still fast compared to clay courts or outdoor hard courts. ERIC BUTORAC: I think as much as fast, the ball stays low on grass, which is key for us. We have a lot of slice on our serves. Teams can't hurt us. When we're down low at the net, they have to hit up. On clay courts, our serves are up in the air and they're able to be aggressive at us. Our serves are staying low, hard to get the ball up. Q. Eric, how much have you played on grass? ERIC BUTORAC: A fair bit. Last year I played a couple tournaments. Year before as well. I've always been really comfortable on it. For some reason, I really enjoy taking the ball low in the strike zone. I love returning on grass, which a lot of people don't. I think it suits me quite well. Q. Are you sure you're actually not British? ERIC BUTORAC: I need to start searching for a relative or find a wife soon. I don't know what the easiest way to become British is (smiling). Q. Have you set yourselves a target for this week and also Wimbledon in particular where you would want to be, where you would want to go? JAMIE MURRAY: No, I don't think you really can. I think the most important thing for us was get that team spirit back, start playing well, have more confidence and stuff. We took a bit of a battering during the clay season. I think for us the next few weeks, obviously we want to do well, especially for me it's my favorite time of year. Hopefully it will be for Eric. But I think, yeah, it's important that we get our team spirit and stuff back. I think we did today. It's only one match. We need to keep that going. Q. Jamie, is it important that you want to be your own man? Obviously everyone asks you about your brother. Do you want to be your own man? JAMIE MURRAY: I'm sure everyone wants to be their own man really. Q. Even on the BBC we saw you get asked about him. JAMIE MURRAY: That's normal. Everyone wants to know that. Q. How do you cope with that pressure? JAMIE MURRAY: It's okay. Yeah, I don't really mind. I mean, I know that obviously Andy is a top player. I'm his brother. It's natural I'm going to get asked questions about him. I mean, that's fine. Q. You just don't answer? JAMIE MURRAY: Just don't answer (laughter). He told me not to. I didn't want to give a "no comment" to the BBC. Q. You played singles last week. JAMIE MURRAY: Yeah, I played Surbiton. I lost to Jamie Delgado. It was good to get some matches on grass. Q. Are you happy with where you're at at the moment on the grass? Do you think there's a lot more to come still? JAMIE MURRAY: It was a pretty good first match for us. I think we served well. Got a lot of free points on serves. We were pretty solid at the net. Didn't really miss too much. We returned the best we had for a while. Yeah, I think we played a high level. Q. Have you been practicing at Roehampton, the grass there? JAMIE MURRAY: Yeah, for the last couple weeks, yeah. Q. Good wins for Bogdanovic and Baker today. How do you assess the strength of British tennis going into what's a pretty important few months? JAMIE MURRAY: I don't know. It's really not for me to say, I don't think. It's obviously great. Those guys, they got a wildcard, they took advantage of it. Jamie, the guy served for the match, he came back and won, which is obviously a great effort. Pretty easy win in straight sets. Q. Eric, what are your impressions of Queen's, this whole situation? ERIC BUTORAC: I remember coming out here last year to sign up for the doubles. I didn't get in the draw. Wasn't close. I remember walking by Centre Court. It's just breathtaking to look at the grass, the red background. Maybe the greatest Centre Court in tennis, you know. At that stage, I'm ranked a hundred in the world, not playing with a Brit either, I didn't really ever envision myself ever walking on that court. Then today to go out there in front of a full crowd, that's what you think about when you're growing up, you want to be a pro tennis player, to go onto a big Stadium Court, have a full crowd, to play a great match. JAMIE MURRAY: Did you play a great match (smiling)? ERIC BUTORAC: Couldn't be any better. End of FastScripts |
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