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WIMBLEDON

June 30, 2008

Andy Murray

LONDON, ENGLAND

A. MURRAY/R. Gasquet
5-7, 3-6, 7-6, 6-2, 6-4

THE MODERATOR: First question, please, for Andy.

Q. Was that the most bizarre match you've ever played in?
ANDY MURRAY: It wasn't bizarre.

Q. The finish of the match.
ANDY MURRAY: I didn't find it bizarre. I mean, the first two sets he completely outplayed me. Pretty much the first three sets. You know, he was playing like, you know, he had no pressure at all. He was going for his shots on all the big points, hitting the ball so hard and deep that I couldn't really do much.
And then as soon as the pressure did start to get to him a little bit in the end of the third set, I obviously took advantage of it and came back well. But the end of the match was absolutely awesome. It was nearly pitch black. But, yeah, I mean, one of the best ends to a match ever, for sure, for me.

Q. That moment at the end of the tiebreak, that incredible running backhand into the crowd almost on set point.
ANDY MURRAY: Yeah, it was lucky because there's a little pit, the photographers' pit there. I stopped just before I was about to go into it.
But, yeah, I mean, that was obviously huge. You know, still had a few more set points, but I think to finish the set like that really sort of, you know, got the crowd going. It shifted the momentum hugely, and I think his head went down a little bit for a few games after that shot.

Q. Were you confident you would finish the match tonight? There was no question in your mind they might hold it over?
ANDY MURRAY: Well, lucky the fourth set was really fast 'cause, uhm, I asked at the end of the third how much longer we could go. He said we had about an hour. 9:15 is when it starts to get really dark, and then I think we finished at 9:25. We went a little bit over.
I think Gasquet wanted to stop the match, but we could still see just about at the end. You know, I obviously wanted to keep going.

Q. When you flexed your biceps at the end, what sort of message were you trying to send out?
ANDY MURRAY: I was doing it to my fitness trainers. You know, I've been putting in so much work off the court, you know, that it was the first time this year I've really had the chance to show it.
You know, it was maybe a little bit weak (laughter). But, yeah, I decided that that's what I wanted to do at the end of the match.

Q. No warning to Rafa Nadal that you're coming to get him then?
ANDY MURRAY: No, no, nothing like that. I just wanted to show that, you know, there is some muscles there, and I had worked hard off the court (smiling).

Q. How important was the crowd? Do you think it's a match you would have won at any other arena?
ANDY MURRAY: I mean, I don't know for sure if I would have won. But, you know -- I mean, he obviously did get a bit nervous in the end of the third set.
You know, the crowd were awesome. You know, after that, the whole tiebreak, the fourth and fifth sets, once I got ahead, you know, I mean, they got behind me, I mean, more than they ever have before.
You know, it kind of -- I mean, you're obviously tired at the end of the match, but it almost takes your mind off, you know, your physical state when you've got so many people behind you.
Yeah, they clearly made a big difference at the end, for sure.

Q. You faced quite an onslaught. You said you were outplayed in the early stages. Was there ever a moment you thought you might be going home, that was it?
ANDY MURRAY: I mean, when he broke me in the third set, I mean, I hadn't broken him the whole match. And like I said, he was playing like he had no pressure.
But, you know, he did get clearly nervous right at the end of that set, and, you know, I started to feel like I could win. But when I got broken, you know, I pretty much out of the match.

Q. How would you have felt if he had served it out?
ANDY MURRAY: I don't know. I mean, I guess it was different to my match with Baghdatis because I felt like I played poorly. I didn't feel like I was playing that badly and he was playing awesome.
Sometimes you come off the court against guys that are as talented as him and they just play too good for you and you can't do much about it. I guess that's probably how I would have felt.

Q. In your sort of back catalog of matches so far, that's got to rate up there, given the stage, the tournament you're at, as your finest performance?
ANDY MURRAY: Yeah, definitely as an overall match, yeah, the best one that I've definitely been part of. You know, my match against Nadal at the Aussie Open, for me, was my best, the best match that I played up until this point.
But, you know, coming back from two sets to love, playing obviously very well at the end, and the support that I got, made that probably the best one that I played in.

Q. The circumstances of tonight's match, they give you an extra bit of momentum going into the match against Nadal?
ANDY MURRAY: Uhm, yeah. I mean, I obviously would have loved to have won a bit quicker. But, you know, I feel, like I said, I have worked hard enough to be able to last these sort of matches every other day.
You know, I'm gonna have to try to recover really well tomorrow, make sure that I get enough food in me, enough sleep, try and prepare, you know, the best that I can for the match with Nadal.
Obviously he's the favorite for the match. But, you know, I do think that I can win.

Q. Aside from eating and sleeping, what else do you plan to do tomorrow?
ANDY MURRAY: No, that's pretty much it. I'll probably wake up late. I'll practice for 45 minutes, an hour. See the physio, you know, get a massage, a lot of stretching done, try and get rid of -- I guess it's not so much the tiredness, more the soreness, you know. And then, you know, that's pretty much it.

Q. When you hit that incredible winner from way off the court by the photo pit, you let out this incredible howl that went on and on. Seemed like you were king of the world. What were you feeling at that particular moment?
ANDY MURRAY: I mean, I just felt like -- I mean, like I said, 10, 15 minutes before that I was pretty much out of the match, and I felt like I was in a good position to go on and win from there.
You know, the noise that the crowd makes probably made my scream sound not too loud, but I don't really know exactly how I was feeling. Just definitely felt like I had a chance to win the match after that.

Q. Was it more about heart and mind at the end rather than ability?
ANDY MURRAY: I mean, it obviously plays a huge part. You know, when you're serving out a match, when you know it's probably the last game that you're going to play, there's obviously pressure on you.
But, I mean, you just have to trust your game. You know, you put in the hours of work, and, you know, I came up with four great first serves to finish the match when I'd served kind of poorly pretty much throughout.

Q. How much did you learn when you played Nadal in Australia in that five-setter, and how will it help you when you face him again over best-of-five?
ANDY MURRAY: I mean, I learnt that I could obviously play with him, you know, play at his level. You know, for probably four and a half sets I was up there with him and definitely had my chances.
But, you know, obviously I think both of our games have changed a bit since then. He's definitely playing better on grass than he was in previous years. I like to think I'm playing a bit better. It's going to be a completely different match to, you know, a year and a half ago.
But, you know, I have to look at the guys that have given him trouble and, you know, the way that Tsonga played against him in Australia this year. You know, really important to serve well, be aggressive, not give him a chance to start dictating the rallies, you know, is the game plan against him.

Q. After tonight, do you feel you can go on to win the whole thing?
ANDY MURRAY: I felt like that since the start of the tournament. You know, I mean, it is tough to say now. I just need to make sure I recover well. I might be feeling sore in a couple days. I don't know.
But I felt at the start of the week I had a chance of winning. You know, obviously wasn't the favorite. But I said it was more the consistency that was the most important part to give myself the best chance, and I think I've been pretty consistent so far.

Q. What are you eating just now?
ANDY MURRAY: Sushi.

Q. When you thought about Wimbledon, about putting yourself in a position like this, had you ever tried to imagine what 15,000 people standing on your feet chanting your name at the end of a fantastic five-setter would be like? And what was the actuality like in the moment?
ANDY MURRAY: It's an awesome feeling. Like I said, it's the best support I've ever had in a match, you know, in my life. Yeah, you don't really prepare yourself for it.
But I think when it does happen, you know, you have to really enjoy it. And, like, I think it's really important to try and use the crowd to give you extra energy and, you know, kind of get on top of your opponent a bit.
You know, it must be intimidating playing against that. You know, I've never been in the situation Gasquet was in, but I'm sure it was tough for him at the end. It's an awesome feeling to have that sort of support.

Q. Do you feel like they'll be that bit louder than they might otherwise have been when you take on Nadal because of the emotion and the drama that you brought tonight?
ANDY MURRAY: I don't know. I mean, it's really my job to make sure that I give them something to shout about. You know, hopefully start the match well, you know, give everyone belief that I can go on and do it.
I just hope that -- you know, I'm sure I'll probably play third match on Centre on Wednesday. You know, the atmosphere was great tonight, and I'm sure it will definitely equal it on Wednesday.

Q. On that note, do you prefer playing late in the day, given how late tonight went?
ANDY MURRAY: Uhm, I mean, it can get tough at the end of the match when you obviously want to try and finish it. But, yeah, I mean, I think the crowd gets warmed up nicely.
The crowd's obviously completely packed at the end of the day. You know, I know a lot of people wait outside for, you know, sort of old Centre Court tickets that people are finished with.
You get some great fans in there at the end of the night. So I don't really mind when I play too much. But, you know, the atmosphere was great tonight.

Q. What do you think of Jamie's new hairdo?
ANDY MURRAY: Couldn't have got much worse, could it (smiling)? It's fine. I mean, there's not much -- you can't go wrong, I guess, when you shave your head. It doesn't really look terrible, but it doesn't look great either.

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