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WIMBLEDON

July 2, 2008

Andy Murray

LONDON, ENGLAND

R. NADAL/A. Murray
6-3, 6-2, 6-4

THE MODERATOR: First question for Andy.

Q. Few complaints over that result?
ANDY MURRAY: Yeah. I mean, he played so much better than me. Yeah, I mean, I didn't feel like I played my best, which is a bit disappointing.
But, regardless, he was playing too well probably for me. His forehand was ridiculous. You know, he's hitting the ball so close to the line, so hard, that it was difficult for me to get into a rhythm. I felt rushed on every point.
You know, I think in the past when I played against him I felt like I had a chance to sort of dictate the rallies early on 'cause he used to play topspin quite high over the net and the ball was bouncing up a bit. But he's hitting the ball, I mean, it's amazing how fast he moves his arm and how much control he has over it.
So, yeah, I mean, he deserved to win.

Q. How frustrating is it when you're against someone who is playing like that? What's going through your mind?
ANDY MURRAY: You've just got to try to hang in there. I had a very, very slight chance at 3-2 in the third. I had 15-30 for the first time. A second serve. I hit it straight into the middle of the court onto his forehand.
But you really just have to try and keep fighting, hope that his level goes down a little bit, you know, maybe get a break. I feel like the return is normally a strong part of my game. I had no chance at all really on his serve, which was a shame.

Q. Has he moved on as a player from when you played him in Australia?
ANDY MURRAY: I mean, yeah. I don't know if he plays every single match like that. But, I mean, yeah, his results are amazing. The consistency he has on every surface is unbelievable. The intensity he brings to every single match, you know, and for sure hitting the ball harder.
He still played a lot of topspin, but he's just hitting the ball lower over the net with the same amount of spin. You know, so it's shooting through the court a bit more, which makes it harder.
But, yeah, he's playing better for sure.

Q. Was tiredness a factor from Gasquet the other night?
ANDY MURRAY: No, not really. I mean, it was a different match to play against Gasquet obviously, but, you know, I felt like I'd recovered well. I didn't feel like my legs were all that heavy. But, I mean, I obviously would have rather gone into the match having won an easier match against Gasquet, but that had absolutely no bearing on the result at all.

Q. With Rafa being just 22 and getting better and better on grass, he looks like he's going to be a huge obstacle for so many years now in your dream of winning Wimbledon. That's the worry, isn't it?
ANDY MURRAY: No, not really. You know, I have to view it as a good thing, you know, to see that I can improve so many things in my game. It's up to me I make sure I go and do that.
You know, he's improved his game a lot on the grass, you know, in the last couple of years. You know, definitely he's the second best grass court player behind Federer. He's definitely closer to him this year than he was.
But, you know, I have to look at my game, work on some things, and work even harder and try and get up to that level, which I do think is possible. It's just gonna take a lot of hard work.

Q. What do you take out of this year's Wimbledon overall?
ANDY MURRAY: I mean, I've got to try and be positive about the whole two weeks. The match against Gasquet is obviously one of the best matches I've ever played in. You know, three solid matches before that against good players.
I mean, it's been a positive tournament for me. I got further than, you know, my ranking and seeding suggested. I'm going to be back in the top 10 at the end of this week, which is something that I felt like I was good enough to do, and now I've got to try and stay there.

Q. You said before the match that you thought the way you wanted to play was to play aggressively against Nadal. Did you feel you just didn't get the chance to do that because of the way he was playing?
ANDY MURRAY: Yeah. I mean, I probably could have helped myself a little bit by, you know, timing some returns a bit better and putting a high percentage of first serves in to give myself the chance to dictate early in the rallies.
But, yeah, I mean, like I said, he's taking the ball early, he's hitting it lower over the net, and playing aggressive from the very first shot, which I don't think he did necessarily in the past. Yeah, I felt rushed on pretty much every point, so...
Yeah, it was tough to be aggressive when he's hitting the ball like that.

Q. When you see how well he played today, how much of a chance does he have to beat Federer this year, do you think?
ANDY MURRAY: I think a great chance. I mean, I think if he plays that well and returns like that, I think he's very close to being the favorite to win in the tournament. You know, after his first match I think he's played some great tennis.
I think he's got a very, very good chance of winning. He was close last year, and I think he's playing better than he was last year.

Q. What do you feel you need to improve especially in your game?
ANDY MURRAY: I think I need to make sure that when I'm playing against the top guys that I, you know, can dictate more of the rallies right at the start. You know, when I make a big first serve, you know, really be aggressive from the first ball, rather than waiting a couple of shots.
Because I think against the top guys, they can really, you know, make you do a lot of running if you're a bit passive at the start of the rallies.
I mean, there's so many things that I can improve. Pretty much every part of my game, I think.

Q. A great deal of interest in you and your background and family at this tournament. How do you think that's impacted on you? A lot more intense this year.
ANDY MURRAY: Yeah, it has in some ways. But, like I said, for me it's been the least stressful Wimbledon, the most enjoyable one that I've had. I got awesome support in all of my matches. You know, once the tournament started, everything to me was absolutely fine.
You know, something just you've got to deal with. I think the older you get, you know, the better you learn to cope with everything. This was definitely the best Wimbledon I've had so far. I'm sure next year I'll be able to do even better.

Q. Do you think your best chance of winning a Grand Slam is outside of Wimbledon, with all the local pressure here?
ANDY MURRAY: No. I mean, I think here and the US Open are my two best opportunities. I think on the grass, there's fewer guys that play well than on the hard courts. But I do feel more comfortable playing on the American hard courts. It's still, you know, my favorite surface to play on.
You know, I've had some of my best results on those courts. I mean, I think I got a chance at winning Wimbledon. But, you know, US Open's always been the one that I felt was best suited to my game.

Q. Is Rafa's ball the heaviest in tennis, do you think?
ANDY MURRAY: Yup. Yeah, it is (smiling). I mean, he just swings his arm, I mean, so hard at the ball. You know, when you watch Federer play it looks like he's, you know, sort of effortless power.
When you see Nadal, and you actually see how fast he moves the racquet through the air, you know, and the amount of spin and speed that he generates, you know, yeah, I think for sure it's the heaviest shot or his forehand is the heaviest shot in tennis.

Q. Is his serve underrated? You didn't get a breakpoint on it today.
ANDY MURRAY: Yeah, I felt like I returned poorly. He's serving definitely better. You know, I just, yeah, didn't get hold of any returns.

Q. What are the strengths of his serve? It's not a big, booming, acing serve, is it?
ANDY MURRAY: No. Obviously being lefty helps, but it's like most of his other shots: he can put so much spin on it, you know, that the ball kind of jumps at a tough angle - something that I think Federer sometimes struggles with against him.
It's hard to really just step into the court and go for it because he can put a lot of swing on it, and when it hits the court it bounces hard in the other direction.
Yeah, I mean, his second serve is tough to attack. His first serve is returnable. But, again, it's much better than it was.

Q. After winning Queen's, Nadal said he really worked on his slice backhand. How much do you think that was a factor today?
ANDY MURRAY: I don't think that was really much of a factor. I think, you know, he kind of -- he uses it better now when he's out of position to get himself a bit more time to get into the court. But he was pretty much dictating all of the points, so he didn't have to use it too much.

Q. How has Kim supported you this week?
ANDY MURRAY: Pretty good, yeah. She supports me well every week.

Q. What do you expect to do the next few days and weeks?
ANDY MURRAY: I'll take a couple of days off, get back to working on my game. Probably by the weekend, try and get on the hard courts. I'm planning on playing Indianapolis, Toronto and Cincinnati. Might go over to the States for a few days beforehand, you know, to get used to the weather conditions over there.
But, yeah, not a hundred percent sure yet. But that's my plan the upcoming weeks.

Q. There was a lot of talk it would be a 50/50 split with you and Rafa, with the crowd. Didn't feel like that. Felt like they were right behind you tonight.
ANDY MURRAY: Yeah, like I said, the whole tournament they've been great. The match against Gasquet, the atmosphere was awesome. They got right behind me. Unfortunately, I didn't really give them enough to shout about. But hopefully next year I'll come back and do a bit better.

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