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AUSTRALIAN OPEN

January 24, 2009

Andy Murray

MELBOURNE, VICTORIA

A. MURRAY/J. Melzer
7-5, 6-0, 6-3

THE MODERATOR: Questions, please.

Q. A slow start, but then you got into almost overdrive. How would you sum up the game?
ANDY MURRAY: I actually thought I started well. I went up 4-1, you know, was playing solid, but against someone who has his sort of game style, you know, there's going to be points in the match where he's hitting a lot of winners and dictating what's happening on the court because, you know, he plays ultra-aggressive, and has done every time I played against him.
He got back into the first set. But, you know, after that I thought I hit the ball really, really well. I took a lot of my chances. I made him do a lot of running and was very confident from the second set onwards.

Q. That point, once you held serve early in the second, it seemed like you got really aggressive very quickly. Was that a deliberate thing or was that just the way the match happened to turn?
ANDY MURRAY: I mean, the conditions on the court today were very different to what they were the first match that I played. I've been practicing during the day, as well. The ball flies a lot. It tends to be more windy, as well, during the day.
On that court, I felt like, you know, tonight you could really swing hard at the ball, and it was pretty heavy conditions. When I played him in the past, he struggled to return his serve. But, you know, he didn't get too many free points off that.
Once I got a feeling for the court, like I said, I felt like I could swing really hard at the ball, you know. From early in the second set, I was dictating everything that was happening.

Q. At the end, was that him hitting out or were there a few nerves?
ANDY MURRAY: No, not nerves. If you saw the points, he like swung for three, four games in a row. He was going for huge shots. You know, he made them. He's one of those guys that, when he's behind, he's dangerous because he doesn't think a whole lot.
I think when it starts to get close against him and he starts thinking is when he starts to make more mistakes, like at the end of the first set.
But, yeah, I wasn't particularly nervous because I knew I was playing well. Even if I had lost the next break, I would have felt confident winning the match.

Q. Would you say, Andy, the way you won today, compared with the match at the US Open, would you see that as a measure of how much you've improved since then or did you feel he didn't play as well as he did then?
ANDY MURRAY: Well, I mean, like I said, with the serving, I felt like I returned his serve much, much better than I had done in the past. The conditions were slower, which helped me, because he plays very aggressive. He likes to come into the net, take the ball early, sort of rush you. But with the heavy conditions, I wasn't as rushed, and returned the serve better.
I mean, I just felt more confident going into the match. I knew if I played well, and the first set was very important, I felt like I could go on to win in three sets if I grabbed the first set. But when he gets ahead, you know, he can start serving well and he can get confident. The start was very important.
But I do think I played much better today than at the US Open.

Q. Can you compare the start you've had here with the US Open, how it feels to you?
ANDY MURRAY: Just very different matches. I mean, you know, I had a tough start at the US Open. I mean, Llodra is a very tricky player, played well against me. Melzer, obviously I played much better this time. I think I've started here better than I did at the US Open.
But, you know, you got to do the same next week, as well.

Q. You've had a good run against Verdasco in the past. What have you made of him so far?
ANDY MURRAY: Haven't really seen a whole lot of his match. I think Stepanek, I don't know if he had something wrong with him today or not, but he didn't look like he was particularly interested.
I mean, against Verdasco, it's very important to use my head. I have a very good record against left-handers. The only one I've lost to on the tour has been Nadal. I need to use my head, make him do a lot of thinking and moving. If I play like I did tonight, I can definitely win that one.

Q. Lively atmosphere in there tonight, lots of Scots.
ANDY MURRAY: Yeah, it was good. I heard someone say they didn't do night sessions on that court beforehand. I don't know if it's just people that turn up and buy tickets that they get in or not. It was, yeah, a very good atmosphere. They were chanting from the first point to the last. Obviously makes a difference when you're playing away from home and you've got great support.

Q. You said you had very good preparation for this. Now you seem to be coming into form. Do you think you're gaining momentum as the tournament goes on?
ANDY MURRAY: I mean, I think you need to just sort of settle yourself down before the start of the second week 'cause there's a lot of tennis to be played. The matches are obviously going to get tougher. Verdasco has been playing well so far in the tournament.
You know, I'm sure one match in a slam, if you want to go deep, maybe you're not playing your best tennis, you have to try and find a way through to win. I hope it doesn't happen, but if it does, I need to be prepared to try and win a match when I'm not playing my best tennis.

Q. Do you think you've been tested enough up to this point for the second week?
ANDY MURRAY: Yeah, well, Melzer is a test obviously for me. I've had close matches with him in the past. It was a good test to see where my game was at. I was very happy.

End of FastScripts

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