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U.S. OPEN

August 29, 2009

Andy Murray

NEW YORK CITY, NEW YORK

THE MODERATOR: Questions, please.

Q. What carries over from last year's experience here for you?
ANDY MURRAY: Well, obviously, I mean, that was the first time I got past the quarterfinals of a Slam, so that was a great experience for me to learn, you know, to play, you know, throughout the two weeks of a Slam and feel like physically I was able to do that.
But I mean I obviously learned a lot from last year and getting to the final and the matches that I played.
You know, I went away and worked very hard after that to improve myself, so I learned a lot from last year.

Q. Were there some doubts you had in your head before that about the physical part of five-set matches?
ANDY MURRAY: Maybe when I was young, but I don't think anyone comes on the tour sort of 18, 19, you know, really knowing whether they can do that, because until you've actually done it, you don't know.
You know, like I say, the last couple years I worked very, very hard on my fitness, so I'm hoping it's not going to be a problem ever again.

Q. About a week ago Djokovic made these comments about how he thought he was born at the wrong time or born in the wrong era because of Roger and Rafa. Is that something you think he's just kind of telling it how it is or sort of a cop-out or what are your thoughts on that?
ANDY MURRAY: Well, I view Roger and Rafa as the two best rivals ever. I'm sure by the time they finish you'll have the most Slams between any two rivals maybe by quite a long way, so they're obviously two of the best ever. Pretty tough to play with those sort of guys, but at the same time it's also, in a lot of ways, I think you sort of raise your game to the competition that you play against. And you know, playing against those sort of guys, you know, when I was younger, I realized that I needed to get a lot better and work physically, and I think the game has sort of gone maybe in the last four or five years to another level physically.
You know, I don't feel like I was unfortunate to be born in this era. I think it's a great thing to play alongside those two.

Q. You've spoken about how this is the Slam you'd most want to win. Talk about what it is about this tournament that really excites you.
ANDY MURRAY: Well, I played here in the juniors first time when I was maybe 15, 16, and just really, really enjoyed the atmosphere of, you know, everything that went with it. Obviously I had good memories from winning the juniors here. And then it became, you know, I just -- I don't know. Saw a few night matches, and loved it. I wanted to have the opportunity to play in one of them, and you know, it's just a very, very different atmosphere to the other Grand Slams if you look at the crowds and the way the matches go on center court with the big screen and the music, you know, the stars that come to watch.
It's taste a little bit different from the other ones.

Q. Are you at a point in your career where, if you don't go all the way to the finals here it's a disappointment to you?
ANDY MURRAY: Well, I guess kind of going back to the question I was asked earlier, that you've got two of the best players ever if not "the" two best players playing just now, so it's a little bit disrespectful to the other players to sort of view it as being a failure not to, you know, not to get to the final.
I'll be disappointed. That's for sure. Because I want to try and win every tournament I play in, but, I also still haven't, I think I have a good enough understanding of tennis that you can still have a good Slam and not win it.

Q. In Cincinnati, did Roger show you anything different than some of the previous matches you've played with him? Or did he seem any different?
ANDY MURRAY: Not really. I started the match a bit sluggish and left a lot of balls in the middle of the court. You know, it's easy to sort of say, you know, if he looked like he's playing more aggressive or he changed his game style a little bit and was coming forward a lot. But I think if you watch Roger playing against anybody, if you leave the ball in the middle of the court against him, you give him enough second serves to attack. He comes forward against anyone and I gave him too many opportunities to do that in the first set, and then once I started hitting the ball better in the second, you know, he didn't have any chances really on my serve, and you know, I obviously had a couple of set points to take it into a third. So it wasn't a whole lot different.

Q. Come 2014, US Open will be the only Grand Slam without a retractable roof. Should the US Open have a roof?
ANDY MURRAY: Maybe not a roof. Maybe covers. I mean, I don't know -- I've seen a few times since I've been here when it's rained they sort of have like 100 people out on the court with towels sort of cleaning them, drying them. (laughter.)
I think they could do with investing in some covers or, you know, I don't know what those -- I don't know what they're called, the things that dry the court. I think they use them in Australia.
I don't think it's necessary really to have a roof. There's only normally a couple of days during the tournament where there is some bad weather but some covers would definitely help.

Q. You don't think it's an unlevel playing field that this would be the open tournament...
ANDY MURRAY: No, I think sometimes it's nice that the tournaments have something a little bit different. I mean, I'm surprised at the French Open they're doing it, because even if it's raining a little bit you can still play.
You know, it's not that often the matches are interrupted or the tournament is interrupted by rain, so, no, I think it's something different, I guess.

Q. Could you clarify the role of Alex Corretja on this team during this US Open? Is he part of your team this year?
ANDY MURRAY: I obviously worked with him. He's not here at the tournament. Before I start I'll speak to him before I start. If I feel I need to speak to him during the tournament, whether that's me or Miles or whoever wants to have a chat about anything, he'll be there. But I worked with him for two weeks in Miami, the week in Montreal. You know, it was just sort of for the -- he hadn't come to any of the tournaments off the clay before, but it was sort of good to have a couple weeks of practice and then the chance for him to watch me playing matches, to see if the things we worked on had been going well. He's not going to be here but if there's anything I need, he'll be on the other end of the phone.

Q. What would it mean to you to win a Grand Slam title?
ANDY MURRAY: Well, it's one of the few things that I want to do now in tennis is, you know, is to win a Slam. It's something that is incredibly difficult to do, and but something that I believe is possible.
You know, I guess when I think a lot of players say when they win their first Slam it's sort of a relief because it's so much hard work that you put into it. So, you know, I'm hoping I can do it here.

Q. What will it take you to win it?
ANDY MURRAY: Well, I need to play well, obviously. You know, once you get to the end of the Slams, you need to raise your game, make sure you're playing great tennis sometimes in the first few rounds that's not always the case, because there are obviously different conditions. Sometimes you haven't played any matches on the court. So, you know, you sometimes have to go through some tough moments, you know, early in the tournament but it's about finding your way through them and then sort of playing your way in, and by the end of the tournament it's going to be important to do everything well.

Q. How different, how much better do you feel you are now than you were at the start of the Open a year ago?
ANDY MURRAY: I feel like I'm playing a lot better. I played, you know, up until sort of Wimbledon last year, I was playing I guess top 10 tennis but not tennis that, you know, that was consistent enough to get me sort of to 2 in the world. So I think that my consistency has been a lot better, and you know, physically I feel stronger than I was last year, you know, in terms of natural parts of my game. There's not one thing I would take out that's got a lot, lot better but I think everything's just got that little bit better and that's the difference when you get close to the top of the sports. There's not one major thing that changes but a lot of little things.

Q. Has your ranking changed the way you think about your game in any way?
ANDY MURRAY: No, not really. I've always viewed my game as, still view my game the same as it was before.
But, you know, there's always things that you try to improve regardless of what your ranking is or, you know, how old or young you are. You're always wanting to try and get better. So, you know, regardless whether you get to No. 1 or No. 2 in the world, you're always trying to improve, and I think that's one of the things that's been very impressive about Roger and Rafa over the last few years, that they've always been to the top of their game but they're always improving.

Q. Do you find playing in New York easier for you than, say, Wimbledon because the crowd...
ANDY MURRAY: No, it's different obviously. But I think I think once the tournament starts, I mean, doesn't make a huge difference. You know, obviously at Wimbledon, the support that I've had has been great over the last few years, and but here I've also had good support. I played some of my best matches here, and you know, obviously last year had a very good run. I don't think it really affects -- I don't feel like it affects the way you perform that much or I would hope that it didn't.

Q. You feel you're under a little less scrutiny being in New York than the hometown hero?
ANDY MURRAY: Yeah, it's normal. It's not like you sort of get followed around, you know. People are not sort of following you back to the hotel whereas back home, you know, you can get people waiting outside your house or, you know, following you to dinner if you want to go out, and it's not obviously like that here. So it makes it a little bit easier to sort of relax away from the court, I guess.

Q. When the draw comes out for these events, do you even bother looking past the first round so you can see who you might face after that?
ANDY MURRAY: No, I always end up getting asked about it, so you end up knowing what, you know, pretty much what the draws are likely or who you might play if you get anywhere, but you kind of learn over the years if you play enough Slams, that sometimes draws open up and the guys that are meant to get there don't, and you know, sometimes they surprise guys that come through and you go right to the finals.
So you kind of know what's going on, but it doesn't really -- it doesn't make me look past who I'm playing at all.

End of FastScripts

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