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BARCLAYS ATP WORLD TOUR FINALS

November 22, 2009

Andy Murray

LONDON, ENGLAND

A. MURRAY/J. Del Potro
6-3, 3-6, 6-2

THE MODERATOR: Questions for Andy, please.

Q. Obviously a good start for you. What was it like out there today?
ANDY MURRAY: Yeah, it was a really good start. You know, start of the match was important. Me and Juan haven't played that much since the US Open. I kind of expected a little bit of a scrappy match maybe.
But I thought, you know, after the -- he didn't start particularly well, but after 5-Love, I thought the standard was very good. Played some great points. Obviously happy to get the win.

Q. You picked it up a bit. How tough was that? He had won six out of seven games.
ANDY MURRAY: Yeah, it was tough. It just happens sometimes against all of the top guys. You know, when I was up 5-Love and he got back to 5-3, had game points in every single game in the first set, so still having chances. But he was just playing a little bit better.
You know, obviously happy I managed to come back in the third, because he was playing well.

Q. How did that atmosphere compare to Queen's and Wimbledon? Somewhere between the two?
ANDY MURRAY: Somewhere between the two?

Q. How did it feel to be out there?
ANDY MURRAY: Oh, it was great. You know, it's different. You can't see the crowd when you're on the court it's so dark. You know, so you can't really see the crowd. But you obviously hear them.
You know, it was a great atmosphere. It's not as much, I guess, interaction with the crowd. But the atmosphere was excellent.

Q. The round robin obviously adds a different element to any other week in the year. How important is it to get that first one under the belt, get off to a winning start in this kind of championship?
ANDY MURRAY: It obviously helps a lot. But you got to pretty much win two matches out of the three to give yourself a chance. You know, I could still win two and not go through. But, you know, try and get the next one out of the way. If I can win that one, put myself in a good position.

Q. Were you particularly pleased today with your defensive backhand? Had to stay in the rallies quite a lot today against his clubbing forehands. That shot was particularly good today, I thought.
ANDY MURRAY: Yeah, I mean, I was happy with a lot of parts of my game. He does have a big forehand. He can hit a lot of winners; he can make mistakes off of it. And there was a period, you know, end of the first set till the beginning of the third where he was hitting it big. I managed to keep myself in the point with sort of low slices and backhands, up the line. They helped a lot to kind of keep him out of that backhand court a bit.
Yeah, I was happy with that.

Q. Did you travel here by boat today?
ANDY MURRAY: No, I took the car. The boat's actually been pretty slow. We've been going by car the last couple of days.

Q. Is there an element when he kind of gets on a bit of a roll with that forehand that you just have to kind of tell yourself to soak it up and weather the storm?
ANDY MURRAY: Well, it's not just against him. Against, you know, Roger or Rafa or Novak, you know, all of them can go on streaks where they play great. It's not just against Juan. It's like, you know, play Roddick, sometimes he serves unbelievable for, you know, a set and a half, then you get one chance.
With him, he's got, you know, a big serve, long reach, you know, goes for huge shots. You know, you just have to try and find a way through that.
Tactically, I've always been quite good. So I found a way through it today.

Q. What do you think of Soderling as a person and what kind of relationship do you have with him? Do you have any relationship with him?
ANDY MURRAY: Not really. I don't know him particularly well. Yeah, we don't really speak much. So, yeah, I don't know him that well.

Q. You said you couldn't see the crowd while you were playing. Is that off-putting in any way? Different to other stadiums in the world?
ANDY MURRAY: No, it happens at a lot of the indoor events because they have the lighting right at the end of the court, and it's dark in the back. It's obviously to help, I guess, with keeping the focus on the court.
But, no, I mean, it's fine. It's just obviously different to an outdoor event.

Q. Did you feel the home support particularly during the match today?
ANDY MURRAY: Yeah, it helped. You know, the start of the match was great. You know, and then won. When I got close to winning at the end of the match, the atmosphere was excellent. That's going a make a big difference going into the next couple of matches.

Q. Very different to Wimbledon?
ANDY MURRAY: Well, yeah, it is different, being obviously indoors, having a big screen on the court and music playing. Yeah, obviously a completely different atmosphere.

Q. Is there more pressure for you here than when you play at Wimbledon?
ANDY MURRAY: No, I don't think so.

Q. No?
ANDY MURRAY: No.

Q. How do you feel today?
ANDY MURRAY: I feel good, thanks (smiling).
I mean, it was a good match. You know, I played well. Yeah, just different to Wimbledon. Obviously not the same. Obviously, there's no kind of buildup to this event, whereas with Wimbledon there's a good two weeks where you've got Queen's and then, you know, the week before, which makes it a little bit more difficult.

Q. Were you aware of the reason for Del Potro's timeout at 3-Love in the first set? You took a walk to the back end of the court.
ANDY MURRAY: I didn't know. I didn't realize at the time. Then obviously it was on the big screen, so I saw what was going on. Yeah, I didn't realize at the start.

Q. What were your thoughts on the other group matches you'll be facing?
ANDY MURRAY: Well, I think they're all going to be difficult. You know, I mean, Soderling is one of the best indoor players in the world. You know, his record would suggest that. So that's going to be a very tough match.
Rafa, Davydenko, Djokovic, they played in the final last year in Shanghai. Davydenko is a very good indoor player. Djokovic has a lot of confidence. He's won three of his last four tournaments since the US Open. So, you know, they'll be difficult.
Then, you know, Verdasco is very, very dangerous. Roger is going to have to play well tonight.

Q. I saw the video with you on top of the roof of the arena. How was it?
ANDY MURRAY: It was good actually. It was actually very cold, though, by the end of it. I was up there quite a while. It was so windy.
But, no, it was good. Good views from up there.

Q. A kind of symbol of your ambition to go on the top of the roof of the tennis ranking?
ANDY MURRAY: No, I don't think so. But obviously I'd like to try to get to No. 1 in the world, as would all of the players, I think.

Q. Do you know who you're playing Tuesday yet?
ANDY MURRAY: No. Got to wait. I play the winner of tonight's match, so...

Q. Do you have any preferences to who you play next?
ANDY MURRAY: No, I don't mind. Obviously need to try to win regardless of who it's against. I think I'll probably play the night match on Tuesday. It will be a great atmosphere again.

Q. So do you prefer generally playing at night or...
ANDY MURRAY: I don't like playing first thing in the morning. But you get used to it. I normally practice around 11:00, you know, when I'm training. But, yeah, I mean, I prefer to play like 2:00 onwards. Don't really mind.

Q. Did you think it would be a bit louder in there today? It seemed fairly quiet until the third set.
ANDY MURRAY: I thought the atmosphere was very good. But, yeah, I mean, I'm obviously very focused on the match, as well, so you maybe don't notice it, you know, as much as the people that are watching. Obviously, I was involved in the match. Seemed like it was a pretty good atmosphere to me.

End of FastScripts

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