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BARCLAYS ATP WORLD TOUR FINALS

November 24, 2009

Andy Murray

LONDON, ENGLAND

R. FEDERER/A. Murray
3-6, 6-3, 6-1

THE MODERATOR: Questions, please.

Q. Was the first serve the big problem for you tonight?
ANDY MURRAY: Yeah, serve in general. You know, it was a great effort to win a set serving like that. The first serve went in, I obviously won a lot of free points. It was probably the most double-faults I served in a match maybe this year. You know, so, yeah, didn't serve well.
And if you, you know, miss, I don't know, I guess it was probably around 35%, 40% first serves against Roger then, you know, it's easy to dictate points and dictate play. Whereas, you know, in the first set, at least when I was behind in games, I was coming up with big serves, being able to dictate, you know, the points. But, you know, after that I served pants.

Q. What was the exchange you had with the umpire around 5-2 in the second set?
ANDY MURRAY: I just asked him not to stop me, you know, before I served. That was it.

Q. Asked him?
ANDY MURRAY: Asked him to, you know, like, probably about 50% of the time when you play in front of big crowds, there's always a little bit of noise just before you step up to serve. If the players are ready to serve, and the players want to serve, then, you know, they normally go ahead and serve. And then it's quiet by the time the return's in play. You know, just like four or five service games in a row, he stopped me.
I just asked him if he could just let me serve. That was it. Nothing stressful.

Q. How do you read your situation now qualification-wise for the weekend?
ANDY MURRAY: I just win against Verdasco. I think that's pretty much what I have to do. If I win in straight sets, then I think, well, a great chance that I go through.

Q. This is a low-bouncing court. Does that suit you? You were making more errors than you usually do at the end.
ANDY MURRAY: No, I didn't play well. It happens sometimes. I didn't play well and I made mistakes. You know, like I say, it's difficult against him, if you miss so many first serves, then, you know, you put yourself under a lot of pressure. Maybe I made more mistakes than normal, but, you know, I just didn't play well.

Q. Your thoughts on your next match? You have a decent record against him, haven't you?
ANDY MURRAY: Yeah, I mean, against all the guys in the group I've got a good record. If I play well, a good chance I win. If I don't, then there's a good chance I lose.
So try and play better than I did this evening. You know, rest up and hopefully feel good.

Q. Was that one of the best Roger's played against you, last couple sets?
ANDY MURRAY: No. I mean, I don't know. It's difficult. I mean, you know, the US Open final, I thought he played very, very well. But, you know, tonight, you know, I just didn't feel like I played well. So it's difficult.
Not been off the court that long. But if you give someone opportunity to dictate, you know, not only on his own service games, but on yours, it's very difficult to win. I served so poorly that, you know, anyone would have looked good against me tonight because you get a chance pretty much every single point.
In the first set, when he was missing first serves, I was dominating all the points on his second serve. That's what happened in the second and third sets, because I served badly.

Q. Were you aware of the crowd out there tonight? Did the atmosphere feel different to your first-round match?
ANDY MURRAY: Yeah, I thought the atmosphere was great. You know, obviously to play in front of a crowd like that's awesome. You know, I think you can't really see the crowd. I think it was pretty much packed. But, no, you know, get a good adrenaline rush when you were out there.

Q. Were you surprised how even-handed they were?
ANDY MURRAY: No, not really. I mean, you know, obviously Roger's record at Wimbledon, what he's done in tennis, you know, he deserves support everywhere he goes.

Q. How much do you think your lack of matches affected the way you played today, the six-week layoff?
ANDY MURRAY: I mean, the one thing that's been a problem for me since I came back was, you know, I played, you know, well-ish first set of the matches. Then when the adrenaline wears off, I don't know, there's not quite the same spark, you know, in the legs that there was at the start of the year.
I've had letdowns in a lot of matches. I've let guys back in the match straightaway, early in the second set. And that's something that I was doing really, really well, you know, when I was playing a lot, you know, at the beginning of the year. When I was getting ahead, I was not giving guys chances to come back into the matches. That's something that, you know, these last few tournaments of the years I've not done so well.

Q. Now the match with Verdasco becomes more important. This is the round robin. Last year you won the three matches. It's not a defeat like in another kind of tournament.
ANDY MURRAY: No. The only important thing is to try and qualify from the group. Whether you win one match, three matches, two matches. Last year I won three, lost in the semis. This year I could potentially lose two matches and win the tournament.
So you just never know. I mean, the match against Verdasco, obviously I'll try and win. You know, if I do that, good chance I go through.

Q. This is a new venue for the ATP World Finals. Do you hope it gets a new audience for tennis in Britain?
ANDY MURRAY: Yeah, well, I hope so. I mean, the more people watching, you know, playing tennis, I guess enjoying tennis, the better. You know, I know just from speaking to friends, you know, people that I meet that, you know, they tend to start playing a lot, you know, during the summer, during the Wimbledon time, and then after that, you know, it can be sort of 10, 11 months before they start playing again.
Hopefully with a competition like this, you know, maybe you can try and get one at the start of the year as well. It just makes it a little bit easier for people to sort of keep in contact with the sport.

Q. Did you have a back injury of some description?
ANDY MURRAY: No. My back's been fine. I had a problem with my groin for, I don't know, three, four weeks since I started playing again. It's just a bit sore. But I'm pretty sure all of the players have got something a little bit stiff or sore. You know, obviously at this stage of the season.

End of FastScripts

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