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WIMBLEDON

June 24, 2010

Andy Murray

LONDON, ENGLAND

A. MURRAY/J. Nieminen
6-3, 6-4, 6-2

THE MODERATOR: Good afternoon, everyone. Andy Murray for you.

Q. What was your verdict on the match?
ANDY MURRAY: I thought it was good. You know, I got off to a good start. Uhm, you know, had a few breakpoints in the first game. And then once I managed to hold that game, I obviously got the break straightaway. That settled me down a little bit.
No, it was a good match. He's a tough player, very solid. Doesn't give you many free points. I served very well, which is good.

Q. Were there more nerves than normal?
ANDY MURRAY: No. I mean, no, I don't think so. You know, obviously it was quite a big occasion, you know, but try and prepare for it the same as every match. And once you do get into the tournament, you do tend to have a routine you stick to. I just tried to go along with that.
Yeah, not many extra nerves.

Q. What did the Queen say to you after the match?
ANDY MURRAY: A private conversation. But, yeah, it was just a quick few-minute chat. I'm sure she's very busy. So, yeah, just went and jumped in the ice bath and came over here.

Q. Would you say that's as good as you've played maybe since Australia?
ANDY MURRAY: I served well. I mean, obviously the grass definitely helps with that. But, yeah, I played well. You know, felt comfortable on the court and well-focused.
It's difficult to judge. But I definitely, definitely played well today.

Q. Is there a sense that when it's as big an occasion as it was today, that focus is probably the most important thing, just keeping your mind on the match and not letting it drift to all the other things going on around you?
ANDY MURRAY: Yeah, well that's one of our jobs. You know, as a professional sports person, you've got to learn to sort of block out distractions. Obviously, playing at Wimbledon, there's pressure, you know, various things going on every time you go out on the court.
So, you know, it's something that you have to learn to deal with. Obviously playing here the last four or five years has definitely helped with that.

Q. Can you talk us through the bows? There was not one but three.
ANDY MURRAY: Yeah, they are a little bit different. I only saw the second one when I was warming down. I think they were sort of replaying it. It wasn't great, I don't think (laughter).
But, no, went okay. We planned it -- not planned it, but we talked about it on the way out to the court with Jarkko and then at the end of the match to make sure we were going to do it again, because obviously the players aren't used to doing that at the end of matches.

Q. How special was it for you to play on an occasion like that?
ANDY MURRAY: It's great. I think for all the players, it's probably a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for all of us. You know, you saw by the players that were there to obviously meet her this morning that, you know, it was a big deal for everybody.
You know, I'm sure everyone thought it was a great occasion. You know, don't know whether she'll be coming in the next few years, but I definitely enjoyed it.

Q. Presumably she congratulated you on your win?
ANDY MURRAY: I was there with Jarkko. Yeah, just had a quick chat, you know. When you're nervous, it's difficult to remember exactly what was said. But, yeah, just a quick chat about the match. Yeah, that was it.

Q. Seemed to be talking about the ground conditions at one point. She said it was very dry, didn't she?
ANDY MURRAY: Yeah, I don't want to get into what was said. I mean, it was a private conversation. That was why nobody -- didn't want cameras or anything, you know, there to pick up everything that was getting said. It was a private conversation.

Q. I was going to ask, she seemed to be taking an interest in more than just what was happening on court. She was talking about things around the tournament, wasn't she?
ANDY MURRAY: Yeah. I mean, obviously for her, she got shown around the grounds today as well 'cause obviously hadn't been for a long time. Sure there's been a lot of changes. Yeah, I'm sure she was taking an interest in it. It's a pretty amazing place to come to.

Q. Will that bring you a bit of luck, do you think?
ANDY MURRAY: Maybe. I got lucky on a few challenges today, yeah, a few really close calls, especially one at the start. I think it was on the first breakpoint for him in the first game. And, yeah, all of my challenges were pretty good today. So maybe a bit of extra luck.

Q. Given the Queen's presence here today, did you find yourself having to watch your reaction at all when points didn't go your way?
ANDY MURRAY: No. Like I was saying earlier, it's our job to be able to put those sort of things to the back of your mind when you're playing. Obviously, you know, you realize after you're finished, you know, the occasion that it was, you know, who was actually watching you. You know, it's obviously an honor and a privilege to play in front of the Queen.
But when you're playing, that's our job to be able to put that to the back of your mind.

Q. Can you get your head around the concept of 60-All in the fifth set? Forget the Queen. What about that match, what it's doing for tennis at the moment?
ANDY MURRAY: It's pretty amazing, yeah. Yeah, just very difficult to describe. Definitely will never, ever happen again. Yeah, that's all you can say to it. What they did last night was incredible. And I saw Isner before the match in the locker room. He looked okay. He looked fine.
I'm sure physically it would have been incredibly difficult, but mentally to concentrate for that long must be so tough. But apparently Mahut was on the treadmill warming up before the match and seemed fine. Yeah, I mean, there wasn't that many long rallies, but still amazing to have to come back and play today after what they did yesterday.
But I don't want it to be an anticlimax. I hope it keeps going.

Q. In contrast, Gilles didn't play at all today. How much of a benefit or negativity is that for him?
ANDY MURRAY: Have no idea. Everybody reacts differently to those circumstances. You know, obviously have to ask him whether he's happy with it or not.
But from my side, I was happy to play today. It was good to stay in a rhythm. Obviously winning in three sets was good.

Q. If that was you in that situation, would you prefer a rule change where there was a cutoff or tiebreak situation?
ANDY MURRAY: No, I think, I mean, that never happens like that. Like everybody has been saying, it will never happen again unless they play next year maybe (smiling).
But, no, I think the rules here are very good. They work well. You know, it was a huge, huge story for everybody yesterday and really good for the sport. So keep it as it is.

Q. Do you feel stronger than you did when you came into the tournament?
ANDY MURRAY: Well, I prepared really well. I guess what gives me the confidence is doing the work in the gym and on the court so that you know that physically you're in good shape. That removes that one doubt from your head. And if you practice a lot and you've hit loads of balls, you can remove another doubt that you're going to go and might not feel your best in your first match, but you have done your best to be ready. Happy to be in the third round as I was in the first round and try on keep getting better.

Q. You've had some good matches with Gilles in the past. What are your thoughts on playing him again?
ANDY MURRAY: It will be great. He's had a problem with his knee the last few months. He's a tough player. He's obviously in the top 10 last year. He's beaten Federer a couple of times and had some tough matches with Djokovic. He was at the top of the game before he got hurt.
You know, he's a very difficult player to play against, very unorthodox. You know, it will be a bit of a tough match if we both play well.

Q. You said your bow wasn't great. Can't be that bad because I think you got a slow-motion replay of your bow.
ANDY MURRAY: Yeah, that's what I saw. I saw the slow-motion replay. I didn't see it in, yeah, normal time I guess. I didn't see it live. Yeah, it just looked a little bit awkward.
But, like I said, I'm not used to doing it.

Q. There's a few minutes between finishing your match and meeting the Queen. Were you more nervous for that? Were there butterflies when you were going to meet the Queen?
ANDY MURRAY: Yeah, I mean, obviously meeting the Queen, everybody's going to get very nervous. But it just kind of adds to it when there's like so many people standing out looking up, a lot of people watching. That obviously adds to it, as well.
Yeah, there's obviously some nerves there. But, yeah, nerves before the match, as well. But I think we both went okay.

Q. Did you watch England?
ANDY MURRAY: Yeah, I watched the last 5, 10 minutes of the first half, saw all of the second half. Yeah, it was all good. Yeah, in my opinion they played a lot better than they did the first two matches.

End of FastScripts

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