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WIMBLEDON

June 28, 2010

Andy Murray

LONDON, ENGLAND

A. MURRAY/S. Querrey
7-5, 6-3, 6-4

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

Q. Thoughts on that one?
ANDY MURRAY: I thought it was good. It was different to the first few matches. Uhm, I served great the first three matches. Didn't serve so well today. I was good from the back of the court. Didn't make as many mistakes. A few long rallies and had to defend well today. And I did.
Went through a bad patch at the end of the first set where I lost my focus a little bit. I did really well to win the set in the end because he had some chances.

Q. You haven't been having those wobbles. What happened when you were serving for the set?
ANDY MURRAY: It happens sometimes. You can play, you know, bad games. Not going to play my best, you know, for every minute of the tournament. And I'm not going to serve my best in every match. You know, some matches I'm not going to hit my groundstrokes as well.
You have to deal with the situations when they arise. You know, today I did a good job of getting that set 'cause, you know, if I'd won the first set comfortably 6-3, you know, mentally for him that could have been quite difficult after having the chances and getting back into that set. So to not take it would have been tough for him.

Q. Is that part of the maturity you realized of accepting the fact you're not always going to be hitting what you want?
ANDY MURRAY: Yeah, well, I think the more matches you play, you understand that, you know, some days things aren't going to be going well. You just have to learn how to deal with it. You know, today I did a lot more running today than I did in my first few matches, but I had to. Sometimes you have to accept that.
On other days you can be dictating a lot of the match. You don't have to do much running.
You need to be prepared to change your tactics or change, yeah, the way you're playing when you're out there if you want to win the big tournaments.

Q. How do you feel now that England is out of the World Cup and all the attention is swinging back to you as the sole British sporting hope at the moment?
ANDY MURRAY: Yeah, I don't really pay much attention to it. I mean, you know, once the tournament starts, you just kind of get into a routine, you know, that's definitely, as I said many times since I started here, the buildup was a lot quieter, less journalists around, less photographers. You know, that was it.
Once the tournament starts, I don't really pay any attention to the press and what's going on 'cause it's just not worth it. It can only be a distraction. So better just to stay away from it.

Q. You were pretty much better on every stat today, especially your second serve, winning 63%. It's a lot harder than last year. Is that something you worked on?
ANDY MURRAY: Yeah, it's probably seven, eight miles an hour quicker. Yeah, I mean, like I say, I served well the first few matches.
Today, you know, I changed the second-serve run pretty well, served a few aces on my second serve towards the end of the match. Yeah, I mean, obviously I'm going to need to serve better if I want to win the tournament.
But, yeah, the stats in all of the matches so far have been good. That one in particular today, it shows how well I was hitting the ball from the back of the court because normally on second serve, he's going to put the ball back in, there's going to be a lot of rallies. I won a lot of long rallies today.

Q. You're the only guy not to drop a set in the tournament, which must be quite pleasing.
ANDY MURRAY: Yeah, obviously nice for me. Conserves quite a lot of energy. I haven't had any long matches. It's kind of an irrelevant stat, because come the end of the tournament, you know, the guys like Federer and Nadal are going to be playing their best tennis. Whether they dropped sets early on is not going to make a difference to how they play the quarterfinal, semifinal stage.

Q. Do you feel you're in the same groove as you were at the Australian Open?
ANDY MURRAY: I don't know. I've been asked the last three matches. I have no idea. I'm playing well. You know, a lot easier to assess that once the tournament's done. But it's been a good start. Not lost a set yet.
Yeah, I mean, I've got to be happy with the way that I'm playing. It's difficult just now to compare it to the Australian Open.

Q. With all the sun that's getting to the court, is it changing in your favor, do you think, the surface?
ANDY MURRAY: Uhm, well, I mean, it's definitely quick. You know, I think it can depend totally on who you're playing against, who your opponent is.
Yeah, I don't really mind the slow grass or the faster grass. There's just certain things -- certain things change. It's more important to serve well when it's quick. It's definitely harder. It's a lot less slippy. The ball is bouncing up more than it normally does. A lot of it depends on who you're playing against.

Q. Your third Wimbledon quarterfinal in a row.
ANDY MURRAY: Yeah, it's been good. The last few years I played well here. Obviously coming in I hadn't been on the best run. So it was nice to get off to a good start here. Yeah, last few years have been good.
But got to try to go further now, you know, than I did in previous years. You know, next round's gonna be a tough one, but hope I can win.

Q. How much does it help you that you have been here before, third time in a row at this stage?
ANDY MURRAY: Well, I mean, it's not just here. I mean, more playing in Grand Slams, more major tournaments does make a difference experience-wise. Anybody will tell you that. In all sports, you just learn how to deal with the situations better.
Because you've been in that position before, it's not something completely new. You understand how to prepare better. When you're on the court, you're not as uptight or nervous. You just play the match rather than, you know, everything else that's going on.

Q. How tough will Jo-Wilfried Tsonga be?
ANDY MURRAY: Very difficult. Got a big game. Like Sam, he plays probably better around the net. Yeah, he's a very good athlete. It's going to be a very, very tough match.

Q. Great reception from the Centre Court crowd. Can you say something about that, how important that relationship is, how it's developed?
ANDY MURRAY: Yeah, it's so important. I mean, you know, I said pretty much every time I came here that it's playing, you know, at home in all sports is just a huge, huge advantage. People talk a lot about the pressure and the expectation of playing at Wimbledon, but, you know, you have that home support, which does - for me anyway - it's made a huge difference to the way that I played. It makes you feel comfortable on the court.
No, I really, really enjoy it. This year the support's been great. Hopefully it will be the same in the next round.

Q. The noise, did that have an effect?
ANDY MURRAY: It just kind of sometimes happens. It's not like you're asking the crowd to do anything. It's just that at the end of that set, some long games, some long rallies, I managed to pick up a few really tough shots.
Yeah, you get into the moment. The crowd here responds very well. It's not necessarily encouragement. If you're showing positive energy towards them, they respond really, really well. Definitely there's a lot of long rallies and long games.

Q. When are you planning to shave?
ANDY MURRAY: I have no idea. I haven't really thought about it, to be honest.

Q. Seems to be working for your tennis. Might you keep it on till the end of the tournament?
ANDY MURRAY: Yeah, maybe. Yeah, might keep it on till the end of the tournament. If I wake up tomorrow and feel like shaving, then I'll do it, just like I'm sure you do (smiling).

Q. What does it mean to have the two ladies in your box?
ANDY MURRAY: The two ladies?

Q. Yes.
ANDY MURRAY: Well, I mean, yeah, I like having obviously my mum around. Both my parents are here, my grandparents, my aunt and uncle are here, obviously my girlfriend. I mean, I love having my family around. I love having friends around.
Yeah, it just makes you feel more at home, more comfortable. When you're on the court, it doesn't make as much of a difference. It's more off it, just having your friends and family around. It's really nice. The rest of the year you don't really get that.

Q. Was it important to get back together with Kim?
ANDY MURRAY: I don't really want to go into that. It's been a lot longer than everybody thinks we've been back together. But I like having my girlfriend around. I like having my, yeah, family around. That's it.

Q. Tsonga likes to work the crowd. That atmosphere which could be created by the both of you, is that something you were looking forward to at this point of the tournament? You've had some great reactions in various matches.
ANDY MURRAY: Yeah, he's very exciting to watch. You know, I'm sure there will be some great shots played in the match.
No, I like -- I mean, all the time when you play on Centre Court, obviously it does change a bit depending on what round, but the support's always great. The crowd's always into it when the British guys are playing.
I'm sure the match against Tsonga won't be any different. Hopefully I can perform well.

Q. I remember you saying before the tournament that you thought you weren't too far away from rediscovering your best tennis. Four matches in, not a set dropped, have you found it?
ANDY MURRAY: Well, yeah, I'm playing really well. You know, but you got to wait until the end of the tournament really to see how well you've been playing. You know, I need to make sure that I up my game, you know, when the matches get tougher, you know, in the tight situations. It's important that I continue to play well and not slip up.
So, you know, in the next round, I'm sure there's going to be some tough moments and important stages of the match. I have to keep going for my shots, keep serving well, and keep running. You know, if I do that, then I've got a good chance.
But, yeah, you never know how well you're playing until you're sort of done in the tournament because in an individual sport, from one day to the next, can be a huge, huge difference.

End of FastScripts

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