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BARCLAYS ATP WORLD TOUR FINALS

November 23, 2010

Andy Murray

LONDON, ENGLAND

R. FEDERER/A. Murray
6-4, 6-2

THE MODERATOR: Questions, please.

Q. Can you explain that one away?
ANDY MURRAY: Yeah, got off to a bad start in both sets, which doesn't help. I returned poorly, served poorly. Against him, that's not going to win you the match.
I felt okay from the back of the court, not unbelievable, but there was quite a few good rallies. Normally I get myself into a lot more of them against him. I probably served about 30% of first serves in. You're not going to beat one of the top players serving like that.
So that was probably why.

Q. You also hit a lot of unforced errors today. Were you feeling nervous, tight?
ANDY MURRAY: I didn't feel tight. I think, you know, I tried to play quite aggressive. You're not going to hit winners every single time you go on the court. You're not going to play your best match every time. You're going to make a few more mistakes sometimes. Last time I played against him, it worked well. Today I made more mistakes than normal.
But if you serve at 30%, you know, you get yourself into a lot of rallies on your own serve, and I didn't return particularly well. It puts even more pressure on you there.
Rather than it be more my groundstrokes, I think it was the serving and the returning that was the main problem.

Q. When you were talking about your year in general last week, you repeatedly used the word 'inconsistent.' I guess coming off a really good performance against Soderling, this is a perfect case in point, isn't it?
ANDY MURRAY: Uhm, I don't know. I mean, you know, obviously I've just come off. It's disappointing. It's a completely different match. It's a lot easier to judge things when you're sort of up against the same player from one week to the next. It's a completely different match playing Roger than playing Soderling. Very different tactics.
I don't know. I did say I have been inconsistent this year. But I think I still feel like I'm hitting the ball fine from the back of the court. It was just, like I said, serving and returning that needs to improve a lot before the next match.

Q. You just seemed very flat out there from the outset. Your body language, everything, just gave the impression you weren't mentally quite tuned in.
ANDY MURRAY: I think it's something where, you know, if I went out there and I smashed the racquet or started shouting, I'd come in and everyone would say to me, You were in a bad mood today, mentally you weren't strong enough.
In the match against Soderling, I was very quiet, as well. I didn't really show much emotion on the court. I tried to do the same thing today. It might look that way when you don't win the match. But if I had won, not said anything, you know...
To me I didn't feel flat on the court. Maybe it's just very different to what you're used to seeing from me. But, you know, that's something that I'm trying to work on, to not let my emotions sort of control how I'm playing.
I just tried to stay calm, tried to find a way, and it didn't happen today. But I didn't feel flat on the court at all.

Q. What are your thoughts going into the final match with David Ferrer?
ANDY MURRAY: Obviously it's a very tough match. He's a really tough player. Makes many, many balls. You know, he's incredibly consistent. Have to try to use my weapons well. Have to serve well against him and get some free points. That will be the main thing I'm looking to improve from today's match.

Q. How hard is it? You said you made a bad start to both sets. How hard is it for a player to sort of prepare yourself mentally going into a match to make sure that you get off to the kind of start that you did so impressively against Soderling?
ANDY MURRAY: Well, you prepare for most of the matches pretty much the same way. You know, you're not going to start every match great. Some matches you will. You have to try to adjust a little bit.
Today, you know, I didn't quite manage to find my way back into the match. Normally, like I said, my return game is probably the strongest part of my game. Today, in the first -- well, yeah, when I went behind, I didn't put many returns in the court, I didn't put any pressure on his game. Therefore, the pressure obviously builds more onto you.
I did the two most important things in tennis very poorly today, which is serve and return. And against someone as good as Roger, you can't do them badly. You're not going to win the match. That's why the score line was like it was.
But, you know, it happens sometimes against him and against the best players. If you're not quite on your game, that's what's going to happen.
Just have to try to pick myself up for the next match and put myself in the semis.

End of FastScripts

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