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WIMBLEDONJuly 4, 2012Andy MurrayLONDON, ENGLAND A. MURRAY/D. Ferrer THE MODERATOR: Questions, please. Q. Set and a break down obviously not a great situation. What were you thinking then? ANDY MURRAY: Well, I knew it's a lot harder to hold serve from the near end of the court. I think both times when he served for it, he was serving at that end. Yeah, just tried to make him play some balls, you know, tried to dictate more of the points. That was it. Q. How do you think you played generally at the end? Do you feel you were getting better as the match went on? ANDY MURRAY: Yeah, I thought I played well. I knew it was going to be tough. You know, it's the hardest match that I played. It's a very different match to all of the other ones. Yeah, I was expecting a lot of long rallies. You know, yeah, it was fairly tricky conditions out there. Obviously started raining a little bit out there at the end. It was cold at the start, then it got warm, and it was quite windy as well. Yeah, I thought after the first sort of‑‑ like at 5‑3 in the first set I probably wasn't playing that well, but after that I thought I hit the ball pretty good. Q. You tied Tim's record here with you four semifinals. I imagine that's a nice accomplishment, but one you also want to put in the rearview mirror. ANDY MURRAY: Yeah, obviously the goal now is to win the next match and try and get through to the final for the first time. Yeah, I mean, it's not something‑‑ I'm obviously happy. I've had a good run here the last few years, but, yeah, I'm not satisfied with that. I want to try and go further. Q. How would you describe the attention on you, the weight on your shoulders as you go for something that the country has waited so many years for? ANDY MURRAY: Well, I don't really know exactly. Yeah, there's obviously pressure there. But something that, you know, providing ‑‑ I think if you think too much about it, you know, and you read the newspapers and you watch the stuff on TV that's said about you, I think it would become far too much. But if you kind of shield yourself from it all and kind of just get into your own little bubble, only listen to the people that are around you, then it's something you can deal with. Q. Seems that the forehand at 6‑4, just an incredible release of emotion from you. Can you describe what it was like, that moment, for you. ANDY MURRAY: Well, when we came back out ‑ I mean, it was, what, a 15‑minute break or something ‑ you know, I'm aware that you're one, two games away from winning the match and getting into the semis. And, yeah, it was a big moment in the match. I served very well when we came back out. I knew if I could get that point, he was down at the hard end of the court. Even if I'd lost the next point, it almost felt like a match point, that one. Luckily I stepped up on the next point and hit an ace. But it was a big point. Q. When you talk about putting yourself in a bubble and not listening to other people, what is it within you that helps you do that? ANDY MURRAY: Well, one, experience probably, and then just having the right people around you that you trust, people that you respect. You know, you don't feel like you need to listen to what, you know, an ex‑player might be saying or a journalist or a pundit or whatever. You block yourself away from all of that and you just listen to them, and they give you the confidence that you need. Q. Do you think this is your best chance? ANDY MURRAY: No, I don't know. I mean, I think when I played Roddick in the semis was also a good chance. I had a good record against him before I played against him. You know, he did play unbelievable in the semis, and especially in the final that year. So I don't know. You know, I'm in a good position, that's for sure. Whether it's the best chance or not, I'm not sure. But I've been in this position a few times now and want to push on. Q. On a similar point, obviously Jo is a tough opponent. Is there a part of you that is pleased it's not Rafa you have to face here? ANDY MURRAY: No. Just because I lost to him a few times doesn't mean I'd never want to play against him. I don't mind playing against Rafa. I've won against him in slams before. It's obviously a challenge, and he's played some very good tennis when we have played each other here. But, no, I mean, Jo's a tough opponent. He served I think very well so far this tournament. It's a very different match to playing against Rafa, but he's one of the best grass court players in the world, that's for sure. Q. When you reach the semifinals of a Grand Slam for the 10th time, is it in your own mind, I should be here, or is there a feeling of, I'm thrilled to get here? ANDY MURRAY: Well, when you start each tournament you want and try and win. Obviously now that I'm in it I'm not thinking, Great, I'm in the semifinals. You want to try and go further. But I know how hard it is. Everyone kept telling me I had such a hard draw and how tough it was going to be to get through. You know, I managed to do that. I've beaten some very good players. It's been a good tournament so far. But I want it to continue. I'd be disappointed, you know, if I lost before the final in any tournament, but I don't just expect to get there. It's a very difficult thing to do. You need to make sure you perform properly. Q. Will you be able to draw on anything from your previous three semifinals here? ANDY MURRAY: I think over the seven years I've been on the tour, yeah, I'll draw from that experience. Having played Jo quite a lot of times I know him well. We played a lot in the juniors, so I've known him for a long time. You know, rather than focusing on it being the semifinals of Wimbledon, I need to focus on it being a match against him and what I do well against him and what's worked against him in the past. So that's what I'll be drawing on. Q. The Duke and Duchess of York were here today. How special is it to have the support of the Royal Box? ANDY MURRAY: Obviously I was aware of it. We got told this morning before we went on the court, and obviously when I saw Roger playing I saw them sitting in the Royal Box. Yeah, I think it's always going to make a difference when you have royalty in there. For me, also playing in front of someone like Agassi as well and Steffi Graf. Rod Laver was there, too. You know, it was an unbelievable privilege to play in front of those people. Q. You said the other day you're not thinking about what it would be like to lift the trophy. Is it ever difficult not to let your mind wander to those types of thoughts? ANDY MURRAY: Well, I haven't had a problem with it this tournament or in previous tournaments. I think like a couple times before I played finals and stuff it is important to try and sort of envisage yourself winning the match and visualize it a little bit. But it's not something that, yeah, yet at Wimbledon I've done. Q. What do you remember most from the earliest ages of your appreciation for Wimbledon and for the importance of the championship to people in this country? ANDY MURRAY: Well, when I first played here I didn't understand what it was like, and it still took a few years for me before I understood how important this tournament was to me, how important it is to tennis, and also this country, as well. I didn't necessarily appreciate that the first time I played because you're just a kid. It's something new for you. You're excited to play on Centre Court. But it's not until I played a lot of matches there that I started to understand how special a court it was. I spent some time here during the year sitting on the court when there was no one else there just thinking what it was like. So it's become more and more special to me the more years I've played. I've started to understand how important it is to tennis. Q. Were you more satisfied today with your focus, mental disposition, than you were with previous matches, or do you feel you were in the same zone? ANDY MURRAY: I mean, I could have done a little bit better probably in the third set. I knew how important it was to get off to a good start there. I had a couple chances early and didn't get it. I was a little frustrated with that. I think I did a good job at the end of the set. Especially after the rain delay, too, I came out and served very well and concentrated hard and picked the right shots. So, yeah, I thought I did, yeah, overall a pretty good job because it was a tough match and he doesn't give you a whole lot of time to breathe on the court. He doesn't give you like, you know, three easy games. He never gives you free breaks or anything. You always have to work hard for it. Q. When you're in the middle of a match like that, can you hear helpful hints from the crowd like, Stop doing dropshots and attack? Do you ever think, They're right about that; I should stop these dropshots? ANDY MURRAY: No, well, it's funny. In the last whatever, four matches or something, five matches I played, when they work no one says anything. When I miss a couple, that's the reason why you lost or that's the reason why it was a closer match than it should have been. It's a tactic that I use against certain players. I really haven't hit many in the tournament, but it's a tactic that I use against certain players to break the play up. Also brings them closer to the baseline so that when you do start hitting bigger shots, you know, they're expecting maybe a dropshot and you can surprise them that way. It's not just about whether you make that shot or not. There's a lot more to it than that. It's a lot deeper than what most people would understand. Q. You just spoke about the importance of Wimbledon to the country. Could you explain what you mean, what you feel the importance of Wimbledon is to Great Britain. ANDY MURRAY: Well, I mean, it's one of our‑‑ it happens on a yearly basis, I'd say it's probably the biggest sporting event that we have. I mean, it's been around for so long. So many great athletes, you know, tennis players have obviously played here. Yeah, I mean, tennis in the UK is not really a sport that necessarily gets followed loads for the rest of the year, but everyone gets into it when Wimbledon comes round because they understand how big a competition it is. Yeah, I mean, the support that I've had over the last sort of five, six years here has been great. Yeah, I'm trying my best to win the tournament for myself obviously, but also for everybody else. Q. From the outside it seems like a grind and there's so much pressure. But do you look upon Wimbledon that it is going to be a grind or is it fun for you? Do you enjoy it? ANDY MURRAY: I always play well here, so it doesn't affect me really in a bad way. But, yeah, when the tournament's done I do normally need a few days off to not think about tennis and just relax. Because, you know, whether, like I said, I don't watch the TV or read anything, there's still, yeah, a huge amount of pressure there and I know that. You know, subconsciously I'm probably extremely stressed out right now, but I try not to feel it. Then, yeah, when the tournament's done there's normally a pretty big release of that. I just don't want to be on the court for a few weeks. Q. How would you compare the situation with other things you've seen or experienced, other sports, other figures, in the rest of the world? ANDY MURRAY: Well, I'd say like LeBron James, for example, you know, would be a good example. He obviously is a great basketball player. He came very close to winning quite a lot of times. Yeah, I don't need to go into the whole background of his whole story, but him winning this year for him I'm sure was massive. For me as a basketball fan it was nice to see. I would say for me I guess it's a similar situation. I've been close a lot of times and not quite made it. You know, just have to keep putting myself in the position, and hopefully it will click. Q. What did that do for you to see LeBron James win this year? Did you internalize that? ANDY MURRAY: No, but I always enjoy seeing that because I follow basketball a lot and watch a lot of the sports news and stuff. There's a lot of people out there that didn't want him to win. There's a lot of people that said he would never win. There's a lot of people who said he never played his best in finals. In the fourth quarter of games he never steps up. Then you see how he played the whole of the Finals, the whole of the Playoffs. Sometimes it takes guys a bit longer than others. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
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