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BARCLAYS ATP WORLD TOUR FINALSNovember 7, 2012Andy MurrayLONDON, ENGLAND N. DJOKOVIC/A. Murray THE MODERATOR: Questions, please. Q. You pushed Novak Djokovic all the way today. Where do you feel the key moments were? ANDY MURRAY: In about the last two minutes of the match probably is what decided it. He broke from 15‑40, and then I had 15‑40 next game and didn't break. So that was the moment that decided the match. Q. You played so well in the first set. It seemed to change a bit in the second set. How crucial was it you not getting that breakpoint you had early in the set? ANDY MURRAY: Well, I still had a chance in the third set. You would hope that one game wouldn't decide the outcome of a whole match. I mean, maybe that set he started to play a bit afterwards. But, yeah, I mean, he hit a drive volley on the back edge of the line. So what am I to do about that? Not much. He played better in the second set. The third set was tight. Q. When you play Novak now, is there almost like a different dynamic to when you play anybody else? ANDY MURRAY: I don't know. I mean, I think both of us probably see each other's games pretty well. Especially this year, because we've played so much. You kind of know a little bit what to expect. I think that's why all the matches, especially the last few, have been so close and decided by a few points. The intensity of my matches with him have been extremely high this year. I'd say with Rafa, you know, on these surfaces in the past I've had a lot of very intense, close matches with him, as well. But the one thing I would say is, this year I think both of us probably have seen things in each other's games probably improve, and that's why there's a lot of long rallies, and the matches are incredibly tight. Q. You can obviously still go through to the semifinals. Do you like the round robin format? ANDY MURRAY: Well, we're not really used to it in tennis because we play knock‑out everywhere else. But that's just the way this tournament's always been. There's no point in changing it. That's, you know, the tradition of this tournament. Yeah, it's absolutely fine. Q. But does it affect in any way the way you play when you're out there on the court, the fact you can lose and still go through? ANDY MURRAY: No, I don't think today, because both of us knew if we won, very good chance we were going to go through. Like I said before the match, you need to try and view it like it's a knock‑out and try to win the first couple of matches, get yourself safe, if you can. Q. You played today 31 games. Only five games went to deuce. When you lost your serve three times, you always lost it either to 15 or to 30. Do you think there is a reason why when you lose your serve, either you go down Love‑40 or 15‑40? ANDY MURRAY: I have absolutely no idea. Yeah, I mean, there's going to be periods in matches where, you know, you maybe play a few bad points in a row or make a couple mistakes, especially on a quick indoor court. It can be easy if you hit a couple of good returns, like he did. If you get it back deep, the ball is on you very quickly and you can make a couple of mistakes. But, yeah, I don't think there's any real reason for why that happened today. It's going to happen when you're playing against one of the best returners in the world. They're going to play a few good points and maybe sometimes you're not going to play perfect at the same time. Q. Would you rather play Tsonga in a straight fight for the second semifinal spot? ANDY MURRAY: I don't mind. I mean, you'd have to play the match and try and win regardless of what situation either of us are in. So, yeah, I mean, it doesn't change much for me whether he wins tonight or loses. I just try and win the match. Q. Does it make it different if the scenario is not quite so straightforward? Is it harder mentally? ANDY MURRAY: No, I don't think so. We should be able, as professional sportsmen, to be able to deal with all those sorts of situations, be able to focus and concentrate regardless of the situation. Q. You chose to serve‑volley on a big breakpoint. Is that an off‑the‑cuff decision or something you discussed with Ivan maybe on a big point, this is a good thing to do? ANDY MURRAY: He serve and volleyed on the breakpoint in the game before and hit the back end of the line. I volleyed in the next game and missed the volley by a couple of centimeters. Yeah, it wasn't something I discussed beforehand. But, you know, when someone's blocking returns and chipping returns, normally you can get in close to net and make it hard. He chipped the return, so I got the return that I wanted. I would have liked it maybe a little bit higher. But there are decisions you make in matches. If they come off, you get told you're a genius. If you miss them, then you're an idiot. That was just one of those ones that didn't work today. Q. The tournament is going to stay here until the end of 2015, an extension of two years. You obviously wanted it to stay here. Can you comment on the length of time, what it means for you for it to be here? ANDY MURRAY: Well, I think just from a player's perspective in terms of how our schedule is, it's incredibly convenient and it's worked very well I think the last few years. They get very good crowds. It's a fun arena to play in. And, yeah, I said beforehand, because of the way the schedule is, you can't really have it anywhere else. I think it works well just now. So I look forward to hopefully getting a chance to play here more. But I know how hard it is to qualify for this competition, so I have to work hard and win a lot of matches to do that. Q. You and Novak have similar games, similar strengths. Do you sometimes have the feeling you play against yourself or do you see big differences in your games? ANDY MURRAY: I don't think there's major differences in our games. I think, you know, we have different technique and different strokes. You know, I'd say our strengths are similar in terms of what we do well on the court. You know, our return game has been very strong for the last few years. Our movement, as well. That's why there's a lot of normally long rallies. Surprisingly today the returning wasn't as good as it has been in previous matches. Q. I presume when you beat someone like Novak, who is the world No.1, that is the most satisfying win you can have. But even though he's the toughest guy in a way to beat, does it hurt more losing to him now than losing to anyone else? ANDY MURRAY:  I don't really know. I mean, it can depend a lot on how the matches go, where the matches are. Obviously the Shanghai match was a tough match for me because I had a lot of chances to win that match. You know, today, after the second set, I was playing a little bit from behind for a majority of the match. I don't know. I don't know whether they hurt more or not. I need to make sure, regardless of how tough a match this one was today, I respond well in the next one on Friday. Q. Your friendship and rivalry with Djokovic is one of the most talked about things in tennis. After a close defeat either way, how long before you're back practicing and joking with each other? ANDY MURRAY: Well, we'll see each other the next couple of days. There won't be any problems. I mean, never when I played him have we had a problem with each other. On the court, we fight hard. You know, both of us get annoyed on the court with ourselves, whatnot. But we've never had a problem with each other on the court. I'm sure we'll be absolutely fine tomorrow. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
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