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BRISBANE INTERNATIONALJanuary 1, 2013Andy MurrayBRISBANE, QUEENSLAND THE MODERATOR: Questions, please. Q. What does it feel like to come into a new season without a big burden on your back winning your first Grand Slam? ANDY MURRAY: Yeah, it's a little bit different. You know, I prepared exactly the same. I probably just feel a little bit more relaxed maybe the last few weeks than I normally do a few weeks out from a slam. But, you know, I'm sure once I get on the courteverything stays the same. I prepared very well in Miami and trained hard to get myself ready for the new season, and I hope can be successful here. Q. In terms of on‑court stuff, any tweaks you've worked on? ANDY MURRAY: No, not really. I think there are so many things in tennis that you need to be able to do well, you just need to keep improving on the things that you have. I think with the strength at the top of the game just now there is not that many weaknesses in too many of guys' games. You need to try and make sure that the worst parts of your game, you know, which can still be strong, that you keep improving them and try to make them as best as they can be. So I worked on a lot of things over the four weeks when I was there. I did a lot of physical stuff the first few weeks, and then last couple of weeks just did some technical changes the first sort of week, worked on a few things, and then started playing a lot of points. That's when you see whether the things you've been practicing are working out, if they're going well in the points or not. It's easy doing something in a drill when you know where the ball is going, but when you start playing the points is when it becomes difficult. It went well. Q. During the US Open, you said you were slightly worried that if you won a major it might change your life too much and you kind of liked how your life was. It's been three months. How has that all played out? ANDY MURRAY: Yeah, hasn't changed too much. Obviously the few weeks afterwards were very busy, and then once you start traveling and playing tournaments again and get back into the routine of training and practicing, hasn't really changed that much, to be honest, which has been nice. Also having someone like Ivan around me as well ‑ he went through a similar sort of thing ‑ so that's obviously helped as well. He's given me some advice on how to deal with certain things that come with winning big events. Q. How has your mindset changed when you're building up for a major tournament now? Is it different sort of than the way it was before? ANDY MURRAY: No, I always prepared to give myself the best chance to win the event. Obviously the last few years I got close but never managed to get over the final hurdle. So whether it was a mental thing, whether it was things in my game I needed to improve, physical things, you know, who knows exactly. But now that I've managed to do it, I hope that when I'm in those situations again I'll deal with them better and put less pressure on myself, which obviously will help me play better. But I still prepare exactly the same way as I always have done. Q. Do people treat you any differently since September? ANDY MURRAY: Good question. The few weeks afterwards around the Olympics time and the US Open, yeah, I got a few upgrades on flights and things like that, which is nice, but that's died down a little bit over the last few months. (Smiling.) No, I mean, I've had a lot of congratulations because I think a lot of people that follow tennis and were sort of general sports fans kind of knew my story a little bit of how long it had been since any British player had won a slam and how many times I had lost in the finals. Especially after Wimbledon when I was very upset this year. It was very nice for me to finally be able to move on and not worry about that stuff anymore. I got a lot of congratulations for that. Q. Do you almost dread a little bit Wimbledon this year? Now that you've won one, they'll probably think, Hooray. ANDY MURRAY: Yeah, I think there will be a lot of pressure again, but I don't think there will be more pressure than what I went through probably during Wimbledon this year, to be honest. I mean, that was a tough tournament for me. It was quite stressful. The Olympics was the same. The US Open, that was a tough, tough three months mentally for me. I think whatever happens at Wimbledon this year, you know, before the event, I think I'll be able to deal with it better than I have done in the past. Q. Mixed feelings about no Nadal at the Australian Open? We assume the fans will miss him, but do the players feel like the draw opens up a little bit? ANDY MURRAY: Yeah, it's a shame this stuff happens in all sports. I think the last few years a lot of the guys at the top of the game have been pretty fortunate with injuries and haven't had any real issues. It's been a shame for Rafa to miss such a long period. I think by the time he starts playing tournaments again it'll be like eight, nine months, so it will definitely take him a few months once he starts playing again to get back into a good rhythm and start playing his best tennis again. As players, we obviously try just to focus on ourselves once the tournaments come round. Doesn't change, you know, really my draws too much, because I'll be seeded third going into Australia. I don't have Roger or Novak in my half, and on the hard courts those two play probably the best tennis the last few years. Q. Big honor obviously being on the Queen's honors list. ANDY MURRAY: Yeah. Q. Seems like a few people back at your home were a bit miffed that you weren't given a knighthood. ANDY MURRAY: No, I said at the time I think, you know, you need to do a lot for a long time to deserve an honor like that. A lot of the sports men and women have been given that ‑‑ just because their sport isn't necessarily in the spotlight all the time, it's easy to forget what they've done for ten, fifteen years. I mean, some of them have won ten goals in World Championships, four or five Olympic medals, and have been doing it for years. I've only been doing it for a couple years, so I think I'll definitely need to win a few more matches and have more tournaments to have a chance of getting that. Q. (Regarding Sir Bradley Wiggins.) Would you imagine you would be comfortable as Sir Andy Murray? ANDY MURRAY: No, I mean, to be honest, I've met a few sir‑‑ well, at the US Open I met Sir Sean Connery and Sir Alex Ferguson. I think with the people around you, I think everyone just kind of stays the same, and then it'll be people that you don't know that will come up to you and address you as that. But I would hope‑‑ I wouldn't want my friends and family to call me like that. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
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