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AUSTRALIAN OPENJanuary 20, 2014Andy MurrayMELBOURNE, VICTORIA A. MURRAY/S. Robert THE MODERATOR: Questions, please. Q. Been an unusual tournament in the way you've played three guys you've not played before. Has that been one of the trickier things this week? ANDY MURRAY: Uhm, I don't know really. I mean, in all of those matches, when I haven't played against them, I started very, very well. So I can't say not knowing them was a problem because I started all the matches very, very well. The one match I didn't start so well was the one where I knew the opponent very, very well. So, no, I haven't found it particularly strange. Q. What's your sort of overall feeling after that one? ANDY MURRAY: I dominated 95% of the match, and for 15 minutes didn't close the match out. I was one point away from being in here and that being in here after a great performance to playing 15 minutes not perfect. But still created chances, even when I wasn't playing so well at the end of that third set. And then, yeah, the fourth set was fairly comfortable. You know, I lost my serve once. I think he only had breakpoint on my serve in two games in the match possibly. So it was pretty good for the most part. Q. Did you enjoy the context and artistry in that third set? ANDY MURRAY: Yeah, I mean, he's a tricky guy to play against, because when he's on the run, a lot of guys now when they're on the run, they'll chip and play a higher ball and try and keep themselves in the rally, whereas he kind of goes for broke a bit. He takes the ball up the line extremely well on his forehand. He wasn't an easy guy to play against. So, you know, I mean, the whole match was tricky. I mean, obviously the end of the third set was tough mentally. But, yeah, I was happy with the match for the most part. Q. You normally leave with your racquets intact. Not entirely today. ANDY MURRAY: Sometimes it's necessary, you know, (smiling). I had I think three match points. I put a lot of hard work into that third set. I maybe lost concentration when I served for it. In the tiebreak I didn't lose concentration. I just missed a couple of shots, one just wide on a forehand I hit clean, just missed. Then losing that set was frustrating because it obviously means you're out there another 30, 40 minutes at least, when I would preferably had been in the locker room. My racquet bit the dust. Unfortunate for it. But, yeah, I was glad I managed to start well in the fourth. Q. On the racquet smashers, have you ever studied the great masters, the Gulbises, the Baghdatises? ANDY MURRAY: Not really. The Head racquets, they break fairly easily, so I try not to bounce my racquet much. But, yeah, I mean, a lot of guys sort of hold it by the throat and kind of throw it face down. That's how you would throw it if you didn't want to break the racquet. Whereas if you just kind of go flat with the frame, or if you just hit the frame like that, the racquet's gone straightaway. Q. And you wanted it to die? ANDY MURRAY: It's not living, so... (Smiling) Yeah, I don't feel like I killed it, but it won't be getting used again. Q. Do you recall the last time you did that? ANDY MURRAY: No. I don't keep count of it. Yeah, it's not something as a player you're particularly proud of. But sometimes, you know, yeah, you just need to get some frustration out. I wanted to do it at that moment. I took my warning and moved on. Q. Easy matches in a Grand Slam are always good. Do you feel like you've been adequately tested in this tournament so far, facing three opponents ranked outside the top 100? Your next match will be against a top‑10 player. Do you feel you've had those good matches that you need? ANDY MURRAY: To be honest, I don't know. I don't really know. I mean, sometimes I've come into slams, you know, I've been told my draw's the hardest draw, and things open up. Sometimes I've gotten through a difficult draw fairly well. Sometimes I've got through a draw that's been considered easy, and I found it fairly tough. It just depends on the day. I need to play a great match in the next match. If I strike the ball like I did for the first couple sets today, or even the first two and a half sets today, I'll give myself an opportunity in the match. But I don't know if I've been adequately tested or not. It's tough to say. Q. Do you think, now faced with a very high‑quality opponent, whoever it is, you're more likely to play up to that level? Is it less pressure? ANDY MURRAY: Yeah, I mean, look, it's a big match for me. I mean, it's the quarterfinals of a slam. You know, I'm going to be playing against, you know, Roger or Tsonga. Roger's played great tennis here in the past, and Jo has played some of his best tennis here. They both like the conditions. It will be a very tough match for me. And, yeah, I said at the start of the tournament, I can't honestly say my expectations are as high as if I'd been playing for the last four months. It's been a good effort so far to get to the quarterfinals of a slam this soon after back surgery. So I'm happy with that. But, you know, I'm not far away from, you know, winning the event. Anyone's that's in the quarters is close. I just look forward to that match and hopefully play a good one. Q. If it is Roger, is there still something extra special about playing him? ANDY MURRAY: Yeah, I think there's always going to be because of everything that he's achieved in the game. I mean, Rafa and Roger are two guys that, you know, whenever Roger finishes, you know, or Rafa, even though I am not going to play against guys that have won 17, 14, 15 slams, however many Rafa has won, however many he'll go on to win, there's very few guys I'll play in my career that win as much as that, if any. So, yeah, it's always going to be special playing against him. Q. If you do play him, will you look back at last year's semifinal? ANDY MURRAY: Yeah, I mean, I'll look back. I've played him, I don't know, around 20 times, I think. So all of those matches, it's all kind of experience. You know how you need to play against him, tactically things that work and things that don't work. Obviously last year is pretty relevant because it's on the same court and it will be under the same conditions. But in an individual sport, any day is a new day. Anything can happen. You know, you play 10% below your best, you can be off the court quickly. So whether my tactics are great or not, I need to play a great match to win. Q. His ranking has dropped, but is he still the same force he was a couple of years ago? ANDY MURRAY: Well, I mean, four, five years ago he was losing like three matches a year. I mean, it was ridiculous, you know, his record across all of the slams and on the regular tour. I mean, you could count them on your hand how many matches he was losing during the year. I'd say the last couple years he's lost a little bit more. I think last year you could see at periods he was struggling with his back. And if he's fully fit, I've said all along, he's always going to be there or thereabouts in the majors, and he'll give himself opportunities to win more because he's that good. Q. This will be the first big showdown between two of the coaches who were stars in the '80s, Edberg and Lendl.  Do you expect any different layer to that? Looks like Roger is coming to net a lot more. ANDY MURRAY: I don't know the stats of his matches so far in terms of how much he's coming forward. You would assume that's something that Edberg would be able to help with. He was pretty good at that, so you'd expect him to help Roger with that. But at the same time, they've been working together for a week. I think he arrived just as the tournament was starting. They'd only really done five or six days together. You'll see how much the coaches have helped the players and the things they'd been working on in three, four, five months' time. But right now it would be hard to say. Q. Davis Cup team named tomorrow. Is your plan to play doubles? ANDY MURRAY: I don't want to give away any tactics or anything that may go into the match and selections and whatnot. But I've spoken to Leon about it. I spoke to him about it a few days ago, had the discussion with him. We'll see when we get there. Q. If it is Jo, what do you like about playing him and what's difficult about playing him? ANDY MURRAY: I mean, he's a great athlete. He serves very well. He doesn't give you loads of rhythm. He can be quite unpredictable at times. I saw the start the match. He didn't start the match playing so well. He made a lot of errors beginning of the match. I don't know what's happening right now. I mean, he's come back from two sets to love against Roger before. He can all of a sudden start playing great tennis. When he gets into a rhythm, you know, he's tough to stop. You need to, as much as possible, keep him on the back foot, keep him away from the net. It's easier said than done. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
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