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BNP PARIBAS MASTERS

November 6, 2015

Andy Murray

Paris, France

A. MURRAY/R. Gasquet
7‑6, 3‑6, 6‑3

THE MODERATOR: Questions in English.

Q. Well played. That backhand you slid down the line was a big point. When you do something like that, is it satisfaction or relief, or what's your reaction to when you do something like that?
ANDY MURRAY: The slice?

Q. It hit the line. Yeah.
ANDY MURRAY: Yeah, I mean, it was obviously an important shot in the match. You know, I kind of assumed or anticipated that he was going to come into the net. Yeah. I just, you know, obviously had to hit it well, had to hit it clean to get it past him and put a little bit of, I don't know, sort of swerve on the ball to bring it back into the court.
So, yeah, it was going to be a tough one for him to get his racquet on, but, yeah, I managed. I hit a couple of them today, both pretty big points.

Q. Started pretty well with 4‑1, going for 5‑1. I mean, then the serve was maybe not your best day and maybe frustration or something. How do you think it totally turned around?
ANDY MURRAY: Yeah, well, he had had, also, the first game was a tough one on my first serve. The first three games were difficult. Then, yeah, he came back obviously in the end of the first set. He was playing some really good tennis.
I think the level during the first set was extremely good. I think after that it was a little bit up and down. But, yeah, I just managed to hang in at the end after losing the momentum really in the second set. We had quite a long break between the first and second set. I think both of us started off quite slowly after that.

Q. How is your level of play at the end of the season? How does it compare with how you've played throughout the year? Do you peak at the end of the season? Give me your sense about where you stand right now, not only for this tournament, but also for London.
ANDY MURRAY: I think normally by the end of the season, you tend to be hitting the ball well. Well, you would hope to be. I mean, you have played obviously a lot of matches by this stage. But obviously the sort of the mental and physical fatigue takes its toll a little bit, and then you might see guys making bad decisions, bad shot selection. They might be hitting the ball well, but making poor decisions on the court because they might be a little bit tired, body is a little bit sore, so they might be a little bit slow to some of the shots.
I feel like I have been striking the ball well this week. I think the first two matches obviously were extremely good. I think at periods of today's match, I also played extremely well.
But, yeah, there was also some stuff in there that obviously I could have done better. At the beginning of the second set is one of those periods of the match where I feel like my level dropped. You really want to make sure your level stays high after winning a set like that.

Q. Were there any physical issues? You were reaching your leg once or twice.
ANDY MURRAY: No, my back is a little bit stiff. I think it wasn't affecting my movement around the court. Just a little bit on my serve. I was going for big serves in the second set, and, you know, wasn't really pushing off as well as I would have like, so missing them. Then in the third set, I decided to slow the serve down and make more first serves. That worked really well.
It was really a turning point for me in the match, because you give top players looks at second serves all of the time, you know, eventually the pressure takes its toll. I managed to change that around in the third set, and that was good.

Q. Is it easy to give your whole on the match like this? Thinking, I have London coming and Davis Cup, and I'm in the middle of a two‑hour‑and‑30‑minute match, or do you block it out completely?
ANDY MURRAY: I think obviously you don't want to play loads of those matches over the next few weeks, but obviously played two extremely quick matches the first two rounds. So to get a long one, for me, and I think in that atmosphere as well, you know, with the Davis Cup coming up is a very positive thing for me, you know, to go through that physically and emotionally.
I mean, it's maybe not going to be the same as Davis Cup, but it's pretty good practice for that. I'm happy I went through a match like that today, physically and mentally. It's a good one to go through.

Q. Looks like Ferrer in the next round. That's not going to be a gentle one, is it?
ANDY MURRAY: No, I mean, always tough against him. He had elbow problems earlier in the year, but he started to play better the last few months since he came back. And, you know, he is the sort of player I think who thrives on playing a lot of tennis and a lot of matches.
He obviously won the tournament in Vienna a couple of weeks ago, and, yeah, has played some good tennis here, beaten some tough opponents. Good win against Grigor yesterday and looks like he will finish that one quite quickly against John. It will be a tough match.

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