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CHINA OPEN

October 4, 2016

Andy Murray

Beijing, China

A. MURRAY/A. Seppi

6-2, 7-5

THE MODERATOR: Questions, please.

Q. That's now the eighth straight match you've been able to defeat Seppi. What makes you so successful against him?
ANDY MURRAY: Don't know. Maybe matchups obviously. You know, I feel like I'm able to get a lot of chances when he's serving. You know, give myself a lot of opportunities to break.

Then in the rallies, you know, try and use a lot of variety, not give him the same ball twice in a row because he's got very good timing, hits the ball very clean off both sides. So try to use some variety, not let him get into a rhythm. That's worked well for me.

Q. In a few hours we'll know the verdict in the Sharapova case. What would be your thoughts if the ban was reduced or if they stay with the three years' ban?
ANDY MURRAY: Yeah, I mean, it's a difficult situation because I think WADA obviously made some mistakes, you know, with the substance, with meldonium. A lot of athletes were let off because they didn't know how long the substance stayed in the system for. Obviously it became banned at the end of December. So some athletes had been let off. You could understand if it was reduced.

But, yeah, it's a difficult one because I think there's been some mistakes from WADA on this.

Q. Judging from your performance today, how much are you satisfied with your game at the moment, especially coming back from an injury?
ANDY MURRAY: Well, I thought I did okay today considering I hadn't played much the last couple of weeks, didn't arrive here until a couple of days ago. I thought I did okay. I think I can play better.

But there was some good stuff in there. With each match I'll play better hopefully. It was the first time I practiced on center court, and played on center court today. So I wasn't that used to the speed of the court and how it felt out there.

But, yeah, I felt okay. Body felt fine. No injuries. Felt healthy. Just need matches now.

Q. You got another win last night with a simple shirt and jeans. You won the best dressed award. Does that say you are popular here? Was it a surprise?
ANDY MURRAY: Well, I thought it was a joke. I thought it was a joke.

Yeah, we were told the fans voted for it, so I don't know how really that worked. Chinese have obviously got a good sense of humor.

But, yeah, I certainly wasn't expecting that. It's probably the first and last time I'll win an award like that.

Q. A bit more serious subject. I had an interview with Eric Butorac last month. He said the ATP needs to look into shortening matches. He said he spoke to you and that you were open-minded about it. Can you talk about your position on this, how the ATP needs to get the interest of the younger generation into tennis?
ANDY MURRAY: Yeah, I mean, I'm open-minded to trying new things. I think in certain situations, if things aren't working, like for example the Davis Cup is a good example, where the players for a number of years have complained about the format a little bit, the timing and everything.

But sometimes it's good to try something new. If it doesn't work, then you can always go back to the original. But, you know, we spoke in the first player council meeting I was in about potentially shortening the matches in the Davis Cup, playing over a weekend, you know, rather than playing Friday, Saturday, Sunday. That was something I'm open to trying.

You know, the slams, if the matches are getting too long, which some people say they are, some people say they aren't, if the slams want to change or if the slams want to try something new...

I like the five-set format, but potentially shortening the sets to first of four or first of five games, I'm open to trying it if that's what the slams want and that's what the fans want to see. It's not just about what the players want all the time. Again, I'm open-minded to trying it. If it doesn't work, you can always go back.

But I think tennis is in a good place just now. I don't think we definitely have to change things, but I'm not against trying.

Q. Does the fact that you're chasing the No. 1 help you to get over the US Open, or was it particularly a disappointment?
ANDY MURRAY: Well, I mean, I kind of didn't expect to maybe play as well as I would have liked at the US Open because it had been a long few months for me. You know, I did all right. I fought till the end of the tournament. Maybe I could have done a little bit better. I was very close to winning the match against Kei. One or two points here or there could have changed the outcome of that.

I mean, yeah, I was disappointed after it. But I had the Davis Cup around the corner, and some other things happened away from the court which I never experienced in my life which put things in perspective, as well. I was fine.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

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