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ROLAND GARROS

May 26, 2017

Andy Murray

Paris, France

THE MODERATOR: Questions in English, please.

Q. It was alarming to wake up this morning that I had, one, missed the story, and, two, that you had been poorly again. Find out I have missed the story, everyone has done the story about you being poorly and I had missed it.
ANDY MURRAY: Sorry about that.

Q. Concerning you have been ill again. What was the nature of the illness? How has that affected your preparations for Roland Garros?
ANDY MURRAY: I still pretty much got everything done that I needed to do. I was supposed to practice on Monday here. I traveled on Sunday. Sunday afternoon was when I started to feel a bit sick. It was Monday/Tuesday didn't feel great. But I still practiced a bit on Tuesday.

Then I feel much better just now. I've just got a cough now, but I was just a bit sick for a couple of days.

Q. This obviously isn't the first time you have been ill this year. Is it just coincidence, or is it, you know, maybe the lingering effect of shingles or something like that? Do you know?
ANDY MURRAY: I have no idea. I don't know. It's been frustrating, obviously, because it's happened the third time this year where, you know, so I have had to -- well, missed days or, you know, been in bed for a few days and haven't really -- to be honest, it should happen more really, considering the amount that we travel and stuff, you know, how long the season and stuff. I have been pretty lucky with that over the last couple of years. I have not had too many sort of bad illnesses.

So maybe they have just come in a small space of time. But I feel okay now. I will be all good when the tournament starts.

Q. After your last match in Rome you said that your movement has been one of the main things that you felt you have been struggling with over the past two, three weeks of this clay season. Where do you feel you have been in that department during training here? How do you feel your training has gone so far?
ANDY MURRAY: It's only really relevant when the matches start. You know, the intensity is a bit different in the matches. You know, generally I move better in matches than I do in practice.

So that's normally how I feel. I feel like I'm a little bit sharper in matches. I hope that's the case when the tournament starts.

Q. Can you compare how you are kind of coming into this tournament compared to last year when you did so well?
ANDY MURRAY: Well, I haven't been doing well recently.

Q. Well...
ANDY MURRAY: Yeah, it's obviously been a struggle.

Q. Been a struggle the last year, hasn't it?
ANDY MURRAY: Yeah, last few months have not been good, obviously. You know, I haven't played well. I had a few issues, as well.

Yeah, I need to, you know, accept that I'm struggling and then find a way to get through it.

You know, I will get through it. I'm sure of that. When that happens, I don't know. Hopefully it happens in a few days. Hopefully happens at this event. If it doesn't, maybe it happens during the grass.

But the only way to get through it is to work your way through it, keep working on your game, try and understand what's not been going right.

You know, although it's very frustrating, you have to try to enjoy this part of what we do, as well, because, you know, the struggles are, you know, part of what make the good times so enjoyable. You know, I need to enjoy my struggle a little bit just now and that will help me get through it quicker, I believe. The more frustrated you get, you know, it doesn't help, either. So, you know, I'll try and get through it as quickly as I can.

Q. You have been in situations before where you were the in-form player of the moment and all eyes are on you and everyone is calling you a favorite whereas at this tournament perhaps, because as you mentioned, you haven't been doing as well as you like and lots of eyes are on Rafa. Does that perhaps take the pressure off of you? Is that a situation maybe that has some positives behind it?
ANDY MURRAY: I mean, it can do, yeah, but ultimately doesn't really matter when you get on the court what anyone says in here, you know, whether it's positive or negative. It's like once you get out on the court is what matters and how you deal with situations out there. Generally, when you're playing well, you deal with situations better, because you have won matches and you're confident and you're feeling really good.

Just because everyone is sort of putting pressure on you maybe in here or appears that way, that people are expecting a lot of you, when you get out on the court, you find your way. When you're struggling a little bit, you know, it's a little bit harder to find your way through tough moments in matches. But, you know, that will come.

Like I say, I hope it starts here, but the expectations don't -- I don't think it changes my chances in this event. It's more the way that I'm playing that does that.

Q. I think it's one of the first times I read you saying you were struggling also with your motivation? Can you just explain how it went exactly, if you feel now it's better, or if you're still struggling with that?
ANDY MURRAY: It's not so much the motivation is the struggle. It was just sort of I was -- I got asked a question, I think it was a little bit, maybe in connection with Novak, you know, the end of last year, and I was just saying it happens a lot in sport when, you know, if you achieve something quite big, you know, it can be quite natural to maybe struggle for a few months. You know, I have been training as well as I could the last few months, you know, just maybe in a couple of matches it's just been, you know, a little bit flat.

That's where it is very important that when you do achieve something big, like when I won Wimbledon the first time, I felt like that was, well, why I was playing, really. And I had achieved my biggest goal. It was, like, you feel a bit, I don't know, a bit lost afterwards. You need to then reset your goals and, you know, maybe at times there has been a little bit of that.

After Australia I was very pumped and motivated for Australia. But then after that, there is a big gap between there and the Roland Garros. That can happen sometimes.

But, I mean, I'm motivated just now. If I wasn't, you know, when I wasn't feeling well for a few days, I wouldn't have been out on the court practicing. I would have stayed in bed.

But I want to get through this, and like I say, I know I will. I just don't know when. But I hope it's in a few days.

Q. You said you nearly stayed in bed. Was it right you were on antibiotics this week to get better? If so, what kind of effect does that have on your body and what kind of chance do you give yourself for being ready for the start of play?
ANDY MURRAY: I will be ready, for sure. I just wasn't well for a few days. It happens to lots of players during the year just because of what we do. There was loads of players around Indian Wells/Miami time that got sick. It happens. We are in the locker rooms with lots of players, lots of sweat, lots of germs, you know, in airplanes all the time. It happens.

You know, maybe I practiced a few days in London. It was raining and very cold. But still trying to practice quite hard through that. Maybe that was why I just picked up a little something.

But, yeah, I'm fine now, and, yeah, I practiced for three hours today, and I feel fine.

Q. What difference is it being back with Ivan? Do you think that the gap with you not working or not seeing Ivan I guess between Australia and here, is that too long? Is that something you need to maybe look at?
ANDY MURRAY: Well, I mean, the reason why we're talking about it is I haven't been playing well. But the end of last year between Wimbledon and the O2, I saw Ivan for two weeks, basically, and I played great. It's not his fault. I'm very happy with the team I have around me when he isn't there. But I do think in this situation when I have been struggling that having someone coming in with a fresh voice, different set of eyes, that can help and give you a different perspective. And, you know, he's been through some struggles in his own career, as well, when he was a top player, and, you know, understands how to get out of it. He can definitely help me with that.

I don't think the reason why I haven't been playing well is because he hasn't been around a lot. Certainly no one mentioned that at any stage during the period between Wimbledon and the Tour Finals last year and I did okay.

Q. You have obviously been around a lot, same tournaments every year for the past, you know, decade or so. Does age and time on tour contribute to what you described, meeting big goals, the motivation or whatever you called it, dropping off, if you get what I mean?
ANDY MURRAY: Yeah, I think so. Yeah, we do play obviously the same tournaments every year, and, you know, the tour hasn't changed loads in terms of the calendar and stuff.

Yeah, the tournaments come at the same time every single year. Yeah, it can be the case that, you know, maybe a little bit flat, like I said, at some of the events. I think that can happen.

I don't know exactly why that happens, what the reason for it is, because I still love the travel, I love practicing, you know, I love the training aspect. I still love tennis.

But it just happens sometimes. You know, I'm sure everyone in here, like, sometimes maybe hasn't enjoyed writing stories for a few weeks sometimes. Maybe there is no interesting stories at the time. And it's not as much fun.

Everyone goes through it. But I know why I play tennis; because I love it and I enjoy it. You know, I'll keep plugging away until I get back to where I want to get to.

Q. To get back to the physical issues, you said you thought the way for you to get back to your best, get out of the present run, was to work hard, to keep working hard. I wondered, does it ever cross your mind, do you sometimes think even has anyone, doctor said to you that actually what you might need is to ease up a bit, take a bit of a rest? Because you have had a hell of a time the last 12 months, say.
ANDY MURRAY: Yeah. And I did do that. I have done that this year, you know, a couple of times. Which doesn't necessarily get reported, but I did do it. After Australia I did, I took two weeks off after Australia. I took two weeks off at the end of last season where I didn't do any training. I did nothing.

When I got back from Miami, obviously when I had the issue with my elbow, I didn't hit any balls, didn't do much gym work for 10 days, two weeks there.

I have got much better at that during my career, better than maybe in my mid 20s at doing that.

But right now I don't need to rest. I don't feel like I need to rest. I have not played many matches recently. You know, a lot of the guys have played way more tennis than me.

Ideally you want to play a lot of matches, but if you're not getting matches, you need to practice. I can't just, you know, lose in the first round of Rome and then just chill out for, like, a week, ten days, and turn up here and expect to play well. I need to get on the court and, like I say, work through it. Yeah, that's what I have been doing.

Q. I saw you met Teddy Riner two days ago. How does the way he has managed to play on the top of his sport for ten years inspires you?
ANDY MURRAY: Yeah, that's what I was saying the other day when I met him, that's, you know, 98 wins in a row is obviously a lot, like, that's great, but it's just more impressive, like, the amount of the period of time that it's come over, over seven years. To do that you have to be obviously extremely focused, and disciplined. I'm sure at times he takes breaks away from his sport, as well, rests, what you need to.

Yeah, to stay at the top of any sport for such a long period of time is obviously a very, very difficult thing to do, and also in the sports like that where it's like one mistake can be very, very costly, your concentration needs to be excellent, as well. Yeah, it's incredible what he's done.

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