US OPEN

September 2, 2022

Andy Murray

Press Conference

M. BERRETTINI/A. Murray

6-4, 6-4, 6-7, 6-3

THE MODERATOR: Questions, please.

Q. People seem to think you played reasonably well other than maybe a couple of dips on serve in the first and second set. What did you feel about it?

ANDY MURRAY: Yeah, I served pretty poorly for a large part of the match, which hurt me a lot. I mean, it's always tough down one end at that time of day. So from one end probably understandable, but, you know, I just couldn't find any rhythm on serve.

I hung in really well in the third set, and, you know, could see from the stats and stuff that were coming up that when I was getting into rallies I was getting comfortably the better of those exchanges when, you know, I got past the first few shots.

He served extremely well, got loads of free points on his serve. I didn't. That was the difference.

Q. In the fourth set, you had a breakpoint obviously, and it ended quite quickly. Were you feeling physically okay at that stage? Was there a mental effect of not getting the breakpoint or just one of those things?

ANDY MURRAY: I mean, you can get broken. I think sometimes what people always look for reasons for why things happen but you're not going to hold serve every single time in a match.

You know, I saved loads of breakpoints in the third set when I could have quite easily have been broken. You know, on the breakpoint, and I hit a pretty good return, he hit a forehand like an inch from the line. It was the next two points that were more frustrating for me. Two second serves and didn't put any in the court. I missed a pretty simple, pretty simple volley. I think it was at 15-All.

And then the next game, which cost me, you know, and that's not -- it was just poor execution. I played a good point, got myself in the right position, just hit a bad shot. Then, yeah, that was it.

But I'd say probably the worst game for me was after I got the break at the beginning of the set, the serve with new balls and got broken to love. I didn't play a good game there. Obviously had all the momentum with me. Had I got through that game, maybe that changes things, but I didn't play a good game.

I've not been in loads of those matches recently, and, you know, maybe that showed a little bit in those moments. But, I mean, I'm surprised that I was able to compete as well as I did with someone that's as good as him with, you know, the situation that I'm in.

I thought physically I did well, you know, considering coming in I wasn't feeling great, but physically I did well in all the matches, which was good.

Q. The situation you were in, were you referring to not having a great summer, or...

ANDY MURRAY: No, I've got a metal hip. It's not easy playing with that. It's really difficult. I'm surprised I'm still able to compete with guys that are right up at the top of the game.

Matches like this, you know, I'm really proud that I have worked myself into a position where I'm able to do that. I'm really disappointed that, you know, I didn't get over the line today. But, you know, I get reminded like this is the first time you've made the third round here since 2016. It's been six years. It's been a difficult six years for me. It's been really hard.

Although it's the first time I've only made the third round here, I'm really proud of that effort that I put into, you know, to get myself back into these positions. So I'm hoping that in the future I can go further, but considering, I did all right.

Q. Picking up on that point about how proud you are of yourself after all you have been through, when you incur a loss or a defeat, is it as hard to take now as it was years ago, or is it a little bit easier to accept?

ANDY MURRAY: No, it's still as hard, still as disappointing. In some ways, you know, you can maybe deal with it slightly better. In other ways, because you know you probably don't have that many more opportunities playing in these tournaments, it's a shame, because obviously would have liked to have done better. Had I got through that one, you know, the draw had opened up a little bit.

So, yeah, in some ways it's easier; in others, not.

Q. Can you say what feels different out on the court, if there is any difference, now from five years ago?

ANDY MURRAY: In terms... Physically?

Q. That match five years ago compared to here, what's different? You talk about the physical things you have come through and everything. Can you just express how it feels differently on the court.

ANDY MURRAY: Well, I mean, a lot of the things feel the same, but obviously I'm just not quite capable of the sort of movement and physicality that I was five, six years ago. I mean, that's pretty obvious. You know, I shouldn't expect to be.

You know, I think if you watch Rafa and Novak moving around the court now who are similar age, I think they're moving pretty similar to how they were five, six years ago, whereas for me there's obviously been a bit of a drop-off there. That can affect you in terms of how you have to play the points. Maybe you just don't track as many balls down as before. Maybe the reach isn't just quite as much as it was.

But in terms of the shots and everything, there is nothing that is stopping me from hitting the same shots as I did before.

Q. Third round, obviously you always want to go further. Do you feel that it's been worth it what you have been through in the last five, six years? You say you're very proud of what you've achieved. Do you feel there's much more to give and this is still all worth it?

ANDY MURRAY: Yeah, I, like I said, would want to be doing better, but I'm still right there with guys that are -- you know, in the last couple of weeks, I didn't win the matches obviously against Cam and against Berrettini, but it was pretty close.

I think I'm improving this year. You know, my rankings, I don't even know what I was at the beginning of the year, but I'm now around 40-ish in the world and still going hard. I want to push and see how far I can go.

That will be motivational for me and interesting to see, because lots of people told me I wouldn't be able to play again, and lots of people told me I'd be able to hit tennis balls but not compete professionally again. That was nonsense, and I want to see how close I can get back to the top of the game.

Yeah, that's what the motivation is.

Q. Given the issues with the abdominal strain when you were playing in Stuttgart and with the cramping, does a result like this give you encouragement that if you can have another swing where you're able to be healthy and match after match, tournament after tournament, that you can go further?

ANDY MURRAY: Yeah, and, like, the cramping and stuff, I think me and my team resolved that. We probably should have resolved it earlier than what we did, but we got there, and, you know, I played -- I don't know how long today's match was, three hours and a half, three hours, 45 minutes, and the last couple of matches in some pretty tough conditions. I managed to get through that.

That was good, because I was pretty unsure going into the tournament how I was going to deal with that. Yeah, like physically I have done well in terms of like how I actually feel on the court and how I have recovered.

If this was 12 months ago, I would have got probably progressively worse as the matches went on, whereas I felt like I started to feel better with each match that I played. That was really positive.

But, yeah, still leaving, obviously feeling disappointment and wishing I had done some things better and differently and had a different result.

But we've got, you know, a couple of fun team events to look forward to now in the next few weeks, which can help after a loss like today, being around friends and team environment can help, so I look forward to that. And then, yeah, hopefully continue to play better through to the end of the season.