AUSTRALIAN OPEN

January 17, 2006

Andy Murray

THE MODERATOR: First question, please.

ANDY MURRAY: Well, it wasn't my best day. But, you know, you can't play well every single day. You know, it's the first time I've been easily beaten since I've been on the tour. It's a little bit disappointing. I played really silly tennis for two sets. I played better in the third. I was just trying to be way too aggressive. I was making so many mistakes. That's just not the way that I play. When I did start to play my game, I had a lot of chances in the third set to break him. I didn't take them. I'm disappointed that I lost so easily. But, you know, I think I was due a bad match. Unfortunately, it came here.

ANDY MURRAY: No, I wasn't nervous, no. I mean, the way that I was playing, I didn't feel nervous. I was just -- I was just going for far too much. I was playing the way -- the opposite to how I play my best tennis. It wasn't nerves. I wasn't thinking properly.

ANDY MURRAY: No, no, I don't think so. I played in a bigger stadium with more pressure on me than there was today. I don't think it was the occasion. I think it was just a bad match. You know, if you guys expect me to play well every single match and every single tournament then, you know, it's not going to happen. Everybody has a bad tournament sometime. Unfortunately, it came here. But, you know, I'm going to have much better days than this one, and I'm sure I'll have worse days.

ANDY MURRAY: Yeah, I mean, to be honest, I was expecting him to play very well. But, you know, I was thinking he was going to stay back on my second serve, and he was coming in, hitting big balls off my second serve. You know, he hit a lot of winners and didn't make many unforced errors at all. I was trying to do something a little bit different, and it wasn't working. You know, when it started to get a bit close in the third set, I did have chances. I don't know what happened today. I can't really explain it.

ANDY MURRAY: You know, Gasquet lost in three sets. Monfils lost in three sets. Djokovic lost as well. Venus Williams lost yesterday against somebody that she should never lose against. You guys are expecting me to win matches like this. The guy's ranked 20 places in front of me, is a much better player than me. It's difficult for me to go out there and try and perform to the best that I can when, you know, I'm expected to win all these matches. I mean, none of the teenagers played well today. I think we're not going to play well every week. When you're this young, you know, it's difficult to stay consistent all the time. When you learn how to play your game your best, then that's when you're going to play very consistently each week. Even Federer, it took him a while before he started to play as well as he is now. Maybe all of us will start playing our best when we're a little bit older.

ANDY MURRAY: No, just in the UK, not the other ones. I think in Spain they've got so many players that they don't have to put pressure on the younger guys because you've got about ten players in the top hundred. The same with France, as well. This is my first time to Australia, so I don't know what it's like over here with the young guys. In the UK, it's always been like that, I think.

ANDY MURRAY: You don't think there's any pressure on me? Well, if you don't think that, then, you know, I'm obviously going to disagree on something. If you guys don't think you're putting pressure on me, then that's fine. I'll forget about it.