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THE STELLA ARTOIS CHAMPIONSHIPS

June 14, 2006

Andy Murray

LONDON, ENGLAND

THE MODERATOR: First question for Andy.

Q. What did you make of that then, Andy?
ANDY MURRAY: Yeah, I obviously didn't play a great match. I thought I served pretty well throughout. That was the one thing I was pretty pleased about.
But, for me, I've made so many mistakes off ground strokes. I was struggling to get used to the conditions. I felt like I was hitting every ball like halfway up the net when I was missing.
And, you know, today compared with yesterday, it was obviously a little bit slower and a bit more windy. I didn't deal with the conditions very well. I thought he played a pretty solid match. He didn't make too many mistakes, and I was the one who missed everything.

Q. There were times when you maybe seemed, just looking from the outside, you seemed to be a bit flat. Did you feel like that?
ANDY MURRAY: Today or yesterday?

Q. Both really.
ANDY MURRAY: I mean, I think possibly a little bit today in the start of the second set. Yesterday, I felt okay. I just found it difficult to get used to playing on the grass really. I didn't -- I wasn't moving as well as I normally do on it. My slice wasn't coming through the court. I felt like every ball was so, so low and I couldn't get it, you know, back deep. I was hitting especially a lot of balls in the net. It wasn't so much that I felt flat, just there was nothing to really get me going. I didn't play any shots that really stood out, which made me get more pumped up.

Q. How much of a setback is this in terms of your preparation and just your confidence on grass, getting matches?
ANDY MURRAY: It's not too much of a setback. I mean, I think everybody can play a bad match on grass, especially your first one of the year. You know, it's a surface which takes a little bit of time getting used to. I'm sure other players, you know, have lost first round and gone on to play well at Wimbledon.
But, you know, obviously I'll have to improve on the way I played today. But I think if I practice well enough and get in the gym and work a little bit harder, uhm, hopefully by the time Wimbledon comes, I'll be playing even better.

Q. Will you change your plans at all, or will you still play next week at Boodles?
ANDY MURRAY: Yeah, I'm not sure. I think I'll probably still play at Boodles. You're guaranteed three matches there. I think there's a few pretty good players playing, so I think I'll play there.

Q. How was your back today and yesterday?
ANDY MURRAY: It felt okay when I was serving actually. I served quite a few aces. I was serving bigger than what I had been the last few months, and a little bit more consistency -- consistently. My back held up pretty well, so no excuses with the back.

Q. Can you tell us a little bit about how it feels this year compared to last year.
ANDY MURRAY: Last year wasn't easy for me because I was very nervous and, you know, I hadn't won a match on the tour before and this was all pretty new to me.
Now, there's a bit more expected of me, you know, because I did so well in the grass last year. And matches like today, where my opponent is ranked lower than me, you know, last year I wasn't expected to win or come close to winning, and now, obviously, I'm expected to.
You know, they're the only main differences. I don't think too much else has changed.

Q. Have you felt that pressure this year?
ANDY MURRAY: Not too much. I think the only pressure is pressure I put on myself, you know. There wasn't too much buildup before my first-round match. There wasn't -- didn't have to do too much press or anything, so it wasn't like there was that much pressure on me. I just maybe expected a little bit too much of myself and tried to play a little bit better than I should have done when it was my first match on grass. And when I was playing badly, I didn't deal with it as well as I normally do.

Q. He played pretty well for somebody who's adapting to grass as well.
ANDY MURRAY: Yeah, I mean, he made third round at Wimbledon last year, same as me. You know, he obviously can play well on grass. I know he plays well on quick courts because of his results in challengers.
I just thought that the whole match he played pretty solid, didn't do anything special. He hit a few big serves at key points, but apart from that he just played solid and I was the one playing like this. Obviously, I made a few too many mistakes at the start of the third set and couldn't come back from it.

Q. Maybe we forget, but although you're British, you're like any other player having to adapt to grass, because it's not your natural surface.
ANDY MURRAY: No, I think before last year I hadn't played too many matches on grass. I think, you know, because I trained in Spain until I maybe was 16 or 15, I hadn't even hit on a grass court before.
And then, you know, obviously played Junior Wimbledon stuff, but I think that's the one thing that is not my best surface. I don't expect it to be my best surface. So, you know, it is, for me, a surface which will take some time getting used to and finding the right way to play on it.

Q. Do you like it, grass?
ANDY MURRAY: Yeah. I find it quite strange this year. Last year I felt like it bounced a bit higher. It's the same sort of speed, but this year it's kind of slow but it bounces very low. And, obviously, when the conditions are like today, it's quite dead. From the ground, obviously you have to bend your knees a bit more and try and put a little bit extra topspin on it to get it back deep.
But, you know, I think it is a surface that I can play well on. I definitely can play much better than I did today. So, you know, hopefully the next couple of weeks I'll get some good practice in and hopefully play better at Wimbledon.

Q. In the debrief process now obviously with no coach, who do you bounce things off now in the immediate post match? Who will you talk to about how things went to get a different perspective?
ANDY MURRAY: I think the only person that I can really do that with is myself just now, I think. You know, I need to go and take a bit of time to think about how I played and what I need to improve and how I'm going to do that and how I'm going to structure my practice to improve the things I did badly today.
You know, obviously when I do get a coach, it's obviously easier looking at it from the outside. You know, you can see things a little bit clearer than what you can yourself. I might watch the video of my match to see what I was doing wrong on my ground strokes, but I'm pretty sure I was standing pretty upright considering the ball was bouncing so low.

Q. What is the situation on coaching? Are you talking to anyone yet?
ANDY MURRAY: No, I haven't spoken to anyone. You know, the last I've heard, Brad Gilbert was my new coach, but I haven't spoken to him yet so I can't really comment on that.
But, yeah, I mean, obviously I'm still looking for someone. It's not the easiest thing to find. There's a lot of complications. I think, you know, after Wimbledon, you know, around that time before Cincinnati and Toronto, I should have found a coach by then.

Q. Have you kind of accepted that you're going to Wimbledon without a coach?
ANDY MURRAY: Yeah.

Q. You can expect Leon to come down and be around again?
ANDY MURRAY: I think he's coming down on Monday, Tuesday or Wednesday anyway. But, I mean, I'm not sure. He's obviously got other work to do as well, so I'm not sure.

Q. With the disappointing results you've had lately, how much of a factor do you think it's been, the fact that you haven't had a coach with you long term that you know you can bounce things off of?
ANDY MURRAY: I think on the clay it's not about having a coach so much. It was more, you know, this is the first time I've played on clay on the tour before. And, you know, regardless of what anyone says, it is difficult. You know, I think Federer lost his first seven matches on clay when he came on to the tour. It's not an easy surface to play on. I lost some tight matches. If I'd won those tight matches, everyone would have been saying it's been a pretty good clay court season.
But I have lost quite a lot of three-setters this year and, you know, hopefully I can turn that around. But, you know, I don't think it's down to not having a coach.

Q. Will this fundamentally change your mindset going into Wimbledon, or are you able to keep this in one compartment and just move on?
ANDY MURRAY: There's no point in living in the past, I think. I just have to think positively. I know I played well at Wimbledon last year, and I can play well on grass. I'm ranked in the top 50. I'm only 19. So I'm not worrying about things just now. Everything's pretty good just now.
I just have to win some more of the tighter matches and play a little bit more consistently than making so many mistakes.

Q. Is it easy for you to keep that mindset when you must be aware that everybody else will be discussing it, worrying about it?
ANDY MURRAY: Well, I don't care about what anybody else thinks about my results. It's, you know -- I know the position I'm in this year compared to last year, you know. It's unbelievable. Not many people would have expected me to be in the top 50 this time last year, so I'm not in a bad position.
You know, regardless of what anybody else thinks or says, you know, if you're top 50 in the world when you're a teenager or under 20, it's a great achievement. I'm not worrying about my results the last couple of weeks because I know the game's there, it just needs to click together. When I do find a coach, he can, you know, show me what I need to do better and improve the things that I haven't been doing well. Then, obviously, I can improve on that.
But just now, it is, it's quite difficult because I'm not that experienced and I don't know exactly how to improve some of the things I don't do so well.

Q. Has it taken you longer than you had hoped to get a coach? I understand what the difficulties are, but were you expecting a coach by now?
ANDY MURRAY: No. I think, you know, two or three months is, you know, a normal amount of time to find someone. I think - I mean, I'm not exactly sure - but I think if you want to make the right decision and not rush into anything, you have to take some time and think over it and meet the person that you're looking for. You know, obviously, I haven't, you know, met the right person yet.
But I think, you know, it will happen soon. But, you know, obviously I would rather that it happen sooner rather than later, but I do think it is important to find the right person and to be patient with it.

End of FastScripts...

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