home jobs contact us
Our Clients:
Browse by Sport
Find us on ASAP sports on Facebook ASAP sports on Twitter
ASAP Sports RSS Subscribe to RSS
Click to go to
Asaptext.com
ASAPtext.com
ASAP Sports e-Brochure View our
e-Brochure

WIMBLEDON


July 5, 2013


Andy Murray


LONDON, ENGLAND

A. MURRAY/J. Janowicz
6‑7, 6‑4, 6‑4, 6‑3


THE MODERATOR:  Questions, please.

Q.  You said on the tele or the radio that your emotion in the moment of game, set, and match was different this year to last year.  Can you just expand on that a little bit.
ANDY MURRAY:  I mean, I think, yeah, I played three semis in a row.  It was the first time I'd been through to the final, so there were a mixture of emotions.  I was very relieved after the semis last year; whereas this year, yeah, I mean, I think I was a bit happier to have won the match.
It wasn't as much of sort of a release after the match.  Last year I think there was a lot of tension in my semifinal match; whereas today it wasn't quite the same.  It was just a different feeling I think because I've got to a position I've been in before; whereas last year it was completely new to me.

Q.  Given the fourth set you won in 35 minutes, was it the wrong call to close the roof?
ANDY MURRAY:  I mean, I don't know what the ruling is on it.  I just feel that, you know, Wimbledon is an outdoor event, and you should play outdoors until it is not possible to do that anymore.  That's my feeling on the roof.
I mean, it worked out okay for me in the end.

Q.  You seemed pretty angry at the time when you were told.
ANDY MURRAY:  Everybody would be.  I mean, it's just normal.  You've got all the momentum with you.  It's still very light outside.  You know, they played the Wimbledon final of Rafa and Roger played till, what, 9:40 in the evening.  It was 8:40 when we stopped.  There's still 40 minutes to an hour to play.

Q.  Did it help you, that sort of anger?  Did you use that?
ANDY MURRAY:  No, it was fine.  Once I got back on the court I wasn't angry.  It was for a few minutes.  Once the situation is there, you aren't angry anymore.  You just get back to the locker room, shower, speak to the guys, and get ready to play again.
You don't have that anger when you get back on the court.  It's just at that moment it's frustrating.  You know, when someone in football kicks someone or puts in a bad tackle, gets sent off, people get angry for a few minutes, make a mistake or whatever, and then 20 minutes later it's fine.
I still had a job to do.

Q.  What did Andrew Jarrett say to you?
ANDY MURRAY:  He just said, It's the right thing to stop.  That was it.

Q.  Was he apologetic at all?
ANDY MURRAY:  No.  There's no reason to be apologetic.  He's the referee.  He makes the decision, so...
There's no need for him to apologize for making that decision.  That's what he's paid to do.  It's his job.

Q.  My question is:  What does the Olympic gold medal mean to you?  More confidence, less pressure, further expecting, or something else?
ANDY MURRAY:  I think winning Olympic gold, I mean, I don't know if I'll ever have sort of feelings like I had that day.  You know, winning Olympic gold here, a home Olympics, I mean, I'll never get the opportunity to do that again.
So, yeah, it was probably one of the proudest moments of my career.  I don't know if I'll ever top that.  I don't think it brought any less or more pressure winning that.

Q.  Can you speak on Jerzy's potential, what you felt from his game today, what you think of him going forward?
ANDY MURRAY:  Well, I mean, you never know how good someone is ever going to be, but I would assume after this tournament he's not far off the top 10.  I would have thought in the next few months he'll get himself inside the top 10.
I mean, it depends on a lot of factors.  He's obviously young.  He has a huge game.  He moves very well for his size.  He's very athletic.  I think like his physique is kind of the future of tennis, the way guys are getting bigger and moving better, as well.
You know, him and Del Potro are quite similar in that they're both guys that move well from the back of the court and have a lot of power.  I think Jerzy will be around the top of the game for quite a while.

Q.  Did you feel any difference in him today as opposed to Paris?
ANDY MURRAY:  No.  The Paris match was a weird one for me.  I was in a very good position that match and lost focus a little bit.  Then he played, yeah, that way most matches.  He's very unpredictable.
You know, he has a lot of power, but he also has good feel.  He has a lot of dropshots.  He very rarely misses them.  Sometimes he doesn't hit them perfectly, but he rarely misses dropshots.
Yeah, he goes for it and he's pretty loose on the court.  That's tough to play against.

Q.  I'm wondering if you can carry any of what happened last year here, the great run, into Sunday, what you might have learned from that.  Also, if you could bring him back right now, what kind of a chat would you have with Fred Perry?
ANDY MURRAY:  Well, I mean, I think I learnt a lot from last year's Wimbledon.  The whole grass court season last year I learnt a lot from.  The one thing that kind of stands out is I knew how I needed to play the sort of big matches, or try to play the big matches after Wimbledon, because I didn't come away from that final kind of doubting sort of myself or the decisions I made on the court, because I went for it.  You know, I lost, but I didn't have any regrets as such.
And then, yeah, I don't know what I would ask Fred Perry or say to him.  To be honest, I've never been asked that before.

Q.  What do you think he would say to you?
ANDY MURRAY:  Why are you not wearing my kit?

Q.  Did you watch any of the first semifinal?
ANDY MURRAY:  Yeah, I saw bits and pieces of it.  I mean, from what I saw, looked like they were playing some great tennis.  A lot of long rallies and big hitting.  Novak looked like he was retrieving extremely well, as always.
You know, Juan came up with some huge tennis.  In the fourth set when he looked like he was tiring, he fought extremely hard.
Yeah, I mean, I think from what I saw, it looked like a very, very good match.

Q.  On the previous issue of expectations, how might your expectations be different than last year going into this year's Wimbledon final and your mindset?
ANDY MURRAY:  I think I'll be probably in a better place mentally.  You know, I would hope so just because I've been there before.  You know, I won a Grand Slam.  You know, I would hope I would be a little bit calmer going into Sunday.
But you don't know.  You don't decide that, you know.  I might wake up on Sunday and be unbelievably nervous, more nervous than I ever have been before.
But I wouldn't expect to be.

Q.  Do you feel there are a good number of similarities between your game and Novak's?  How do you think your game differs from his?
ANDY MURRAY:  Yeah, I think there is some similarities there in terms of if you look at stats and stuff.  I mean, both of us return well.  That's probably the strongest part of our games.  Both play predominantly from the baseline.
We both move well, but a different sort of movement.  You know, he's extremely flexible and he slides into shots ‑ even on the courts here.  He slides more.  He's quite a bit lighter than me.
So I'd say I probably move with more power and he's much more flexible than me.  And then, yeah, that's kind of it.  There's a few similarities, yeah.

Q.  Who will have the psychological edge?  Will it be you after winning here at the Olympics, or will it be Novak after winning at the Australian Open?
ANDY MURRAY:  You never know.  It depends on the day.  Sometimes it can depend on how the match starts.  Sometimes one player can be extremely nervous before.  Who knows?
We'll have to wait and see on Sunday.

Q.  There is such a small age difference between you and Nole.  You know each other very well.  How would you consider your relationship with Novak?  Is it a friendship or has it moved on to a rivalry now?
ANDY MURRAY:  I mean, it's hard to say exactly.  I mean, yeah, we have a professional friendship I think now.  When we were younger it was more friendly; whereas now, you know, I still message him sometimes.  We've spent a lot of time discussing various issues within tennis and doing what I think sometimes what was best for the sport.
But, yeah, I don't think it goes more than that right now.  You know, I would hope when we finish playing it will be different.  But, yeah, it's just hard because, you know, playing in big, big matches with, you know, a lot on the line, you can't be best of friends when that's happening.

Q.  What do you consider his main strength?  Is it the mental part of the game?  Do you consider that mental part so important?
ANDY MURRAY:  I think it's more physical.  I think he's extremely fit physically, and that's why he's able to fight until the last point of every match.
He never really has any letdowns physically, which he used to when he was younger.  That's something that's changed a lot over the last few years.

Q.  I know there's sort of the ranking of achievements can be tiresome sometimes, but because of the weight of history, 77 years, Fred Perry, would winning Wimbledon mean more to you than winning the US Open?  Where do those things sit in your mind?
ANDY MURRAY:  I mean, I haven't thought that much about it.  I haven't looked at it like that.  But, you know, winning Wimbledon would be, yeah, a huge achievement for any tennis player.
I think winning my first slam after failing, you know, a lot of times at the final hurdle, I don't think anything will sort of top that sort of relief or release that I had after that match.
Yeah, winning Wimbledon is pretty much the pinnacle of the sport.

Q.  You won 71% of second‑serve points today.  The last few times you played Novak, he's often won more than 50%.  He's one of the best returners in the world ‑ maybe of all time.  How do you feel your second serve is working now and how important is that going to be in the match?
ANDY MURRAY:  Yeah, it's an important stat in most matches, how you defend your second serve, especially when you're playing against one of the best returners.
You know, sometimes you can go for more.  You can go for more accuracy.  You can sometimes try and put more spin on it.  You know, you cannot have to hit as many second serves if I serve like I did this evening.  I served well tonight, and that helps, too.
Yeah, it's an important part of the game.

Q.  You won your only previous match on grass against Novak.  Do you think this surface gives you any advantage?
ANDY MURRAY:  No.  I mean, he's won here.  He's obviously in the final here.  Semis last year.  He has a very, very good record on the grass.
I don't think this surface gives me an advantage, no.

Q.  Djokovic has said that he keeps calm by meditating.  There's a Buddhist temple in Wimbledon he goes to.  I was wondering what do you use to try and focus, keep calm, et cetera, before the final?
ANDY MURRAY:  I don't do that.  Yeah, I watch TV, comedy TV I would say.  But I don't, yeah, go to temple.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports



About ASAP SportsFastScripts ArchiveRecent InterviewsCaptioningUpcoming EventsContact Us
FastScripts | Events Covered | Our Clients | Other Services | ASAP in the News | Site Map | Job Opportunities | Links
ASAP Sports, Inc. | T: 1.212 385 0297