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U.S. OPENAugust 24, 2013Andy MurrayNEW YORK CITY, NEW YORK THE MODERATOR: Questions, please. Q. What's the buildup been like? Been a bit different to normal? ANDY MURRAY: I mean, not really. It's been a bit busier, but no. I mean, pretty much everything stayed the same. We got here fairly early, so I have had a lot of time practicing on the courts and getting used to the balls and the conditions. It hasn't been too different, just probably 10%, 15% busier than normal. Q. What were some of the things you had to do? ANDY MURRAY: Well, a few more media things, a couple extra sponsor things. Days have just been a little bit longer, so it's been very important to make sure I, you know, manage my time well and conserve my energy as much as I can away from the court. Looks like I'm going to play my first match on Wednesday, so it will be close to two weeks. You know, before In play my first match normally I'd go out and do some things, but because I have been busy I've tried to just keep pretty low key and spent a lot of time in the hotel room unfortunately. Q. How do you see that first match? Given the conditions here, how will that affect you? ANDY MURRAY: Yeah, it's tough. I mean, the conditions here obviously can change a lot from day to day. You know, when it's warm here it's pretty quick, probably the quickest of the slams when it's warm. When it's cool in the evening, it slows down significantly. So I'll have to wait and see. It's a tough match. Llodra is tricky player, serves well, one of the best doubles player in the world just now, very good hands, and he's very unpredictable. You need to be switched on all the time against him and play a solid match. You can't have too many ups and downs against him because he will capitalize on that. Q. How is the pressure on you to defend your first Grand Slam title different than the pressure that was on you or that you felt internally to break through and win that first Grand Slam? ANDY MURRAY: I think there is less pressure. I think before the first match ‑ and probably anything before the first match there will be nerves there ‑ I expect to be pretty nervous because it's a new experience and it's different. But I think once the tournament gets going, I don't think it changes. I don't think it changes too much. There was a lot of pressure on me for a lot of years to win a Grand Slam, and then same sort of thing at Wimbledon. I wouldn't imagine it would be the same here. Q. A lot of us here in the States were watching you as you finally clinched Wimbledon this year, and those last minutes, last moments, those points were so nerve racking for you. We could see that on the TV. You said, I can't even remember them. When you watched it, I'm sure you watched it at some point, did everything then connect and you kind of saw what you went through just to get through those last... ANDY MURRAY: I saw the last game that night because there was a lot of media and stuff that day, and, you know, I was getting asked a lot about the last game but I couldn't even remember what happened on the last point. It was a long final gam and some pretty amazing points in there. Novak came up with some great points as well. Once I watched it back once, I remembered instantly every single point and how I was feeling at every single point. But, yes, when I walked off the court, if I hadn't seen it back on video, I probably wouldn't have remembered. Q. There was that much tension and pressure, I guess? ANDY MURRAY: Yeah, I think so. Yeah, it was a stressful last game. Not the hardest game I had to play in my career for a number of reasons. I wouldn't imagine I'd play another one like it for the rest of my life. Q. How did it feel coming back to this place for the first time? ANDY MURRAY: It was nice, because last year, you know, I wasn't in a rush to get out of here, but, you know, it was ‑‑ I obviously left the following day. I was so relieved that night that, you know, maybe didn't have the chance to maybe enjoy it maybe as much as Wimbledon or the Olympics, for example. You know, I don't know, there was so much relief last year that I wasn't necessarily enjoying it as much as I should have. So when I came back and practiced on the Arthur Ashe court, you know, the memories came back, and that was nice. Q. What is your one memory? ANDY MURRAY: Well, winning the tournament. That was probably the strongest one (Laughter). Q. Dan Evans qualified last night. Have you spoken to him about his progress? ANDY MURRAY: Yeah, I spoke to him. Yeah, I have seen him every day since we have been here. I was following him and James' matches on ‑‑I mean, I followed the matches on the live scores, and if not, trying to find a stream somewhere if I can. But I followed their matches on the live scores. I saw James' second set on the TV in the locker room and half of the third set, so it was a shame he couldn't quite manage to get through. They were doing well. They have had a few good weeks. It's great that Dan has managed to qualify. It's a big moment for him, qualifying for your first Grand Slam. I remember how that felt. It was a big achievement, and hope he can kick on from here. Q. Have you seen a change in Dan's attitude over the last year or so? ANDY MURRAY: I mean, I haven't spent time with him. We don't play the same tournaments, don't train in the same place, so it's tough to see. But, you know, I have watched some of his matches on the Internet or watched some of his matches in the challengers last few weeks, and he seems to be playing better tennis. It's quite clear. He's consistently playing at a high level; whereas before he was probably doing it for a few weeks a year. He's strung it together now for a couple of months. If he can maintain that form for eight, nine months of the year, then he will get himself up and around the top 100 for sure. Q. (Indiscernible.) ANDY MURRAY: Well, it's a very tough match obviously, but, you know, he's not going to get hit off the court. It's not like playing John Isner, for example, where he won't have a say in the match. He will get into a lot of service games. They both move very well. They're similar heights and build. They're both quick. There will be some good rallies. It will be a tough match, but, yes, it's a tough match for him. I'm sure he'll learn a lot, regardless of the result. But he will be confident in himself. He's won a lot of matches lately, and he's won three matches on this surface here. People think sometimes playing a qualifier is a good draw, but it isn't always the case because they are used to the conditions and it will be a tough match. Q. You said in Montreal that winning another Grand Slam was more important to you than the No. 1 ranking. I wonder if seeing Ivan last night with the other No. 1s may have sharpened your appetite to get to No. 1 perhaps? ANDY MURRAY: No, look, everyone has different goals in their career. Everyone is motivated by different things. You know, my whole career for four, five, six years back, it was about winning Grand Slams. That was what gave me the motivation to train. You know, when I did lose in a Grand Slam, you know, that was what was most disappointing for me. You know, I could win a Masters Series event, and the first question I would get asked when I came in here was, When are you going to win a Grand Slam? It wasn't, When are you going to get to No. 1 or whatever? That became my motivation, was to try to win Grand Slams so that, I would imagine, would be the case for the rest of my career. Q. How much have you impressed have you been with Rafa's run on hard courts this year? ANDY MURRAY: It's hard not to be. He hasn't lost yet because he's beaten some tough players in tough tournaments, winning the two tournaments back to back in Cincinnati and Canada. I think it's only been done once before. I think Roddick did it once, so doesn't happen often. It's not like he's had easy draws or whatever. He's beaten some top, top players. Yeah, he's going to be very difficult to beat here. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
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