TENNIS WIMBLEDON 2014 – 27th of June. A. Murray d. R Bautista Agut 6-2, 6-3, 6-2. An interview with Andy Murray
Q. I can only assume you kept us waiting so long because you’ve been healing the rift with your brother.
ANDY MURRAY: I was just, yeah, doing all the usual stuff after a match. Obviously because it was pretty late, yeah, I just needed to make sure before I go to bed that I’m cooled down and stretched and stuff so I don’t wake up with any sore things tomorrow.
But I haven’t spoken to Jamie yet.
Q. Probably for a few years.
ANDY MURRAY: Maybe (smiling).
Q. How would you assess your first week?
ANDY MURRAY: Yeah, it’s been good. I played well in all the matches. I mean, I was very happy with the way I played today. More in the third set, I played a bad game on my serve at 4-Love. I could have done a little bit better there.
But apart from that, it’s been good. I served well, moved well. It’s been solid so far.
Q. Did you get a chance to speak to Ricky Gervais?
ANDY MURRAY: Yeah, I got to chat with him afterwards. I’d never met him before. I’m a huge fan of The Office. I mean, I’ve watched a lot of the stuff that he’s done, but when I went over to Spain when I was 15, I watched an episode of The Office almost every single night I was there. I could almost, yeah, basically remember it word for word when I was over there training.
Yeah, it was nice for me to get to meet him after the match.
Q. Is he a big tennis fan?
ANDY MURRAY: He said he plays some tennis now. I don’t think he’s been to watch loads. But he said he plays quite a bit when he’s back home, not so much when he’s over in America. But, yeah, he seemed to be into it.
Q. You’re the only Brit through to the second week in the singles. Yesterday Heather Watson said she could understand some accusation that some of the British players are a little bit spoiled with the facilities and treatment they get, haven’t put it in on the practice courts. What is your take on those accusations?
ANDY MURRAY: I don’t know. To be honest, I don’t spend day in, day out with any of the British players, so I can’t give a fair assessment on that.
When I do my training blocks, I tend to do them over in Miami. Last year I did it with Kyle Edmund when he worked very hard. I did it with Jamie Baker the year before that. He worked extremely hard.
But, yeah, like I say, I don’t see them week in, week out. I don’t see them at the tournaments all the time.
It’s easy to work hard for a couple of weeks, but you need to do it throughout the whole year. I can’t say for sure how hard everyone’s working because I don’t see it. So I don’t know.
Q. After the surgery last September, is this about the absolute best you could feel the way things worked out this year?
ANDY MURRAY: To be honest, I didn’t know exactly what to expect. I was happy with the Australian Open. I thought I did okay there. Just physically I wasn’t quite ready. My body just wasn’t ready for a long four or five-set match on the hard courts at that stage.
Yeah, I mean, I’d say I’m happy with where my body’s at right now. Physically I feel good. My back feels much better than it did at this stage last year, so that’s a big positive for me.
I’ve spoken to a few people that have had surgeries, ex-players and stuff. They said sort of six to nine months from when they started playing again until they actually started to feel their best. Obviously some people it can be quicker than others.
But I’m fairly happy with where I’m at just now.
Q. Do you think this is the best first week you’ve had at Wimbledon?
ANDY MURRAY: I don’t know. I’ve been asked that a few times when the first week’s gone well.
But I don’t know. It’s been a good start, for sure. I played well from the first game of the first match pretty much through until the end of today’s one. I haven’t used up too much energy, which is good.
But, I mean, it’s impossible to say that. I don’t know if it’s the best I’ve felt. But it’s been a good first week.
Q. You haven’t been on court very long.
ANDY MURRAY: Yeah, I think that’s a positive. You can lose a slam in the first week by playing three five-set matches or two five-set matches. They do take their toll a little bit. If you can get through the matches quickly, I obviously have a couple days off now as well, so I’ll be able to work on a couple things tomorrow on the practice court which is nice, then get ready for Monday.
Q. Tomas Berdych and Marin just finished their match.
ANDY MURRAY: I couldn’t see the ball on the TV. I can’t imagine what it was like with them.
Q. They couldn’t play with Hawk-Eye for the last few games. Do you think it’s fair that a game should continue if technology can’t actually work in the dark?
ANDY MURRAY: Yeah, it does make things interesting. I’m not sure exactly what time Hawk-Eye stops. But I’ve seen it a couple times here so far, yeah, when it gets pretty dark that Hawk-Eye stops.
From a player’s perspective, when the light starts to go, it’s tough to play good tennis, to play properly. I don’t think you want matches to be decided on someone shanking a ball because they can’t see it. You want players to be able to play their best tennis for as long as possible.
Yeah, if it was too dark to see, then they should have stopped.
Q. In America we talk about how Agassi evolved from being a bratty young guy into a really thoughtful, giving guy. Your journey has been a little different. A lot of people talk about your growth over the years. People are talking about your command of things. Talk about your own path. Is it something you’re aware of or something you feel good about?
ANDY MURRAY: Yeah, well, I think when I first came on the tour, I absolutely loved it. I enjoyed everything that went with it. It was great. I had no problems. I felt pretty free. There was no pressure.
But then obviously I had a few problems with the media. Yeah, it became hard for me. I didn’t feel like I was represented fairly. I don’t know, I went into my shell. I didn’t feel like I could express myself at all. I became very defensive because, you know, I felt like I was getting criticized about not just my tennis but my hair, the way I looked, what I was saying.
Yeah, it was a tough few years for me because my jump came quite quickly from being 350 in the world to playing in the slams and being in press conferences with a lot of people and stuff.
It was a quick transition and I had a few problems in that early part of my career. Then once I started to, yeah, grow up and understand how everything worked, I was able to handle things much better as I got older.
Obviously I’ve had good people around me, as well, that have helped me through tough moments and given me good advice when I’ve needed it.
Yeah, now I feel like I’m a grown-up so I can handle myself fine now.
