TENNIS AUSTRALIAN OPEN – 23rd of January 2015. A.Murray d. J.Sousa 6-1, 6-1, 7-5. An interview with Andy Murray
Q. I couldn’t quite hear the conversation on match point. Was he suggesting you should challenge because he didn’t have any challenges left?
ANDY MURRAY: I didn’t know what was happening when I went up there. I didn’t know he had no challenges left when I went up to the net. And he asked me, and I thought the ball was out. I was like, Sorry, but I think the ball was out. And then the umpire said that he didn’t have any challenges left, so that was it. Nothing more than that.
Q. What was your reaction to Roger going out?
ANDY MURRAY: I literally just saw it, the match point, when I went out to cool down. It’s obviously surprising, but upsets happen in sport daily. So, yeah, it’s just something that, I don’t know, maybe because of the consistency of some of the guys in tennis people make a huge thing of it. But in sport in general it happens all the time, and pretty much on a daily basis. Obviously it’s surprising. I didn’t see the match. I don’t know if Roger played badly or in Seppi played unbelievable. I don’t know. But if Roger was not playing so well, quite easy to lose at this level.
Q. You have Dimitrov next. He obviously beat you at Wimbledon; you beat him in Paris. What are your thoughts on facing him in the next round?
ANDY MURRAY: It will be a tough match obviously. He’s played well in the slams the last year or so. Yeah, he’s obviously a talented player. You know, he’s one of the young guys trying to make a breakthrough, so he’ll be motivated. Hopefully I can play a good match and make it tough for him.
Q. Are you hoping that match will be on Laver to get used to the conditions over there?
ANDY MURRAY: To be honest, I don’t mind so much. I think for me Hisense and Rod Laver are quite similar. Margaret Court is quicker, in my opinion. Yeah, slightly different conditions to Rod Laver and Hisense. Thought the atmosphere on Hisense today was great. From what people have been saying, the players have been saying, is I guess because it’s such a big stadium and you don’t need tickets to get in, you get all kind of the diehard fans. That made for a great atmosphere. I think with Roger losing, there’s more of a chance we’ll play on Laver. There’s obviously some Aussies left and Rafa, so who knows.
Q. Has the intimidation factor of a Roger or Rafa, has that changed in the locker room in the last few years?
ANDY MURRAY: I don’t know, to be honest. I’ve always quite enjoyed playing against them. Obviously they’re both incredible players and extremely difficult to beat. But, yeah, I don’t know. I don’t speak to the other players really about Roger and Rafa or really anyone. I don’t really speak to many of the players about tennis or that sort of thing. But whatever intimidation that they would have, it would certainly be earned because of their performances over the years.
Q. You mentioned on court about how nice it is to conserve as much energy as possible. How are you feeling physically after the first three matches?
ANDY MURRAY: Yeah, I feel good. Obviously I think today was my longest match. But, yeah, I feel pretty good. You know, normally towards the latter stages of this event, tend to play more matches in the evenings, but so far I played three matches pretty much in the heat of the day. Yeah, thankfully they’ve not been too long and it hasn’t taken too much out of me.
Q. Your tweet yesterday about the reaction to Rafa’s win, was that something you’ve been itching to get off your chest?
ANDY MURRAY: No, it wasn’t something I’ve been itching to get off my chest at all. Yeah, I just remember what it was like for me when I came off the court at the US Open when I was in a lot of trouble, a lot of bother. It was very uncomfortable and quite painful. Some of the stuff that was said about me I thought was completely unfair. Yeah, the other night kind of proved it. I didn’t watch the whole match the other night, but clearly Rafa was struggling pretty badly. It was a great effort to come through it, which rightly is what everyone was saying. But that certainly wasn’t the case at the US Open when I was in a similar state. And, yeah, I just don’t understand why that would be the case.
Q. Is that stuff that’s being said in traditional media or social media?
ANDY MURRAY: I try not to read social media during events. I go on it, but I don’t read what people are saying. But often I get feedback from either people I work with. And, yeah, people come up to you and stay stuff. Did you see what that guy said? Yeah, so you do hear about it. Yeah, that was I thought pretty unfair last year in New York because I was in quite a lot of pain in that match. Being told that I need to see a psychologist because of it I felt was a little bit unfair. I didn’t hear anyone calling for Rafa to see a psychologist the other night.
Q. Do you think Roger could still win another slam?
ANDY MURRAY: I have no idea, to be honest. I mean, if I had to bet, I would probably bet that he would win another one. He’s obviously played great tennis at Wimbledon last year. I played him here last year and he was playing very, very well. Obviously I had an interesting experience against him at the end of the year at the O2. And, yeah, he’s still playing great tennis. But, like I said, I mean, Roger knows more than anyone how difficult these competitions are to win. And I think obviously when he was playing at his peak, he made it look extremely easy, but it’s not. It’s not an easy thing to do. And, yeah, if he had an off day today, then, yeah, you can easily lose against guys, you know, that are in the top 100 in the world. They’re all very, very good players. But, yeah, Roger was one of the favorites at the start of the event. Obviously the way he played in Brisbane and finished last year, he’s definitely still got chances to win Grand Slams.
