Andy Murray

US Open

September 1, 2008



Q. You must be very pleased with that?
ANDY MURRAY: Yeah, it was great. You know, the first match I've played on that court. You know, I've been looking forward to it for a long, long time. To play like that made it pretty special.


Q. In terms of Grand Slam matches, where would you rate that one?

ANDY MURRAY: Yeah, I think in terms of the way that I played throughout the whole match, you know, I didn't lose my concentration an at all, which is tough in five‑set matches.

Obviously I've beaten better players than Stan, but that level of performance throughout the whole match was probably my best one of all the Slams I played.


Q. You've watched Justine Henin play matches on this court before. What was it actually like to be down there playing? How did you feel? Was it everything you thought it would be?

ANDY MURRAY: Yeah, I mean, I've watched so many matches on the TV that I kind of knew what to expect. I watched a few matches from the stands. It's such a huge stadium that the noise is ‑‑ there's always a buzz during the points, and it's a little bit different to anywhere I've played before.

Yeah, I loved every minute of it.


Q. Given such a magnificent stage, do you feel you had to fight the urge to entertain the crowd rather than just win functionally?

ANDY MURRAY: No. I mean, when you're ‑‑ I'm obviously still young, but I think when you're sort of 18 and 19 years old and you play on a court like that, it's, yeah, you feel like you want to do something extra special.

Now you just got to get the job done and try and win three sets as quickly as possible. You don't want those matches going on any longer than they need to.


Q. You're now playing a guy that's won 23 successive matches. Could you have given yourself more or better momentum going into this?

ANDY MURRAY: Well, I mean, if I'd won in five sets I would have been happy with that as well. I think in Slams the only important thing is to win the matches. But to play like that was obviously great; gives me a bit extra confidence.

Yeah, wasn't such a long match, so I'm not going to be tired tomorrow. Got a rest day then, yeah, going to be a tough match against Del Potro.

But I think I'm playing well enough to win.


Q. What lies behind this incredible run that he's suddenly got himself on from what you've seen?

ANDY MURRAY: He doesn't miss a whole a lot. He moves pretty well for a big guy. You know, he does everything good. He's got a good crosscourt backhand and, you know, he just hits the ball hard and solid and doesn't make a whole a lot of mistakes.

When you watch him, I don't think that you see anything that's unbelievably special. When you're playing as solid as he does and you don't miss that many balls and you've got confidence and you don't lose for a while, you come through matches. He's done that the last few months.


Q. Is there any feeling of unfinished business with him after Rome? He finished as though it was the end of his career. He was in tears and he was helped off.

ANDY MURRAY: Not for me there wasn't any unfinished business. I don't know how he feels about it. Guys get hurt all the time in tennis. You know, you hope it doesn't happen. You obviously want to win the long way. Happens sometimes.


Q. I meant unfinished business with what happened before that with the mouthing and the...

ANDY MURRAY: I haven't spoken to him since, so whether there is or not, for me it's another tennis match. Stan is one of my closest friends today, but when you get on the court you've got to put your emotions aside and get the job done.

Whether I like Del Potro or not really doesn't make any difference. When you get on the tennis court it's another match, and you've got to win.


Q. Did you get the sense from the word go you were in the mood and going to be in the groove? Your shot making was as crisp and as sharp as I can recall.

ANDY MURRAY: I felt like I was hitting the ball well. Again, when you play against someone as good as Stan, top 10 player, they're always going to raise their level a bit. There's going to be situations where you have to, you know, sort of fight your way through.

I think when I was a couple breakpoints down in the second set, those sort of moments you have to try and come through. I did that really well.

But, yeah, I mean, in those types of situation, on courts as big as that, the start of the match is so important, and I knew that. I warmed up really well beforehand and wanted to try to get ahead early on early and set the tone for the match.

I did that really well by breaking in the first game.


Q. Would you say that you went into the match with a more aggressive frame of mind than you did against Melzer?

ANDY MURRAY: Just a different match. Melzer and Llodra both serve volleying, coming in on second serves, going for broke, you know, have very different game styles to Stan. You know, I have a game plan for every single match. Sometimes it takes a little bit longer for it to work out in the end.

Tonight I hit the ball really well at the start and got ahead early. I think both of us have probably played long matches in the last round. Really important to start well, and I think his head went down a little bit when I broke him in the second.


Q. Are you a bit surprised after what happened between you and Del Potro in Rome that he hasn't tried to clear the air at all?

ANDY MURRAY: Not really. I've known him since we were really young. Doesn't really bother me. I wasn't great friends with him before. I don't need to be friends with him now.

So, no, I'm not surprised.


Q. Is there any time to enjoy being world No. 5 in the middle of a Grand Slam when you're giving yourself a great shot?

ANDY MURRAY: Well, I think a good chance that I'll go up to 4. Depending on I think ‑‑ I think Davydenko needs to make at least a semis, you know, for me to stay at No. 5.

But, yes, it's great. I've really had a good year. I think pretty much qualify for the Master's Cup now, which was my goal for the start of the year. Last few months have been great, so hopefully I can keep the run going in the next round and try and go as far as possible here.


Q. Having made a quarterfinal before at a Grand Slam, what can you take from that? What do you learn that you'll use this time, if anything?

ANDY MURRAY: I don't think there's a huge difference between playing a fourth round match in a Slam, quarterfinal. I think once you start to get to the final, that's when it changes a little bit. You've got potential to sort of make history and go down as a great tennis player.

The last Slam quarter I played I got killed and Nadal played way too good for me, but I feel like I'm playing better now. I'm definitely going to be more rested this time round and hopefully play a better match.


Q. It's a long time back, but do you have that feeling when you won the juniors here?

ANDY MURRAY: Yeah. Well, I mean, for me those courts, regardless of how I was playing before I came to the States or whatever, I feel good every time I come on those courts.

I played great when I was a junior here and, you know, had some good results here in the past. I just really enjoy playing here.

So whether, you know, it's just something that I haven't sort of brought into the tournament before, you know, feeling great beforehand, but just as soon as the tournament starts I've always felt comfortable playing here.


Q. Were there any kind of sights and sounds from being on court that you hadn't expected?

ANDY MURRAY: Well, the guys from Entourage, the show, came to watch. That's my favorite show. Watch it all the time. So that was a little bit strange. That was the only thing that was surprising to me.


Q. Did you know they were going to be there, or did you find out when they announced it in the middle of the match?

ANDY MURRAY: I knew Ari Gold, Jeremy Pivens is his name, I knew he was here beforehand, but I didn't know all the other guys were coming. I was watching Regis and Kelly this morning and I saw Jeremy Pivens was in New York, so I was guessing. I think he's on Regis and Kelly tomorrow morning. I guessed he might be here promoting the new show. I think starts in a week or so.


Q. Jamie had a good result tonight as well. What would it mean to both still be here in the final weekend?

ANDY MURRAY: Yeah, it would be great. His record in mixed has been unbelievable. I think the last three, maybe four Slams, he's lost to the winners. Could be wrong, but definitely the last three, I think.

He's in the semis again, and the team that he beat tonight are very, very good. He's doing really well. Hopefully, yeah, we can both keep winning.


Q. For those of us who lead sad lives, what's so good about Entourage?

ANDY MURRAY: Just got to watch it. It's a great show.


Q. Is it a comedy?

ANDY MURRAY: Yeah, it's comedy. Yeah. It's very, very good show, yeah.


Q. Did you get the impression that playing the Macarena during breaks of play at Wimbledon might help the atmosphere?

ANDY MURRAY: The most important thing is that, you know, the fans get entertained. Whether that be from the tennis or everything else that's going on around, that doesn't really matter.

But Wimbledon get huge crowds every single year, so they're doing fine. I enjoy playing in this atmosphere.


Q. Do you know if your mum is coming out?

ANDY MURRAY: No, not that I know of.


Q. Are you tempted to watch replays of yourself when you're sitting there and they show back the better volleys?

ANDY MURRAY: Yeah, I always watch. I think most people watch the replays when they're on the court. They normally only show good points, so that's why you watch it.

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