Andy Murray: “Some of the stuff that was said about me I thought was completely unfair. Yeah, the other night kind of proved it” - UBITENNIS
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Andy Murray: “Some of the stuff that was said about me I thought was completely unfair. Yeah, the other night kind of proved it”

Published

9 years ago

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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.

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Alexander Zverev Deserves More Respect According To Boris Becker

According to Boris Becker, Alexander Zverev deserves more respect from tennis journalists.

Published

5 days ago

on

25/11/2023

By

Alexander Zverev (@WeAreTennis - Twitter)

Boris Becker has claimed that Alexander Zverev deserves more respect despite Zverev failing to live up to his potential at Grand Slams.

 

Zverev has only reached one Grand Slam final in his career despite being a regular inside the world’s top ten as well as performing at regular ATP events.

This season Zverev played a limited schedule after recovering from an ankle injury but still managed to qualify for the Nitto ATP Finals.

However most critics have been loud when judging Zverev’s career as it was looking likely that he would be a regular Grand Slam champion.

The German has failed to live up to expectations but former Grand Slam champion Boris Becker believes Zverev deserves more respect.

Speaking to Eurosport Becker also said that Zverev’s father being the coach is a more than successful approach when it comes to the former US Open finalist’s career, “In my opinion, he doesn’t get enough respect from the tennis experts internationally,” Becker explained.

“They’re all talking about the young three or four, but don’t give Zverev, Medvedev or Rublev enough respect. He’s playing with his fist in his pocket a little bit, wants everyone show that he is not a thing of the past, but that his best time is yet to come.

“Surely his father knows best what is good for his son, but if you look into the box at the competition, you can also see changes.”

Becker has followed Zverev for most of his career so knows that the best is yet to come from the German.

Alexander Zverev will look to prove himself next season when he starts his 2024 season when he represents Germany at the United Cup.

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Juan Carlos Ferrero Analyses Key Areas For Carlos Alcaraz’s Development

Juan Carlos Ferrero has outlined the next steps in Carlos Alcaraz’s development.

Published

6 days ago

on

24/11/2023

By

(@tennisnewsbrazil - Twitter)

Carlos Alcaraz’s coach, Juan Carlos Ferrero has analysed the key areas for the Spaniard’s development heading into the 2024 season.

 

The former world number one’s season has come to an end after a successful year which saw him win the Wimbledon title as well as winning two Masters 1000 titles.

Alcaraz capped off an incredible season by reaching the semi-finals at the Nitto ATP Finals, where he lost to Novak Djokovic.

However there is a long way for the Spaniard to go if he wants to consistently go toe-to-toe with Novak Djokovic.

Speaking to Marca Alcaraz’s coach Juan Carlos Ferrero spoke about the Spaniard’s development and said that Alcaraz is too emotional, “Be more regular in games, not open doors. Sometimes there are mistakes and it is something that we have to improve a lot,” Ferrero commented.

“Although it is true that he opens doors, he always competes well and at the highest level. He knows it, the other day he already said that Novak doesn’t give you one. He has to improve his decision making and he will achieve that with experience. Carlos is very emotional and that sometimes helps him and other times not so much.”

It’s clear Alcaraz’s high-quality is there but to consistently do it against Djokovic is another task altogether as the Spaniard looks to go from strength-to strength next season.

One area that is clearly a priority for Alcaraz is physical conditioning especially considering what happened against Djokovic at Roland Garros earlier in the season.

Ferrero said that will be a clear focus heading into 2024 but couldn’t guarantee that Alcaraz will play a tournament before the Australian Open, “Because of the year and the fatigue he has been in, what he needs is rest and disconnecting for 8-10 days with his friends,” Ferrero stated.

“From there, the thinking must go back to working really hard, strong and well to start very strongly in Australia. One can never be sure of that. Sometimes you play a tournament and it doesn’t go well, you left home too early. There are many ways of thinking.

“This year we haven’t played Australia and he finishes number two. That means there is no urgency to play a tournament early. Carlos is a player who enters competition quickly, you don’t usually see him without rhythm.

“Although it is true that he becomes more dangerous from the round of 16, from the quarter-finals. I am confident that the two exhibition matches and the training sessions will help us play a good tournament.”

Alcaraz will be looking to play the Australian Open which starts on the 15th of January after the Spaniard missed last year’s tournament due to a leg injury.

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Australian Open Chief Confident Nadal Will Play But Kyrgios’ Participation Uncertain

Published

1 week ago

on

23/11/2023

By

Nadal RG 2022 by Night (foto @RolandGarros)

The tournament director of the Australian Open says he is ‘certain’ that Rafael Nadal will play at the Grand Slam even though the Spaniard has yet to outline his comeback plans. 

 

Craig Tiley told reporters in Melbourne on Thursday he hopes to receive some clarity over Nadal’s intentions in the next couple of weeks but is confident he will play. However, the tennis official had previously claimed in October that the former world No.1 had already committed to play in the event before his team denied that statement.  

Nadal, who has won 22 Grand Slam titles, hasn’t played a Tour match since his second round defeat at the Australian Open in January due to a hip injury. He was originally expecting to take an eight-week break but the recovery didn’t go to plan and he ended up having surgery. In May he confirmed that he will take an extended break from the sport to heal his body and admitted that retirement next year is a possibility.

“Rafa has been training, I follow him closely, probably every day because he’s a massive drawcard for us,” the Reuters News Agency quoted Tiley as saying. 
“He wants to play, he’s obviously planning on playing. It all depends on how he pulls up.
“Hopefully in the next week or the next two weeks, we get some specific confirmation of that. I’m certain Rafa will be here because he’s not going to want to miss the opportunity to repeat what he did a couple of years ago.”

Earlier this month Nadal confirmed that he intends to return to the Tour but admits that he will continue to experience a degree of pain. Although he has yet to give any information about which tournament he will begin his comeback at. The 2024 season begins during the first week of January.

“I’m well, training, and happy. I’m at a good stage of my life,” atptour.com quoted Nadal as telling reporters in Barcelona.
“Until now I didn’t know if I would play tennis again someday, and now I genuinely believe I will. I’m still not ready to say when, but I’m able to train increasingly longer, and the progress is good.’

Will Kyrgios play?

Another player Tiley is eager to welcome back is home player and former Wimbledon Finalist Nick Kyrgios who has only played one Tour-level match this season due to injury. He underwent knee surgery in January and then tore a ligament in his wrist during the summer. As a result, the Australian currently doesn’t have an ATP ranking due to his inactivity. 

“We have spoken to Nick, and he obviously wants to do the best he possibly can to give him the best chance to play in January,” Tiley said of Kyrgios.
“Whether he’s playing, whether he’s doing something else, Nick will be here in January and to get him to play will be great. But we’ve got to take it as it comes and he’s got to make sure he takes care of his health …” 

Kyrgios recently worked as an analyst for the Tennis Channel during this year’s ATP Finals in Turin and gave a brief update on his ongoing recovery during a segment. 

“After last year, I had such a great year, and I’m so hungry to get back out there,” the 2022 Wimbledon finalist commented.
“So I’m doing everything I can to get back out there. Obviously, you know how injuries are every day, just doing the rehab, doing the gym work.”

The Australian Open will begin on Sunday 14th January. Novak Djokovic and Aryna Sabalenka are the defending champions. 

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