Scot of Potential: Andy Murray interviewQ: Here you are at Nick Bolletteri's academy, with an American coach, Brad Gilbert. You're Scottish, but went to Spain to develop your game at an early age. Has this need to be itinerant made it tougher or easier for you?A: I'm not sure. Going to Spain to train while I was young certainly was the best decision I ever made. Being from Scotland is a little different. If you come from Serbia, or some place where there's no funding, it can be very difficult. But it can be an advantage, too, because they have a lot more desire than some British players. In Scotland, you're always working with the British Federation (the LTA), because we're all part of Great Britain. So obviously there's a lot of pressure being from Britain because they want somebody to come along and win Wimbledon. We have the biggest following of press of any country, that can make it difficult. At same time, when I was younger I got funding that I wouldn't necessarily have had, being from somewhere else.
Q: In some ways, you seem to be a hybrid. You've said your best surface is clay, but your hard court results have been good. You had this multicultural experience developing your game, and it’s hard go pigeonhole you, style-wise.A: I’ve been asked often when I thought I would be peaking, or should feel pressure to win big events. But I think next year and a half I'll still be working out how to use my game. I feel like I can serve and volley, come in to net, play from the baseline, play aggressive from the baseline, use a lot of slice... I feel I have a lot of different options. So I always said it would take me a while to find my game, and the right way to play, although it may take me a little longer to reach my peak.
Q: Your game is pretty creative, you move well, you have a lot of variety. Are these things that were coached into you, or are they hard-wired?A: The movement thing is natural. But from a young age, played a lot of football, rugby, squash, golf. Some were hand-eye, some mainly footwork and various bits and pieces. So I look quite natural, moving. But it's not really taught. Something I've been good at.
Q: Did the players you watched growing up, or who were on your radar as a junior – did they influence your game?A: I'm sure in some cases they do. But look at a lot of the guys in Britain now, the better ones, none of them play serve-and-volley like Tim [Henman] did, or Greg [Rusedski].
Some guys model their games on different players, but the best thing to do is find your own game. If I was going to try to play like an Agassi, I couldn't do it. I like to do a lot of running, he likes to dictate points. Everybody has a different game. I dig Agassi the most – he had the great personality, and he's like a perfect kind of athlete. A huge worldwide star. Agassi the press loved him, the fans loved him, the players loved him. You can't say that about too many. He was the guy I looked up to and enjoyed watching when I was younger.
Q: Agassi was part of a great generation (Pete Sampras, Jim Courier, et al.) and you may be too, with kids like Marcos Baghdatis, Novak Djokovic, Richard Gasquet, Tomas Berdych and others in the pipeline. What will it take to separate yourself from the pack?A: Hard work, for one. Also, just to continue to improve. I've been working on my serve, been working on my fitness, been working on my serve-volley. You can't hit a stumbling block, you have to keep moving work on the bits and pieces. Some of them maybe aren't working as hard or adding variation to their games, which means people are going to work out ways to win against them.
Q: Do you think players in this generation have particular challenges that make it tougher for them to become imposing, dominant players?A: One of the really hard things for this generation is that it's a much more physical game. The Borgs and McEnroes were in good shape, but it's a much quicker pace now. The guys are hitting the balls way harder. If you watch videos from then and now, you can see it. It's the one thing that stands out and makes it difficult to stay on top for so long. (Roger) Federer is doing a great job. He's not missing Grand Slams through injuries. You have to concentrate on not over-playing and not under-training, because if you're weak, you'll get tired, or hurt. One of hardest things now is striking that balance, Keeping your body in good shape.
Q: Is Roger Federer a role model or a rival for you young guys?A: I want to look at him like, this is someone there, and I'm someone here, and I want to be there. I want to be there to compete with him. That's one of the great things about sport, especially tennis, where you have a ranking system. It raises the level of the tennis. Maybe if everybody works as hard and wants to be as good as him, they'll get there. I don't think tennis is struggling, or has no rivalries. It's just that when you have someone so dominant, on hard and grass? The guy is definitely something special. He's maybe not a rival, but someone who maybe in a couple of years I'll maybe be challenging.
Q: How big a win was it for you when you tagged Federer in Cincinnati, and was it sullied at all by the accusations that he "tanked"?A: To question Federer tanking when he loses four matches a year is maybe a little disrespectful to him. I know he didn't play his best match that day, but I'm pretty sure he didn't tank. It didn't spoil it in my mind. Maybe the guy played 20 bad matches during the year and won them; it hard to win against him in any case.
Q: What have been your biggest, career-shaping matches thus far?A: I've had a few. Obviously, Hewitt in the final of San Jose [in ‘06], the final of someone I looked up to, who dominated tennis for two years and has a great record in finals. That was big. Then Roddick – to win against the second best grass court player in the world, in straight-sets at Wimbledon; that was huge, too. And I'd say the Federer one. The three biggest ones. But the Fernando Gonzalez win at the U.S. Open was big too. I won in five sets, and was down two sets to one. People were questioning my fitness, saying I can't play five-setters, even though I won the same amount of those that I've lost. That was a great mental win for me.
Q: Critics as well as your fans sometimes question your consistency. Is that fair?A: Starting around Nottingham, I think I was pretty consistent. But after San Jose [last year], I went through a hard time with my coach (Mark Petchey). I didn't play well at Indian Wells or Key Biscayne, and it didn't help that I hurt my back a little at the French Open. Anybody can tell you that traveling on your own, at 18, without a coach, is difficult, I was obviously going through a hard time. But consistency is a problem for young guys anyway, except for (Rafael) Nadal. If you check Federer's results, it was the same. It's normal. You have to learn why you're losing. It's not a bad thing at this stage. I'm not expecting to win a Grand Slam at this age. Whether I lose a few first rounds or not is not the important thing, as long as I'm improving. The losses and inconsistency will help me in the long run.
Q: What are your immediate developmental goals, what do you think you can do to move up?A: If you look at the stats for the year (2006), I was one of the best returners, but I was losing my serve far too many times. I've been working on that. I've worked on my serve, and being more aggressive on my first ball. I've tried to add some serve-volley, to get some cheap points. Varying my serve. That's something that hopefully will move me from 17 in the world to 10 in the world. Then I'll need to look at other things. I want to avoid stumbling blocks, where I get stuck at a certain level. That means working on a whole lot of different things.
Q: People do talk about how you seem to run out of steam, and Scotland isn't exactly known as a place where people are nutrition or health and fitness conscious.A: In 2006, I was 2-1 in five set matches, and hurt myself in the one I lost. Last year I was 1-3 in five setters. I played this whole year without significant injury. But I wasn't used to the number of matches, and the intensity and pressure that come with that. In 2005, where I got noticed at Wimbledon, I was playing Futures events just weeks before. Sure I was tired when I lost to (David) Nalbandian (round TK in 2005). But I don't think there were many matches this year when I came off more tired than my opponent, and that's something I've worked on, and I don't think it's going to b e a problem this year. It was maybe an issue two years ago, not now.
I do want to get stronger. I want to be able to serve at 140 m.p.h instead of 135, and I want to be able to get to more of the drop shots. I want to be able to do the long sprints. I've been working on it. So has every other player. But I have mental and technical things I want to work on.
Q: What is priority No. 1, mentally?A: I want to get stronger. When I get into tough matches, I don't want to get angry. I think I play better when I'm more relaxed. A lot of times, my anger helps my opponents. I should be focusing more on upsetting them, not myself. But I am a perfectionist. I don't like it when I'm losing, I don't like it when I'm playing badly. I need to try to find more ways of winning matches when I'm struggling or playing badly. The Federers, Nadals, Agassis – always believe they can turn things around and win matches. That's something I feel I'm in good enough shape to do, even if I'm two sets to love down.
Q: People always raise the body language issue – they say that hangdog look is too negative, and works against you. Do you shut down in those situations?A: If you look at me from the start of a match right through, I'm never like a Nadal, always bouncing around. Not even when I'm winning. I'm quite relaxed, I don't rush, I don't agree with the "body language" thing all the time because everybody looks different on the court. Federer just strolls around... Sampras always had his head down. Everybody is different, there isn't a right way to be.
Q: Everyone puts so much emphasis on power today. How does it fit into your equation?A: Well – power is important, I think I can serve as well as most guys. I don't know, everybody’s different. Some say Nadal is the most powerful guy, but he'll hit 125, 130 m.p.h serves. But he can run all day. The most important thing is knowing how to use your game. When to use power, when to change the pace and take it away. When to use slice, when to come into net. Power isn't the most important thing in tennis today; if it was, Federer wouldn't be the best in the world. He doesn't serve the biggest and he doesn't always hit that hard.
Q There are three aspects of coaching: technical, strategic, and mental/emotional. Which of those do you need the most work in?Technical is the least I need. I think emotional is most important thing for me, I do get quite fired up, I jump around when I win big points and I do get angry when I lose points. That's probably the most important thing.
Q: John McEnroe singled you out as a player of great potential early in your career. Do you have a relationship with him?A: I speak to him a lot when I see him. I've spoken him quite a bit about tennis in general, as well as my game. I think the way I am on court, he quite likes that. He likes the personality I show on the court, even though I think away from the court I'm a bit more relaxed than he is.
Q: We've seen the British press raise you up and then topple you. They can be quite tough. Does any of that really make a difference to you, or affect you?A: Not anymore. At the start, I did struggle a bit, going from a complete unknown to very well-known. But it's quite hard going from Future events with five people watching you to thousands, and the press conferences and all that, answer hard questions after matches. But I've gotten to know quite a few of those guys, and I understand what they have to do for their jobs. But as far as listening, I listen to what McEnroe says, or what (Ivan) Lendl or Borg or (Goran) Ivanisevic says. At the end of the day, I'll listen to what Borg says, because he's been one of the greatest players. I try to have fun with it, it isn't as hard anymore.
Q: We all know what winning at Wimbledon would mean to the public in the UK. You're not supposed to think about that, but isn't there someplace in your heart of hearts where you see how huge that would be?A: Of course. It would be one of the great sporting occasions in Britain in the last 50 or 100 years. But it wouldn't be as important to me as winning the U.S, Open. It's my favorite tournament. It's a great atmosphere, I have really good memories from the juniors, New York is one of my favorite cities. I love the atmosphere there, I love the night matches, which you don't have at Wimbledon, you know? It's a completely different atmosphere but it suits my character a bit more. I understand that Wimbledon is huge. No question I'd love to win Wimbledon as well, but if I had top pick one to win tomorrow, I'd pick the U.S. Open. It's my favorite tournament.
Q: Okay, imagine yourself walking down the street in each of three cities – New York, London, Glasgow. Characterize each experience.A: In New York, you'd hear a lot of loud voices, but constant positive vibes. Quite tough to explain, but everybody there so upbeat, all the time. You're out six o'clock in the morning, and everybody is talking, everybody is polite. You wake up at six in London, or in Glasgow, and everyone's sleeping, the weather is cold. . . I'm liking London more than before, but it's too busy. I do like the tubes (subway) in London.
I don't get recognized in London that much, but in Glasgow it's completely different. I went to one boxing match and I stood up to do an interview beside the ring and the whole crowd started singing, "There's Only One Andy Murray. . ." Everybody in Scotland is proud of what I've achieved and they'll come up and tell me. That's why I like being Scottish. They're so supportive. That's the big difference between Glasgow and London.
The Scots have a lot of passion. They stand up for what they believe and tell you what they think and believe. Some people might hate you for it, but I'd rather people tell me what they really think, honestly. That's the thing I like about it.
Q: What's your favorite sport?A: Boxing. That Maywether-Gatti fight was re-broadcast the other night on ESPN. I saw it again. The first time, it was on, live, around Wimbledon time. I remember I got up like at three in the morning to watch it. I've gone to like five fights in Scotland. I'm friends with a boxer in Scotland, Alexander [Arthur]. He came to watch me at Wimbledon this year. I love boxing. Maywether – I love watching him, even though a lot of people don't like him. They think he's boring, and fights too defensively. But the object of boxing is to hit your opponent, and not get hit. And he hits his opponents five, six times more than they hit. He's not a knockout artist, but he's the best boxer to watch.
I was hoping for Nastase. Damn. Don't think he's even going to be playing in the Legends. 
) is through to the next round, because Andy ( Roddick 
) retired after 5-3 in their match.......
