Q. A lot of the commentators are talking about that forehand that you missed in the fourth game of the second set as being the turning point. Is that how you see it in your mind?
ANDY MURRAY: Uhm, I mean, it was a big point. I was playing very high‑risk tennis for most of the match. I went for it today, and I started to make a few mistakes after that.
But it's not like ‑‑ yeah, I mean, you can't talk about a match that goes almost three hours being, you know, decided based on one point. Again, like I say, I was going for it. Against Rafa you have to go for big shots. I slightly overhit that one.
But, again, they would be the same ones that would have said a year ago that I would have been playing too defensively. Today I was going for all my shots, and I started to make some mistakes afterwards.
But, yeah, that point was one that I should have won for sure.
Q. Are you proud of what you've done over the last fortnight, Andy?
ANDY MURRAY: It's been a good tournament. I think it could have been better today. I wish I didn't make as many mistakes afterwards. But that's the thing. Sometimes I've come off the court and thought, Hmm, maybe I should have taken a few more chances.
Then today it's kind of the other way. I went for it and started making mistakes. It was good for a set and a little bit, then went the other way.
But the tournament as a whole has been good. I would have liked to have finished better.
Q. Looked like you moved back a little from the baseline after the first set.
ANDY MURRAY: I don't know. I was still going for my shots. I don't know if I did. Normally against Rafa or against any top player you can't dictate the whole match. The first set Rafa struggled a little bit on his backhand side.
Once he started hitting his backhand better, naturally I wasn't going to be able to play right next to the baseline like I was in the first set.
But you're going to have to go through periods in matches against the best players where you're having to do a bit of the running. I thought for the most part I was trying to dictate the play.
Q. Is this one harder to take because you were ahead?
ANDY MURRAY: No, I don't think so. They're all tough. But I don't think so. I mean, no, I don't think it is.
Q. A couple of times you clutched your hip, your stomach, grimaced. Did it play any part today? Were you feeling it at all?
ANDY MURRAY: My hip was sore like right at the beginning of the match. After I saw the physio, took like a painkiller, it was fine. I hardly felt my hip after that.
But, yeah, I mean, sometimes like on the grass and on a lot of surfaces, you know, once you play a lot of tennis on it, it gets quite sore in the knee. Rafa's I think had quite a few problems on the grass with his knees.
It's more sort of when you're stopping suddenly rather than sort of during the points. It's maybe when you're like a full‑on stretch, but it's nothing serious.
Q. Do you feel you threw it away today, Andy?
ANDY MURRAY: Threw it away? No, I don't think so.
Q. Can you put into words what makes it so difficult playing against Rafa, especially on grass, and the pressure you're constantly under?
ANDY MURRAY: Every time I play him I explain the same thing. It's tough. He makes a lot of balls. He's very good when he's behind. He's one of the best players ever, and a great athlete on top of that.
So, you know, even when he's not hitting the ball unbelievable from the middle of the court, he gets to a lot of balls, makes you play an extra ball all the time. And eventually today, like after the first set and a half, when I started making mistakes, he raised his game and started playing better and capitalized on it.
Q. What did you think of the crowd support?
ANDY MURRAY: I thought it was good. I mean, when you're in the middle of the match, you know, you hear it more sort of like at the end of a set or if you get a break of serve. You know, it's not like you're focusing on it sort of every single point.
So I'm probably not the best one to judge. But I thought it was good.
Q. Could you talk about what it's like to get so far on these big stages and just not be able to push it through to the end?
ANDY MURRAY: It's tough. It's tough. But, you know, I'm giving it my best shot each time. I'm trying my hardest. That's all you can do. So I don't know. It's a difficult question to answer. I can't explain exactly how I feel.
I'm disappointed. But normally, like after four or five days ‑ bar after Australia ‑ the last couple years I've recovered relatively quickly from losing because I'm just trying to get better.
I feel like I'm playing better tennis than I was last year at this point. I don't know. It's difficult.
Q. Do you ever cry?
ANDY MURRAY: Yeah, I've done it before in front of probably most of the people in here in Australia. But not today.
Q. There's been a lot of chat from the Nadal camp about his injury problems. There was no evidence of that today. Mardy Fish didn't see any in the previous round. Did you think Nadal was injured?
ANDY MURRAY: Rafa doesn't feign injury. Everyone has problems this stage of the season because it's so like going from the French to the grass. And Rafa obviously in the last few months has played so many matches on the clay. I think he played the maximum amount of matches he could have played.
Yeah, probably rather than it being like a huge injury, he's going to be feeling pain because his body's tired, like everyone is. Yeah, sometimes it's worse than others.
I don't know. You have to ask him exactly how bad it is. I don't know.
Q. Tactically it was going great for you first set and a bit. Is there any other way you could have done it?
ANDY MURRAY: Yeah. You can beat him by playing patient. When I've beaten him in the past ‑ I've beaten him at the US Open and the Australian Open ‑ I played a little bit more patient. You know, and today, yeah, I maybe got the balance a little bit wrong.
But, yeah, you need to try and find a way. Each time you play against one of the best players you need to play slightly differently each time because they're going to change their game against you. You have to make adjustments.
Q. Does it get easier or more difficult to handle, getting to this stage?
ANDY MURRAY: No idea. I don't know.
Q. You're saying you're going to take a few days, you generally can recover from something like this quite quickly. Can you explain what you'll do over the next coming days and what you can learn from today?
ANDY MURRAY: Work harder than I ever did before. Try and improve my game and get stronger. Be more professional. Yeah, try and learn from what happened today. Yeah, think about the things that I need to improve.
Yeah, that's all you can do. You've just got to work harder than you have done in the past to get better. It's a very tough era I think in tennis. Tennis right at the top of the game is exceptional.
So not only to get level with those guys, but to push past them, you need to work harder than them. That's what I need to try to do.
Q. Will you try to go to the fight tomorrow or will you just watch it on the box?
ANDY MURRAY: That's the last thing I was thinking about. I have no idea. I don't know.
Q. What one stroke do you think you could improve?
ANDY MURRAY: I don't know. It's a tough one. My forehand today at the start of the match was excellent, and then for a set and a bit I was going for the shots but just missing them.
So I need to have a bit more consistency there. 'Cause if I hit it like I did in the first set throughout the match, I think it probably would have been a slightly different story. At the same time, when you're playing high‑risk tennis you're going to make mistakes.
I don't know which one shot in particular I need to improve. But today I would have cut down on some of the unforced errors.
Q. You and Rafa have spoken about your friendship. Does it take even a slight edge off the fact that you've lost to a friend?
ANDY MURRAY: No. No. Same feeling. I mean, I always support Rafa when I watch him, but when I play against him I want to win. So it doesn't change regardless of really who you're playing against. It's still just as bad.
Q. What are your thoughts on Novak rising to No. 1?
ANDY MURRAY: He deserves it 'cause he's hardly lost a match this year, so... He's played great tennis and deserves it.
Q. Will you think about your coaching situation?
ANDY MURRAY: No idea. No idea. I'll practice hard. I've got Davis Cup next week. Then, yeah, I've got a training block before the American stretch. Things have been going pretty well the last few months. The way they've been now, I've got a good, good chance.
Since I started working with Darren and Danny together, I haven't really had much time to do like a training block or do any sort of long periods with them because you've been playing tournaments the whole time.
Now I've got four weeks after Davis Cup before Montréal. See what I can work on.
Q. Who do you think will win the final?
ANDY MURRAY: I don't know. Depends who plays better on the day. But they're both playing great tennis. Rafa's got probably a bit more experience than Novak, so that will help him.
But, yeah, it depends who plays better.
Q. You said you need to work harder. Do you feel like maybe you don't work hard enough?
ANDY MURRAY: I work hard. Really, really hard.
Q. So what do you exactly mean when you say you feel you should work harder?
ANDY MURRAY: I need to work 2, 3% harder than I do just now and push myself to be the best athlete that I can be. Every week, every month you learn something new in your training, in your matches, in practice, your diet, the gym, the training that you do. I just need to try and get better.
But I work really, really hard, so that's not been the problem. I just need to work a little bit harder, get better.
