As Andy Murray sees it: His tennis career so far in his own words

Published on 12/09/2012 01:16

After winning the us open boys’ title in 2004: “I’ve been compared to Tim [Henman] a lot and to be compared to someone who has been in the top ten for six or seven years is great. I think I have got a chance of going all the way in tennis and that’s what I want to do.”

THINKING BIG IN 2005:

“I want to get into the top ten – then maybe I can get a date with Maria Sharapova!”

ON THE BRITISH MEDIA FOCUS, SPEAKING IN OCTOBER 2005:

“I have watched Tim Henman go through it in the last ten years, and I hope they [the media] are a bit nicer to me than they were to him.”

AFTER SAYING HE AND KENNETH CARLSEN “PLAYED LIKE WOMEN” AT AN EVENT IN AUCKLAND:

“I’m not allowed to make a joke. It is a bit unfair how I’m treated. I thought it was a joke.”

AFTER FIRST ROUND DEFEAT AT THE 2006 AUSTRALIAN OPEN:

“If you guys expect me to play well every single match and every single tournament, it’s not going to happen.”

AFTER SUCCEEDING TIM HENMAN AS BRITISH NUMBER ONE IN FEBRUARY 2006:

“If you’re number one in your country it’s obviously nice but it doesn’t mean anything to the other players, whereas if you’re in the top ten in the world that’s pretty special.”

ON RECEIVING A GOOD-LUCK CALL FROM SIR SEAN CONNERY DURING WIMBLEDON 2006:

“There’s nothing cooler than being woken up by James Bond.”

ON WHO HE WOULD BE SUPPORTING AT THE 2006 WORLD CUP:

“Anyone but England.”

AFTER A BACKLASH TO HIS “ANYONE BUT ENGLAND’’ COMMENT:

“I made a joke, I don’t mind whether England win or lose!”

ON BROTHER JAMIE (IN 2005):

“My brother is very talented. He was the number two junior in the world when he was 13, then he went down to an LTA school in Cambridge and they ruined him. It was their fault.”

AFTER HIS FIRST WIN ON THE ATP TOUR, IN 2006, AT SAN JOSE:

“It’s the biggest moment in my life in tennis so far.”

CASTING DOUBT ON HIS DAVIS CUP FUTURE IN 2007:

“I love Davis Cup but it’s just that I’m hurting myself from playing it.”

ON COACH BRAD GILBERT:

“I listen to him most of the time. Some of the time I switch off.”

AFTER SPLITTING WITH GILBERT IN NOVEMBER 2007:

“I’m the sort of guy who likes a lot of people around me. Sometimes when it’s just one on one with the coach, it can get quite stressful and a little bit stale.”

ON “TEAM MURRAY”:

“It’s just much more fun travelling around the world because it can get quite lonely sometimes and to have a lot of people around you just makes you feel a little bit more at home, when you’re away.”

AFTER LOSING TO ROGER FEDERER IN THE 2008 US OPEN FINAL:

“I’m disappointed right now. I could have done a few more things and given myself a few more opportunities.”

AFTER DEFEAT BY ANDY RODDICK IN WIMBLEDON 2009 SEMI-FINAL:

“The way that I played this year it was very, very close to getting to the final. I’ll come back next year and try to do ­better.”

AFTER LOSING TO FEDERER IN THE 2010 AUSTRALIAN OPEN FINAL:

“I’m getting closer [to a grand slam]. My results in the grand slams would show that. I’ve just got to keep working hard.”

AFTER DEFEAT TO RAFAEL NADAL IN THE 2010 WIMBLEDON SEMI-FINAL:

“I don’t feel like I played terribly. I’ve had some good wins against Rafa where I played great tennis. But he played great, and that was the difference. There’s a great player in the final.”

AFTER LOSING TO NOVAK DJOKOVIC IN THE 2011 AUSTRALIAN OPEN FINAL:

“He played great although I would have liked to have played better. I think he would have beaten every other player on the tour tonight.”

AFTER LOSING TO RAFAEL NADAL IN WIMBLEDON 2001 SEMI-FINAL:

“You can beat him by playing patient. When I’ve beaten him in the past, at the US Open and the Australian Open, I played a little bit more patient. Today I maybe got the balance a little bit wrong.”

ON HIS HOPES FOR SUMMER 2012:

“This summer coming up is going to be huge. Wimbledon and the Olympics would be two of my major goals.”

ON WORKING WITH NEW COACH IVAN LENDL AT THE 2012 FRENCH OPEN:

“There’s not been one radical change. A lot of it is minor details. But if you pick ten small things to work on and change, that can turn into a big difference.”

AFTER LOSING TO FEDERER IN THE WIMBLEDON FINAL:

“I’m getting closer. If I wasn’t emotional I guess I’m probably in the wrong sport.”

FOLLOWING AN OLYMPIC FINAL WIN OVER FEDERER:

“I’ve had a lot of questions asked about me many times. I’m just glad I managed to put on a performance I’ve been waiting for. To win, in the way I did, makes those losses a little bit easier to take.”

AFTER FINALLY WINNING A MAJOR AT THE US OPEN:

“At the beginning of the fifth set I went to the toilet and said to myself: ‘Give it all you’ve got.’ And I did.”