"The opportunity to play with those guys to be on the same team, be with them for one last time, it will be really special"- Andy Murray on his upcoming reunion with Federer, Nadal and Djokovic at the Laver Cup
Andy Murray recently expressed his excitement to share the court with the fabled 'Big-3' at the upcoming Laver Cup. Originally a member of the 'Big-4,' the Brit gradually lost his way due to injuries. Thanks to his recent comeback trail, however, the two-time Olympic gold medalist winner in the men's singles is currently ranked at World No. 43.
The Big 4 are in for London. Djokovic will join Nadal, Murray and Federer as teammates to defend the Laver Cup on Team Europe at The O2. https://t.co/VoMFTBLsM3
Speaking at his post-match press conference after his victory over Dmitry Popko in the 2022 Davis Cup Finals, Andy Murray spoke about the Laver Cup next week and how Roger Federer's retirement has shocked him. He also confirmed not knowing about the Swiss legend's decision when he signed up for the tournament.
"Yeah, look, I didn't know that he was going to be stopping. I don't know, I think people were maybe expecting that to happen at some stage in the not too distant future. I didn't know that when I signed up to play," Andy Murray said.
Acknowledging that it has been ages since the Big-4 plied their trade together at the same event, Murray added how this outing, probably their last time together, would be "really special."
The former World No. 1 was also hopeful of Federer making the cut because of the support the Swiss has always received at the O2, which would be even better this year considering that it is his farewell tournament.
"Yeah, the opportunity to play with those guys, now for the last time, yeah, all being in the same event together, it's not happened that much in the last few years. But yeah, to be on the same team, be with them for one last time, it will be really special," Andy Murray said. "I hope that Roger's able to play because, I mean, he always got amazing support at the O2. But, yeah, I think the atmosphere will be incredible. It's the end of, yeah, something pretty special. I'll try my best to enjoy it."
"They were brilliant the whole week, and especially today" - Andy Murray praises the crowd after his Davis Cup win
Andy Murray beat Dmitry Popko 6-4, 6-3 in Glasgow at the Davis Cup while donning the national colors. The Brit gave his country a 1-0 lead against Kazakhstan. With the win, Murray now has an astonishing 32-3 record in the singles category at the Davis Cup.
.@andy_murray takes the win for Great Britain at the @DavisCup https://t.co/hq6EZBOhV3
Speaking at the press conference, the Brit was ecstatic about the crowd. Remarking how mentally taxing it was to play a match like that, Murray thanked the fans for their immense support. He also reflected on the match by saying how his past results had not been good, making it a bit tough to get a hold of the match initially.
"I mean, it's not easy obviously playing matches like that mentally, but obviously you still want to put in a good performance because of the atmosphere and the crowd that have come to watch. They were brilliant the whole week, and especially today. So, yeah, I thank them a lot for that," Andy Murray said.
The three-time Grand Slam champion went on to state that he had a little difficulty switching back into singles mode after his last doubles outing, noting that although it took him a while, it was smooth sailing once he did.
In terms of tennis, I thought I did quite well after the beginning. I haven't really done any singles at all this week, which is different for me. It's a different way of returning on the doubles court on one side, playing a lot serve and volley," Andy Murray said. "Yeah, not that easy to just switch back into singles mode. Took a little while. Once I got going, I did all right."
When asked about the new format of the event, Andy Murray spoke about how with the best-of-three format, the matches have become more intense and thrilling, thus making it much more enjoyable.
"I mean, I think for us, the home team is quite good. Obviously each tie, with it being best-of-three as well, it's probably in some ways a bit more intense, the matches, and there's less sort of room for error," Andy Murray said. "I'm not saying we would have won all the matches had it been best-of-five, but you have more of an opportunity to come back into the matches. If you're playing well, the longer the match goes, the better that is going to be for you."
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