Andy Murray – Press Conference

THE MODERATOR: Questions, please.

Q. Looked like a fairly routine first-round match. Is that how it felt?

ANDY MURRAY: Obviously the second set was obviously a bit easier. First set, especially the beginning, was tough. You know, first match is never easy, and playing someone who — you know, he goes for it and he takes chances.

So, you know, a little bit uneasy. I have never hit with him or played against him before. It took a little bit of time to get used to his game. But I played better as the match went on.

The only thing I didn’t do well was the first serve. I didn’t hit my first serve that well. I’m not sure exactly why. Maybe, you know, first match under the lights, haven’t practiced in those conditions since I have been here.

The second serve was very good. The rest went well.

Q. Did you have any idea what was going on with him?

ANDY MURRAY: No, I had no idea. He just said he wasn’t feeling well and a little bit dizzy, but I mean, I didn’t notice before then that anything was up.

Q. How was your body feeling? A little bit of an issue with the groin at all?

ANDY MURRAY: No, I don’t feel sore anywhere, really. I felt like I moved good, and the body felt good.

Q. What was the thinking in playing doubles yesterday? I know you lost, but did it sort of help get you match ready?

ANDY MURRAY: Nenad had been asking me for quite a while, and I hadn’t obviously played a match for a bit, so often the first tournament back after a break, I tend to play and sometimes, you know, in different conditions, in new conditions.

I normally play Monte-Carlo. I have often played Indian Wells. And, yeah, just maybe get a bit used to the conditions and get matches in. It’s important for me now after the break I have had to play a bit. You know, doubles is good for sharpening up the returns and stuff.

Q. Garcia-Lopez next. What can you say about that match?

ANDY MURRAY: I don’t know exactly how many times we have played. I just remember I lost to him once in Indian Wells, you know, when I was feeling great, from what I remember.

The practice week before I was playing like some of the best tennis I had ever played, and then I went out there in the evening and really, really struggled. He killed me. I think it was like 3 and 2, or I remember it being a pretty easy match for him.

You know, I will need to be ready for that one, and I hope I play a good one.

Q. Do you find that you’re more tired or something since you have had the shingles?

ANDY MURRAY: No. I mean, the first few days when I got here when I was playing points, I felt a bit more out of breath maybe than usual. I don’t think that was anything to do with the illness. I think that was just more because I had been practicing in kind of cold conditions and, you know, not playing at that intensity really.

You know, I practiced with Dan Evans a couple of times, Berdych, Verdasco, Kohlschreiber. These are obviously very good players. You know, it just takes a few days to get used to that again. But tonight I didn’t feel out of breath really. I felt good.

Q. How much have you talked with Ivan in the last month or so?

ANDY MURRAY: We spoke a couple of times on the phone. Then a few messages. Yeah, we spoke probably about a week after, maybe ten days after I got back and then again, when I realized I had the shingles, I spoke to him again about that, and then, yeah, a few messages the last couple of weeks. You know, Jamie and him have been in contact quite a bit.

Q. Miami will be the next time you see him?

ANDY MURRAY: Ah, yeah. Yeah.

Q. I’m sorry I’m late. Has anyone asked you about the shingles?

ANDY MURRAY: Yeah. Well, it depends what question you want to ask about (smiling). It was mentioned, but…

Q. Sorry. Just wanted to ask like do you have any idea how it came about? Was it something that can come from chicken pox when you were younger, or someone suggested it might be overtraining, or…

ANDY MURRAY: Well, from what I was told by a doctor is that everyone has, it’s basically adult chicken pox, and that everyone can get it. I think there’s like 1 in every 3 people get it as adults. The virus is inside you, but they don’t know exactly what it is that brings it out, whether it’s coming into contact with someone that has shingles — which, that wasn’t the case, I don’t think.

You know, it can be stress. You know, there’s a number of other things it could have been. I don’t know exactly what it was, but, you know, just need to take it easy a little bit.

Yeah, I did that, and, you know, I feel fine now.

Q. It can be quite painful, can’t it?

ANDY MURRAY: Yeah. Well, like I had a little bit of a rash basically like on my bum ’round to kind of my stomach, and it wasn’t, like, terrible. But then, you know, normally like if you have like a little bit of a rash and you scratch it, it feels better. But with that, it was, like, really, really painful.

I didn’t think much of it at the beginning, and then it was actually my wife’s mum, we were having dinner, and I was, like, This is really irritating.

She was, like, Pull your pants down. Show me. (Laughter.) It might be shingles.

I was, like, Okay.

Then the next day got a doctor, and she was right. Yeah, I think her son Scott had had it, so she had seen it before.

It’s quite strange, because it comes in like an arc and it doesn’t go past like the center of your body. It stays on one side. I kind of like knew when I read about it, I was like, actually, Yeah, it clearly is that. And the doctor confirmed it the next day.

Q. Some people say it can be like quite serious, serious cases of it, and it can linger. You’re pretty confident that it’s gone for now?

ANDY MURRAY: I mean, it appears to be. I mean, the rash is completely gone now, and I felt fine when I was training. I mean, I don’t think I’d be able to do what I was doing out there this evening if — a lot of people said that like afterwards, once the rash is gone, that you can feel very tired for quite a few weeks, a number of weeks afterwards.

But, I mean, I was maybe a little bit more tired than usual at the beginning, but I really feel fine now.

Q. How did you then get rid of it? Is it sort of antibiotics?

ANDY MURRAY: Antiviral stuff and then a cream, basically.

Q. You took the pill?

ANDY MURRAY: Yeah.

Q. Because you have to catch it within a certain period.

ANDY MURRAY: That’s what they said, yeah. Within the first week or so.

So, yeah. I did that, and I didn’t use the cream too much, but it cleared up probably five, six days after I caught it.

Q. This is a bit silly, but I’m sure it’s happened to you many times. On the court when they start whistling when you’re changing your shirt, what goes through your mind? How ridiculous is that to you?

ANDY MURRAY: Yeah, it doesn’t happen that often (smiling). I mean, it’s obviously happened pretty much every time, you know, any player does it. You know, the crowd find it amusing, and so long as they’re entertained, that’s the most important thing. But it’s a bit embarrassing for the players.