Q. Pretty straightforward match?
ANDY MURRAY: Yeah, I mean, it was tough because of the conditions. It was so hot. It was one of the hottest conditions I have ever played in.
Yeah, in terms of the match it went pretty smoothly. Not too many problems. After he broke me back I think I won six games in a row to go 3-Love up in the second.
Yeah, that was pleasing.

Q. How would you compare the heatness (sic) to, say, Australia or somewhere?
ANDY MURRAY: Is that a word? Not sure that's going to go in that machine there. For me this is tougher than playing in dry heat. The humidity gets to your breathing a little bit and kind of gets you out of breath a lot. Obviously you sweat more, which for me makes me feel a little bit more tired.
But I mean both are tough. I'd just rather play in dry heat.

Q. You've beaten Carlos in your only match. It was hard court not so long ago. Pretty confident?
ANDY MURRAY: Yeah, well, he's got to win another match against Andreev first.


Q. Sorry.
ANDY MURRAY: That was a rain delay. That's all right. But, yeah, I mean, both of them are tough players. Andreev played very well last week against Nadal, and Moya had a good win this morning. Going to be a tough match.

Q. How are you feeling? Because hard courts are really tough on the body? How is your knee doing?
ANDY MURRAY: Yeah, it's okay. You know, just need to make sure that I do a lot of stretching and icing after matches, and, you know, some massage on the quads to try and keep them loose so it's not pulling on the knee cap too much.
It's important for me to be professional, as it is for most players. But when it comes to sort of a problem like I have with my knee, I just need to make sure I do everything I can to make it okay.

Q. Do you know exactly what it is?
ANDY MURRAY: Yeah, I was born with a bipartite patella, so my knee cap is in two pieces. Obviously everyone else's is in one. Instead of it being joined together with bone, it's joined together with fibrous tissue, which is a little bit weaker.
It means that when my knee cap is bending it puts a little bit more stress on the cartilage behind my knee because it's kind of peeling apart and not working as one.
It's actually quite a common thing. Quite a lot of people have it. Just makes it a little bit harder to do sport.

Q. Is that both knees or just one?
ANDY MURRAY: Just one.

Q. Which one?
ANDY MURRAY: Right knee, yeah.

Q. Not the one you use on with your serve.
ANDY MURRAY: Yeah, I mean, it's just -- I mean, you use it on pretty much every shot. But, yeah, on the serve you use your left leg a bit more.

Q. How tough is it to have a nine-month season on the hard court, supposedly the toughest for the body?
ANDY MURRAY: Yeah, well, it's my best surface. I mean, it just hurts. It's not something that's going to, you know, all of a sudden going to break or anything. It's something that my body has learned to deal with for the last, you know, 13 years or whatever since I have been playing tennis.
So it's used to it, it just hurts a little bit more than normal. I just got to try and go through the pain and make sure do I all the exercises off the court to make sure it doesn't get any worse.

Q. So the 24 hours between the two matches at the end of the tournament are really very important for recuperation.
ANDY MURRAY: Yeah, I mean, I just need to, like I said, keep icing and getting some rest, not doing anything extra on it.
But, yeah, I mean, especially in these conditions as well, and not just for my knee but to make sure you're hydrated and make you got enough food in you for the following day. You don't want to be running low on anything. There's a lot of things you got to do in the next day or so.

Q. I didn't hear what you had to say at the beginning, but was heat an issue in this match, or might it have become one?
ANDY MURRAY: Yeah, it was really, really hot. It was the same for both players, so both of us were going to feel it. I got up early and, you know, managed to stay on top of him. That was really the most important thing, especially in conditions like this.
Because if you're ahead and you let someone back in mentally, it's tough to keep it going.

Q. Did you get plenty of sort of signs and body language that he was starting to get discouraged?
ANDY MURRAY: I mean, sometimes he would be ahead and have his head down, and sometimes he would be behind and then he'll look like he's up for the match.
He's a tough guy to read, not just in his body language but in the way he plays. Sometimes he goes for huge shots and sometimes he plays a bit more patient.
I've had success against him in the past. Like I said yesterday, my game matches up pretty well against his.

Q. Are you please with the way your serve is coming on?
ANDY MURRAY: Yeah, I served well. Not getting broken too much. Serving quite a few aces, and I think guys are finding it hard to attack my second serve. That puts obviously less pressure on the first serve.
If you're getting broken once, twice a match, you know, for me that's good enough, because the return is the best part of my game. I feel like I'm going to break at least once or twice a set.

Q. You had some smartly-played dropshots in your match. Can you discuss your strategy using that stroke and what you thought about that?
ANDY MURRAY: It's something that I used to do since I was very young. You know, I used to practice it a lot when I was ahead in matches when I was playing in sort of not club level but sort of national level tournaments.
Yeah, I mean, it's a nice shot. I think it looks good when it works, but sometimes, especially on these courts when the ball flies and it bounces up really high off the court it's a tough one. Just got to pick the right moments to do it.

Q. It's a bit risky, but you made it work.
ANDY MURRAY: Yeah, it is definitely risky. Like I say, on these courts, on clay, and on grass, it's a little bit easier because the footing is quite tough for the opposition.
Yeah, made it work today, and make sure I do it in the next match as well.

Q. Do you have a trick to stay cool during the match?
ANDY MURRAY: Luckily they got some fans on the court here. When they don't have fans you get an ice towel around the neck. Really all you can do.
I used to wear a hat on the court, which I think helps a little bit, but I guess I've got rid of that. I don't know if that's something I might have to look at if it keeps on like this.


(via ASAP Sports, photo/Ronald Martinez/Getty Images)

Andy Murray - Cincinnati 31. July Interview