“I was distracted by the major event that was coming up because that was what really motivated me”.
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“Novak is still clearly number one in the world right now”.
“I’m also aware of how hard these competitions are to win once”, Murray said.
Murray acknowledges the difficulty of overhauling Djokovic, who has won 17 of their last 20 meetings, but is determined to try to chip away at one of the greatest players in tennis history.
‘But I’m going to speak to him this afternoon.
“I don’t see that being an issue this time”, he added.
But things could change if Djokovic flops at next month’s US Open and season-ending World Tour Finals at the O2 – where he is champion – and Murray wins.
Murray cut the large gap at the top of the standings when defending champion Djokovic lost in the Wimbledon third round.
“To do it twice here, an event where there is a lot of pressure on me to perform well, I’m very proud”.
He told a press conference: “I think being a father doesn’t necessarily make you a better tennis player, but it’s given me extra motivation to work hard and train and make myself a better tennis player”. “And because he’s worked with him before, it was easy for him to jump back in and just go, ‘I know exactly what you have to do to win a Slam”‘. “It will be quite different to the Olympics when it was held here [in London] but I’ve loved being involved in the two Olympics that I’ve been at”. “After I won the first one, I was thinking now I want to win a second one”. “I’m obviously happy to win again but there is a reason I wanted Ivan back as part of my team”.
“This has been a great tournament for me, but if I want to win a few slams over the next few years I am going to have to get better”. Raonic had a chance to become the youngest player to win the Wimbledon finals since a 24 year-old Djokovic won in 2011. “I’ll give it my best shot to do that”.
“And when I finish playing I don’t know what my legacy will be”.
Murray underwent serious back surgery in late 2013, not long after his previous Wimbledon triumph, and it has been long road to get him back amongst the major titles.
And Murray believes he has an opportunity to establish himself as the sport’s pre-eminent force at a time when Roger Federer and Rafa Nadal have struggled with injuries and inconsistent form.
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“I would say it’s looking unlikely, but even if I don’t play I’m still probably going to go anyway just to be there with the team”.
