The Neutral Corner

The Neutral Corner caught up with Andy Murray this week at the U.S. Open. Murray is a Scottish tennis player and is currently the No. 6 seed at the Open. He also happens to be a huge boxing fan. On Thursday, Murray looked a lot like a fighter by outplaying and outgutting Michael Llodra on the Grandstand in a very exciting match, Murray won, 6-4, 1-6, 7-5, 7-6. We spoke to Murray over the course of two days at Arthur Ashe Stadium.

Neutral Corner: Can you talk about your Olympic experience. Not so much on the court but the atmosphere and what it was like to compete in the Games.

Andy Murray: I mean, it was something different to anything I'm sure all of the tennis players have experienced before. You know, so many great athletes around you. You know, I didn't leave the Olympic Village at all from when I arrived, and it's a little bit strange, sort of ‑ there's no cars, you know, and you don't hear any planes. It's like no noise in the Village.
I really enjoyed meeting all the other athletes and started collecting these ‑‑ you know, you get pins from your country. And you go and you speak to the other athletes and switch pins and stuff, and that was one of the highlights to me. I got to speak to people from the Cook Islands, British Virgin Islands, and I collected like 120 pins.

NC: I know you are a fight fan, did you get to see any of the boxing competition?

AM: After I lost I went to watch the boxing competition. I saw a couple British guys fight. I enjoyed that.

British Journalist: There's a contrast between no cars and no planes and New York, what is it about playing here that you really enjoy and what is it you feed off?

AM: I've just always loved being in America. I think the people here are very upbeat. You know, they're always have been really helpful and I love the courts. And also the atmosphere, it's just a bit different to all the other Slams. I enjoyed playing here as a junior. It was the first time I stayed in a five‑star hotel, and, you know, I really enjoyed the way I got treated as juniors here, and it's been my favorite tournament since then.

NC: Is Joe Calzaghe going to beat Roy Jones Jr.?

AM: I think he'll beat him comfortably.

NC: That fight is at the Garden, would you attend?

AM: It's in November and I will be in the United States. I may try to see it. I think Calzaghe beats him.

NC: In America, we haven't seen a lot of Amir Khan, the British silver medalist from the 2004 Games. How good is he going to be?

AM: I don't know how good he can be but right now he's very good. He's very exciting. I've gone to see three of his fights.I was at the Gary St. Claire fight. He's very entertaining, very exciting to watch. He's very fast. I think right now the experts are questioning his resistance to punches. I guess we'll see what happens as he keeps facing better opposition. But he's very talented. I think he can become a world champion.

-- CASSIDY