Andy: When people get asked what they wanted to achieve in tennis as a kid, everyone says, Oh, I dreamt of winning Wimbledon or I dreamt of winning the Davis Cup or whatever it is. I dont know how true it is when people say that, but for me, I wanted to get into the top 100 in the world and play on the professional tour. That was it. It wasnt to achieve the pinnacle.
Q: Whats it like being regarded as one of tenniss Big Four?
Andy: Its always difficult, because Im aware that what those guys have achieved is far greater than anything I achieved. That being said, the reason why people started calling it the big four was because in every major event, whether it was Grand Slams or the Masters Series, two, three or four of us were always in the latter stage of events, competing to win the biggest tournaments. When I had my hip injury [in 2017], I was ranked No 1 in the world, and unfortunately afterwards I was not able to get back to where I was. But there was a period from when I was 22 to 29 when I was in the mix at most of the major events with those guys. I had some amazing matches with all of them [he lost five Grand Slam finals against Djokovic and three versus Federer]. There was always a possibility that I could win, and in many ways tennis fans who watched that period knew it was a great time to play, because you had three of the best players of all time, playing in one period. I was the plus one, unfortunately. When I look back at the fact that to get over the line at Wimbledon, I had to beat the best mens player of all time [Djokovic], Im proud I managed to do that.
Q: How important is it to see grown men expressing their emotions openly?
Andy: A lot of people speak to me about this, especially after the Wimbledon final [I lost] in 2012. It was really important for how I was viewed, because it showed that I was human. When I started playing as a professional tennis player, I went from nobody knowing me to lots of people knowing me in the space of a few months. All of a sudden, people are commenting on how you speak, how you look, how you act, commenting on your tennis and your potential. You feel like youre being judged by everybody. So it is a human reaction to become defensive and guarded. I found the whole fame thing difficult, and I didnt feel like the media tried to understand that. So that time at Wimbledon was the first time where I really showed my emotions to the public, and from there I probably felt a bit more comfortable opening up.
