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OPEN COURT

Is Andy Murray on the Verge of Something Really Big?; Behind the Scenes at Wimbledon; Looks for A Partner; Toasting Thomas

Aired December 22, 2011 - 14:30   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.


PAT CASH, CNN HOST:

All aboard for this edition of OPEN COURT.

Hello and welcome to OPEN COURT.

We're approaching the 02 Arena here in London, home of the ATP World Tour Finals. It's the jewel in the ATP Tour, where only the top eight players are invited. Not only do they get to compete in front of 250,000 fans for the week and play for millions of dollars in prize money, but they get to take this boat to work every day.

Coming up on the show, Andy Murray like you've never seen him before. Jamie Murray has a couple of questions for his younger brother.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JAMIE MURRAY: Now it's my turn to ask Andy Murray why I'm the only Wimbledon champion in our family.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CASH: Breaking up is hard to do. Is the time of the year when doubles teams call it quits and start looking for new partners.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

AISAM-UL-HAQ QURESHI, PROFESSIONAL DOUBLES PLAYER: (INAUDIBLE) part funding a doubles partner will be just difficult.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm really handsome, if you look from some different perspective.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think I'm less arrogant than everybody thinks.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CASH: And still to come, Thomas Muster toasts retirement.

The 2011 tennis headlines were dominated by the big four -- Novak Djokovic's incredible winning streak, Rafael Nadal's continued domination of the French Open, Roger Federer showing he's definitely not finished at the age of 30 and Andy Murray having his most consistent grand slam year yet.

So I suppose the question is, is he on the verge of something really big?

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He's the player that wants to win the grand slam the most of all of us.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It makes it hard to win tons of tournaments, especially if you have Murray also around. He has the qualities. He is a very complete player.

CASH: The best of the best are keeping a close eye on Andy Murray. The world number four just finished the most consistent year of his career.

ANDY MURRAY, WORLD NUMBER 4: The consistency is there. And I played some very good tennis in the grand slam. I just need to keep improving.

CASH: Murray began the year by reaching his third grand slam final in Australia. Most would be pleased with such an accomplishment, but not Murray.

A. MURRAY: A lot went into the -- the Australian Open, a lot of hard work. And when I didn't quite reach the -- what the goal was, I had, yes, a dip.

You know it wasn't I believe in myself as much as -- as I needed to and I was a little bit down about the, I don't know, just the way that the Australian Open finished and it kind of affected me for -- for a good couple of months.

CASH: Early in the season, the scot kept a low profile, but he surfaced in time for the slams.

A. MURRAY: The French Open (INAUDIBLE) is where I really started to feel good about my game again and start challenging for the big tournaments, which is -- is what I want to do.

I played very well at Wimbledon and then in the build-up to the U.S. Open, I had a -- I had a good U.S. Open, as well.

CASH: Murray relies on his support team to help him prepare for the big matches and take some of the pressure off.

A. MURRAY: I've spent a good five years with a (INAUDIBLE). You need to be able to enjoy yourself on the road, because it's pretty much 30 weeks of the year you're -- you're traveling together and, you know, spending more time with them than I do with my family. So you need to -- to find ways of, you know, enjoying -- enjoying your time.

My brother and his wife went to the zoo. They just saw these penguins and found it funny, the way they were walking. And then we started trying to imitate it. And then, you know, when we all turned up in Australia together, we all kind of gave it a go.

It was -- when I look back at it, I was actually watching it the other day, and they weren't -- they weren't particularly good, not any of them.

CASH: But it was all business when Andy teamed up with his older brother, Jamie Murray, for Davis Cup action in his native Scotland.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: With Murray in the team, they can go places. Without Murray, it remains a struggle.

A. MURRAY: I've got my brother Colin (ph), Ross, the whole team, I've known for a very long time. So it was special for us all to be together.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Which members of the Murray family have we got in the crowd with us today?

A. MURRAY: My parents are there, I think. My auntie and uncle are here, as well. Thank you very much. I love that. I don't get back to -- I don't get a chance to come back home for me very often. So...

(CRYING)

(APPLAUSE)

A. MURRAY: Well, I'm -- I'm not going to say anymore, because I'm done. But, yes, it's certainly amazing.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Andy Murray, thank you very much.

Ladies and gentlemen, the winner here today, the British Number One, Andy Murray.

(APPLAUSE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I don't think anybody was expecting that. That is pretty moving stuff for Andy Murray. It does mean an awful lot to him. There is a lot that's maybe not understood, but he laid it all out there right then.

(END VIDEO TAPE)

CASH: Jamie and Andy built on their Davis Cup success, teaming up to win the doubles title in Japan. It's a partnership Andy sometimes finds challenging.

A. MURRAY: It's tough. It's an experience that when I'm playing the match, I don't enjoy. But when I -- when I've won with him, when I had good results with him, it's one of the best feelings for me, like on a tennis court, because it's just -- it's just very rare. It doesn't happen that often and -- and to get, you know, to experience sort of playing at the highest level of the sport with -- with my brother has been -- has been great.

CASH: We wanted to find out more about Andy, what he's really like off the court. Jamie Murray is the one man who knows his brother better than anyone and he agreed to do some reporting for us.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What do you see being a big thing for you next year, to take that extra step and try to, you know, win that grand slam or -- or move your ranking from...

A. MURRAY: I mean even...

J. MURRAY: -- three or four to two...

A. MURRAY: -- even you asked me that question. I just did an interview and I've gotten 12 questions about it all in a row. I've -- I mean I have no idea what -- what it takes. I just need to keep working hard, trust the guys that I'm working with -- well, Novak (ph) is done this year, I think. He's broken the Nadal-Federer trend a little bit.

J. MURRAY: What do you think the first thing you're going to do when this season finishes?

A. MURRAY: Play a game of football the day after it finishes. So I'll be looking forward to that. And then I'll try and take a four or five day break before I go over to -- to Miami. I heard you went somewhere nice for a couple of days over in Zurich, so maybe I'll -- maybe I'll spend a few days there.

J. MURRAY: What's your first memory of us playing tennis?

A. MURRAY: I mean I always remember playing tennis in the house with the softballs. And we had like the trophies as the net. But actually playing like on the court, I can't really remember many of the -- many of the matches. But I've got -- I've got a scar to...

(LAUGHTER)

J. MURRAY: You got...

A. MURRAY: -- to prove one of them.

J. MURRAY: You've got physical evidence of it?

A. MURRAY: Yes.

J. MURRAY: Yes.

How do you compare your skills at PlayStation to other tennis players?

A. MURRAY: I only really play one game. I play a football game and in doubles, I haven't been great. But singles, I haven't lost yet.

J. MURRAY: What other guys are you playing against?

A. MURRAY: I'm playing against Rafael, Juan Monaco, David Ferrer. I played with Mark Feist a couple of times.

J. MURRAY: We saw you involved at Fashion Week in London a few weeks ago. You got to rub shoulders with some very famous people from other industries, Mario Testino (ph) and Kanye West.

Is that something that you enjoy doing off the court?

A. MURRAY: It's not my favorite thing to do. I mean from time to time, it's all right. I do always feel about players doing stuff like that.

J. MURRAY: Topless shots in your -- your calendar?

A. MURRAY: Yes, exactly. I haven't really done too many of them. I did it once and once only.

J. MURRAY: How do you cope with me being the only Wimbledon champion in the family?

A. MURRAY: When it happened, I came to the courts that day. I came to Wimbledon. And -- and I sat in a room with the TV on silent, but I had the -- I had the match on. And I would watch like from point -- like the odd point. And I was like pacing like up and down and like walking around the room, not speaking to anyone.

And then it wasn't until the last game -- I think you were maybe up 5- 1 in the third set, is that right?

5-1 or 5-2?

I don't know exactly. (INAUDIBLE) they've got to do it. So I ran onto the court and I got to the -- the last two points, which was, yes, probably -- yes, you'd probably say that was one of my best moments in the sport.

CASH: Well, thank you to Jamie for doing some reporting for us. And I look forward to seeing the Murray brothers side by side on court at the Olympics next year in London.

(END VIDEO TAPE)

CASH: You don't have to look too far to spot Bob and Mike Bryant (ph). The twins are everywhere. No one knows this better than their opponents, because they have finished another year as the top ranked doubles team in the world. And you guessed it, they've got some more silverware to pack in their suitcases. Take it away Bob and Mike.

BOB BRYAN, WORLD NUMBER 1 DOUBLES: Yes, thanks, Pat. We're here with the trophy for number one in the world. And this is what it's all about for us. You know, this was our number one goal at the beginning of the year.

MIKE BRYAN, WORLD NUMBER 1: Yes, I mean the high to the year were winning our second Wimbledon title. It's where we broke the Woody's record -- (ph) or we tied it. We tied it.

B. BRYAN: Yes, at 11.

M. BRYAN: Hopefully, we'll break it next year. And Bob -- Bob has got a baby on the way, too.

B. BRYAN: Yes, that's the -- that's the big news.

M. BRYAN: They got married in -- in December and then Mike and I got divorced, because we had all of our...

(LAUGHTER)

M. BRYAN: -- everything was tied up.

B. BRYAN: Everything was tied up, properties, money...

M. BRYAN: Yes. We split it all down the middle, 50-50, even though Bob made a little extra money. He played some singles.

B. BRYAN: Just a million. No -- no big deal.

M. BRYAN: We're going to give you a tour. We're -- we're experts of the 02 Arena and the behind the scenes. So come follow us down to the locker room.

This is the singles hallway right here. Well, we got a -- we got a massage right here on the right is where we get rubbed down every day after a hard practice. This is a mattress.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hello.

B. BRYAN: I want to sign in again.

M. BRYAN: Five here.

B. BRYAN: Let's see who's in there.

M. BRYAN: That's Danny Nestor. He's almost 40 years old. He definitely gets a massage.

B. BRYAN: He gets a massage before and after practice and after the match.

M. BRYAN: Three massages as day when you're 40.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I heard you guys bought another house.

Just -- is the story true?

M. BRYAN: And the singles guys all have their own rooms. So this is a -- this is Nidal, Fish, all the way down. (ph)

But if you want to go where the doubles guys go, let's...

B. BRYAN: Two locker rooms for 16 guys.

M. BRYAN: Our locker room right here.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Really, everything you can need right here. All the balls you want. There's a few cans left, if you want to snag some of that. We've got some lotions and some -- some soap. I'll be stocking my bag, just filling with all that on the way home.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Don't tell anyone.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: These are from pack cash (ph). Let's start with we've got. Baby stuff.

WHITE SHIRT: Awesome. This is cute.

B. BRYAN: Little wrist bands, little Wimbledon wrist bands with the strawberry on -- on it, which is -- that's awesome. My little daughter can put that on the day she's born, put that around her thigh.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is where we warm up, cool down. We lift a little bit on our off days.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, I'm going to have to hit it -- hit it hard on the off season.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Well, guys, thanks for joining us for the behind the scenes at the O2.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There we are on the top. There's going to be a bunch of teams splitting up next year. You can cross that one off the list. They're done, legends.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And these -- these two are question marks?

Question marks but we're a package deal. We're going to be together forever.

So we'll see you guys -- see you guys soon.

(END VIDEO TAPE)

CASH: Oh, yes, it's that time of the year, when the doubles teams start splitting up, always looking for new winning combinations. And I'm telling you, it's not that easy. I remember playing one year 11 tournaments with 11 different partners.

Well, doubles star Aisam Qureshi has split with his partner and he's looking for a new one. And we were there when he started his search.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's a very comfortable seat.

QURESHI: As you know, I have been dumped this year.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I -- I heard.

KING: Yes. I'm looking for some doubles partner next year.

Give me three reasons you think I should choose you as my doubles partner.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I've got pretty good hands.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You're an athletic guy, I'm an athletic guy, there's not going to be a chance for anybody to compete against us.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We have already tried to play this year and I screwed you badly in...

(LAUGHTER)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: -- in Rome.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We're going to play golf. We're going to the good restaurants, drinking alcohol.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Let me see the questions.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I have known you for the last 15 years.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I have pretty eyes, which is...

QURESHI: That's important. That's very important.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You know, I mean it's something that you -- you learn to appreciate.

QURESHI: Who is your current doubles partner?

How long have you guys been playing?

And, honestly, tell me, like, it's just between me and you, who do you think is a better player on the court?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: My current partner is Jorge Etecal (ph). And I'm better.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Well, I'm partnering with Daniel Nestor (ph).

And what was the second part of the question?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think he's definitely the better player. He's got a lot of imposing skills. He's got the best serve in -- in tennis.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: If you talk to Mike, he -- he thinks he's the best. You know, he thinks he's clutch (ph). He takes all the 3-0 points.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I take all the big points, the 3-0 points. I'm the clutch one.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm the better guy because I'm German, he's Austrian. So he -- he's -- he's more -- he's more like our, you know, the small brother. So I have to help him out, step in.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: When it comes down to crucial moments, I'm the one who -- who is the steadier one.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's Marsh Ma -- Mario, what's his name?

I don't know. I forgot.

(LAUGHTER)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I picked him up from Internet, because I needed someone to play doubles with. But I'm doing all the job.

QURESHI: Now everybody knows you have pretty eyes. Name one other thing that people actually don't know about you.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I save all my badges from tournaments and all my boarding cards from the flights.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: People would actually be surprised that I have -- I actually have a personality.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think I'm less arrogant than everybody thinks.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm really handsome. If you look from -- from a different perspective.

QURESHI: So which angle do I have to look from?

(LAUGHTER)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They know I'm a twin, they don't know that I'm the better twin, though.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Neither did I, and I play football.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'll write that down. I'm going to copy this down.

QURESHI: What do you look for in a partner?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Well, weapons, first of all, a big serve, a big game.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Definitely a big hitter.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Someone who's sharp. Someone who's got integrity. Someone who, you know, can -- can play about 90 percent of the ball so I can just sit back and watch.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Doubles, think, it's -- it's like -- it's like a team sport. And, I mean, you have to go out there plus you have to give your best. You also have to enjoy it.

QURESHI: Thank you.

Who do you think is the greatest player of all time in doubles?

And if you had to choose one partner in the history, who would that be?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Being a -- a -- an outside player, I'd probably choose Woodbridge (ph).

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: To me, Todd Woodbridge.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'd pick Todd Woodbridge.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: .

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The Weiser (ph) idols, the guys from Australia. They won numerous titles.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'd pick Stefan Edberg, Stefan Edberg, the same reason like I would play with you, he's the best bully (ph) ever. He's the guy who is -- who will make me a lot of money.

QURESHI: I never thought finding a doubles partner would be this difficult. I can't understand whether I should go for the blue eyes, the athleticism of Lander Preis (ph), the big server, Bob Bryan, or should I go for a party animal like Javier Patel (ph)?

You guys have to stick around, stay tuned to CNN and hopefully you'll find out one day who my next partner is for next year.

Take it easy.

Ciao.

(END VIDEO TAPE)

CASH: We're in London for the year ending ATP World Tour Finals. I was lucky enough to play in the finals, well, back more than a few years ago. And it was certainly a great honor.

Now, along the way that year, I played an up and coming Austrian player who ended up becoming the number one player in the world and the 1995 French Open champion.

Thomas Muster was the king of clay. He was tough and determined, so determined, in fact, that he actually never really retired.

We caught up with Thomas at home in Austria.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

THOMAS MUSTER, RETIRED TENNIS PLAYER: My biggest achievement, beside winning the French Open, is being number one in the world. I mean that's what you're aiming for.

'95 and '96 have probably been the best years in my career and the biggest achievements.

I have won a lot of tournaments on -- on clay, but because I was winning so much on clay, people were considering me as the king of clay. But I -- I don't -- I don't feel that way.

I think Guga Kuerten or Sergei Bubka or Jim Corea (ph), I mean they won the French Open several times. I mean they're king of clays.

That's where we live. That's the southern part of Syria and that's our winery. I grew up here. I knew this when I was a kid and so it's a very special place for us and especially having all these grapes and this natural countryside.

I was lucky to actually buy it off the church at that time and that was in 2003. We developed a great house but they also had a vineyard. Mr. Thament (ph), who owns this wonderful place here, and he's a great tennis man. You know, I asked if this vineyard was worth a dollar or not. And he said, look, this is a fantastic vineyard. And it's got great soil. It's got everything you need. And that's how we started working together. And that's how he actually started to develop the vineyard around our house.

This is now from Kittenburg (ph). That's from our property. That's a white burgundy. It's about three weeks old. And we can see it's a bit yellowish, but it's got about 100 grams of raw sugar that's obviously been filtrated over the months to come. And it's going to be an excellent year.

You almost like feel like these people, they talk to their grapes. And it's like we talk to our tennis rackets. I mean there are -- they are similarities, but, you know, playing tennis, you don't get as drunk.

(LAUGHTER)

MUSTER: I never actually retired. I practice five, six, seven hours a day. I'm just like the (INAUDIBLE). You know, a manager asked me if I wanted to play in the Champion's Tour. But I decided I want a bigger challenge and I want to try to -- to see how far I can go, like how far can I push my body at that age and how fit can I get?

I can compete with guys on the challenger level. And these guys could be my son. You know, they could be my sons. And that's awesome, to play these guys and they, you know, they don't really sure they'd like to play me or not, because they -- it would be a disgrace to lose to a 44 -year- old.

I'm not winning that many matches, but I am competing on a high level. Well, I like the competition. I'm almost like a (INAUDIBLE).

Why do I need that?

That feeling before the match, that little grumble in your stomach, you know, being a bit nervous, not to know what to expect.

Good.

I've decided to retire in Myana (ph) because Myana is a tournament I've always played well. I have tremendous support there. And being an Austrian and winning a grand slam title, I think it's a great chance to say good-bye.

I think my family, at the moment, needs me more than -- than anybody else. And tennis doesn't need me anymore.

(END VIDEO TAPE)

CASH: Thanks very much for joining us on this show.

Next month, the tennis world relocates to Australia, Down Under. Obviously, isonomy favorite times of the year.

So until then, see you later.

END