NEW YORK -- Andy Murray gave a stark pause at his news conference when he was asked, bluntly, if he feels he is in the latter stages of his career.
He took a few seconds to think over his answer, then gave an equally blunt answer.
"Well, I'm 29. I would imagine if I'm lucky I'd be playing at this level for three, four more years, max, I would think," said Murray. "I mean, it's not easy to do that. I hope I'm still playing like this when I'm 38 years old, but it's pretty unlikely.
"I'm actually using that as a positive that you have to make the most of every opportunity. It's a slightly different mentality to maybe when you're younger and you feel like you have a bit more time on your side.
"I want to make the most of every tournament I play in and try and win and achieve as much as I can the next few years."
Just as Murray took his opportunity at Wimbledon to end a three-year wait for a third major, with Novak Djokovic falling surprisingly early and Roger Federer going out in the semifinals, he has another prime chance here at the US Open to add a fourth Grand Slam title.
Djokovic missed the Cincinnati Masters with a wrist injury he picked up before the Olympics in Rio, where the world No. 1 was stunned by Juan Martin del Potro in the first round, and he admitted he is still struggling with the issue.
Rafael Nadal is working his way back to full fitness after his own wrist injury, which saw him miss the French Open and Wimbledon, while Federer is not even here because of his knee problem.
And Murray, seeded second, knows his time is now.
"I don't know how he's [Djokovic] feeling. If he's playing here he must be feeling pretty good," said the world No. 2. "Sometimes when you play a lot of tennis, like Novak has, you can pick up niggles, and sometimes your body does need a break as much as anything.
"Rafa's been a bit unfortunate the last couple of years with a number of different issues. He's had the wrist and a few other health problems, as well. It's been a tough couple of years for him.
"They're both in the top half. Them having wrist problems doesn't affect my chances of getting to the final. I wouldn't have to play them in that stage, anyway. So just have to wait and see. I think Rafa pretty much proved his fitness in Rio playing a lot of tennis with winning the doubles and also playing as many matches as anyone there. And singles, as well.
"And then Novak obviously missed Cincinnati, but only a few weeks ago he was playing in Canada, as well. He's played I think enough matches. It's just whether he's fully recovered. We will see that whenever he plays."
After the emotional high of winning back-to-back Olympic singles gold medals, Murray's 22-match win streak was ended by Marin Cilic in the Cincinnati Masters final. But he got some much-needed rest after arriving in New York on Sunday, taking both Monday and Tuesday off.
"It was hard going from Rio to Cincinnati. I didn't feel great when I was there," he added. "Luckily I won a few quick matches, and that helped.
"But I was tired in Cincinnati and I was really pumped that I got to the final. I didn't expect that the way I arrived from Rio and how I was feeling after that. That's why this week, it was very important to rest, take time to let your body recover. It's just as important to do the training you do away from the court.
"That's something that I have learned as I got older; whereas before when I was younger it was different. I trained sometimes too much maybe and didn't listen to my body enough. Yeah, it was a good few weeks in Rio and Cincinnati.
"It's just been pretty light, light practice. I haven't done anything away from the court, training, nothing like that. Just trying to be as fresh as I can at the start of the tournament."
Murray, seeded second, starts against Lukas Rosol and there was some bad blood in their last meeting at the 2015 BMW Open quarterfinals in Munich. Rosol bumped into Murray during a change of ends, prompting a heated response from Murray, who said: "No one likes you on the tour. Everyone hates you."
The Scot played it a bit more diplomatically here.
"I spoke to him after the match. It was fine," said Murray. "Afterwards I just -- obviously a few things happened when we were on the court. But, yeah, we spoke after the match and that was it. I have actually gotten along fine with him apart from that day, and he's tough, tough opponent. Big, strong guy; goes for his shots; takes a lot of risks."