Andy Murray has know won two out of his last three meetings with world number one Roger Federer after beating him in the first round of the Dubai Championship.
Murray clearly has the Swiss superstar rattled and after the match he criticised the Scots playing style: "He's going to have to grind very hard for the next few years if he keeps playing this way." (BBC Sport)
Murray hit back saying: "You do different things against different players.
"My serve is clearly much better than it was two years ago. I feel quicker and stronger around the court. Mentally I feel like I'm better." (BBC Sport)
He feels his improved mental strength has come form some very unusual training methods. He's started doing Bikram Yoga, which is performed in a sauna, and Murray said "“It’s ugly. I started doing it in December. It’s helped me a lot with my fitness and mental strength.” (ATP Tennis Blog)Some people believe Murray's win was not the massive shock it's been out to be when put in the context of recent month's. Federer hadn't played competitively since the Australian Open semi final and the ATP tennis blog said: "Federer has no match practise and that might have been the decisive factor. Murray on the other hand has won two titles in two months. You would be dissapointed to lose this match with that kind of record"
Perhaps then this wasn't a great shock, just a case of a player in the top 10, playing on top form and riding high on confidence beating someone who's rusty and looking to get back into his stride. However we're talking about Federer, one of the all time greats, and nothing should be taken away from the young Great Britain with a bright future.
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