Murray reveals Federer admiration

Andy Murray insists it will be as tough as ever to beat Roger Federer in the final of the US Open. Federer has won the tournament at Flushing Meadows every year since 2004 but he has not won a Grand Slam title this year and he has lost his position at the top of the world rankings to Rafael Nadal. Despite the recent poor run by Federer's standards, Murray believes the Swiss is still the favourite. Murray said: "He made the final at Wimbledon, the final of the French Open, the semis of Australian Open, and he's in the final here. "It's an unbelievable run and I don't understand why everyone thinks he's not playing well. "He's played unbelievable in the best tournaments and he's in the final for the fifth straight year here. It's a ridiculous run. I think he's playing great. I just think the level of tennis has got better." Murray has a good record in matches against Federer, winning two of their three meetings so far. However, Murray can feel confident after beating the current world number one Rafael Nadal in four sets over two days in the semi-final and there has been a noticeable improvement in his game since Wimbledon. He has even compared his own talent for tennis to Federer's. He added: "I think we're quite natural tennis players. I think with our hands we're pretty gifted. "And then things that are different? I think he plays a more aggressive style right now than me. He'll look to come forward a bit more. "I think when we're returning, I play a bit more defensive on the return games. I try to put a lot of returns back, whereas he maybe tries to go for a bit more on his returns. Those are the main differences." But Federer has far more experience to draw on, especially in Grand Slam finals. He has won 12 major titles while Murray will be playing in the biggest game of his career so far. Murray said: "He's obviously won over 30 matches in a row here so he's obviously going to be feeling confident going in. "He's got loads of experience in these situations and it's something new for me. I know I'm going to have to play great to have a chance of winning but I've played well the last couple of weeks."

» More on this story... «

ITN | September 8, 2008

Tags:. .beating. .beat. .ive. .lost. .natural