Murray vows to come back stronger
Originally published on: 26/02/10 12:00
The British number one and sixth seed was no match for Roger Federer on Monday night as he was defeated 6-2 7-5 6-2 in the US Open final at Arthur Ashe Stadium.
“I’m disappointed right now,” Murray said. “I could have done a few more things and given myself a few more opportunities but I’m sure on Tuesday or after a few days or whenever it sinks in, it’s obviously been a very good couple of weeks. And I’ll try my best to work on my game, work hard and hopefully come back and do better next time.”
Murray earned $750,000 (£425,000) for finishing runner up to five-time defending champion Federer and picked up a $250,000 (£140,000) bonus for finishing second behind Nadal in the US Open Series, based on results during the north American hardcourt season in which he won his first ATP Masters Series title in Cincinnati.
His progress to the US Open final at the Billie Jean King National Tennis Centre will also see the 21-year-old Scot improve two places in the world ranking to number four.
Murray refused to use as an excuse the fact that having played Nadal on Sunday night to complete a rain-delayed semi-final, Federer had enjoyed an extra day’s rest.
“Ideally I would have preferred to be in his position but I don’t think that was really the reason why he won the match,” he said.
“If he played like that and I was absolutely fresh I’m sure it still would have been a very tough ask for me to win. But ideally I would have liked to have a day off.”
Murray was deeply impressed by Federer’s performance.
“He played great. He made very few mistakes. The times I played him before he had given me a few free points. He came in quite a lot when I was down at that end and they made the differences.”
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