Murray Proud Despite Nadal Defeat

Not many players feel proud of themselves after a sound thrashing but there were special circumstances surrounding Andy Murray's admittedly disappointing 6–1, 6–2 loss to Rafael Nadal in the final of the BNP Paribas here yesterday.

First he never expected to recover as quickly from the virus that kept him in bed in London for three days just before the Davis Cup weekend. Second, the severity of his loss to the world No1 – a player he had beaten in their two previous meetings – was due in large part to the 50mph gale that blew in shirt-rippling, hat-flying gusts across the bowl of the large, 16,000-seat stadium.

For a man who can look awfully morose on court when things are not going his way, Murray was surprisingly upbeat after he had finished his press conference. Talking before he left to catch a plane to Miami, Murray insisted he was proud of himself.

"For me, it's been one of the best weeks of my career, for sure," he said. "I'm surprised I managed to get to the final. I'm obviously playing well and beating some tough guys. There's not many times when I've been in this situation [coming off an illness] since I've been on the tour and I'm very happy and proud of what I did this week. There's not many times when I feel proud when I come off court but that's how I feel right now."

That kind of attitude bodes well for the future. It should mean that Murray will be able to shake off the disappointment of being so comprehensively outplayed and settle back into the winning rhythms that have made him unquestionably the second-best player in the world this year. With Novak Djokovic losing points here because he failed to defend his title and Murray exceeding last year's performance of only getting to the fourth round, the Scot will have closed the gap on Djokovic in third place but, even so, the ranking does not tell this year's story because it covers the past 12 months. In the past six Murray has been as consistent as anyone.

Sunday's final was a learning experience although, as he said, it is not often you get to play in those sort of conditions. He did, however, offer a fairly vivid description of what it is to try when the world No1 is on the opposite side of the net.

"It's difficult to be aggressive," he said. "When the wind is coming in your face it's tough to hit the ball deep. And obviously he's playing with a lot of topspin and the wind makes it tougher to get on top of his shots. I tried coming forward in the second set but volleying is probably the hardest thing to do in those sort of conditions because the ball can move just as you are about to make contact and you can't adjust your feet in time."

It can be windy in Miami, too, but it is unlikely to blow with the ferocity of this desert storm. And, anyway, Murray views the area as a second home after spending so many weeks practicing at Miami University just before Christmas. "I have an apartment in Miami now so it'll be nice; a bit different not staying in hotels and whatnot, keeping to myself. I'll enjoy being there."