Murray still hopeful of semis slot despite loss to Federer

London: Andy Murray is still hopeful of putting his best foot forward after losing to world number one Roger Federer and qualifying to the semifinals of the 2009 Barclays ATP World Tour Finals here.

“No, I just didn’t play well and I made more mistakes than normal. It happens sometimes,” Murray said after his 6-3, 3-6, 1-6 defeat against Federer in a Group A match of this annual season-ending competition late on Tuesday.

Next up for Britain’s highest ranked player is a meeting against Spaniard Fernando Verdasco, who is yet to win here in his two outings so far. “I just have to win against Verdasco and that’s pretty much what I will have to do on Thursday. If I win in straight sets then I think I have a great chance to go through,” Murray stated.

Federer nearly assured himself one of two semifinal spots from the group after fighting back from a set down against the home favourite who looked out of sorts with his game as much as his first serves. “It’s difficult against him, and if you miss so many first serves then you know you put yourself under a lot of pressure. I think it was a great effort to win a set serving like that,” Murray admitted.

The Briton had a great record against the Swiss world number one leading their career meetings 6-3 going into Tuesday’s match. Their last meeting at the ATP Masters 1000 in Cincinnati had ended in a straight sets win for Federer.

Following a rest day, Murray is tentatively scheduled to play Verdasco early in the afternoon while Federer will square off with Juan Martin del Potro later in the evening on Thursday. “I’ve got a good record against all the guys in the group. If I play well then I have a good chance to win. If I don’t then there’s a good chance I lose. So the idea is to play better than I did this evening, rest up and hopefully feel good for Thursday,” Murray stated.

According to the tournament format, only the top two from each group qualify for the knock-out semifinals.