• ATP World Tour Finals

Candid Federer picks holes in Murray successes

Roger Federer has given an assessment of two of his greatest rivals ahead of the ATP World Tour Finals © Getty Images

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Roger Federer has added some extra juice to the upcoming ATP World Tour Finals by suggesting Andy Murray's recent strong form may only have been the work of a flat-track bully.

Federer and Murray head into the London event, which begins on Sunday, as arguably the two form players. The Swiss enters the tournament off the back of triumphs in Basle and Paris, while Murray previously won three straight events in Bangkok, Toyko and Shanghai.

However, defending champion Federer points out Murray's record may not be as impressive as it appears at first glance. In Bangkok the Brit beat Gilles Simon and Donald Young in the semi-finals and final respectively, while in Shanghai his most difficult rival was David Ferrer.

"I'm not taking anything away from what Andy did, but was Asia the strongest this year?' asked Federer in the Daily Telegraph. "I'm not sure.

"Novak [Djokovic] wasn't there, I wasn't there and [in Shanghai] Rafa lost early."

Federer then chose to remind Murray that he only has to go as far back as August, to the ATP World Tour Masters in Canada, for a reminder of how fragile his game can be.

"It has been a good effort by him after losing to Kevin Anderson in Montreal [in August]," Federer offered. "Don't forget how things were looking then."

Federer does, however, believe Murray is closer than ever to winning a grand slam title, having once again gone close at the Australian Open this year. The Swiss claims Murray is better prepared mentally than in the past.

"I think he's past that tough hurdle - "Oh, I haven't won a grand slam" - that stressed him out more one-and-a-half years ago," Federer said. "I think now he is a bit more laid back because he has gone through these ups and downs and knows how to handle them.

"I've always thought he is plenty good enough to win a grand slam and he will have a good year in 2012. It's crazy how small the margins are in tennis."

The former world No. 1 also appears to have been keeping a close eye on Nadal, who once again has had fitness concerns with which to deal this year. Federer admits he once feared the Spaniard would have to retire, but now he believes Nadal has learned to cope with the stress he places on his body.

"I was thinking this way three years ago when I felt like every match he played was a massive grind, standing way back in the court," said Federer. "Today he is playing much more offensive, up on the baseline.

"He still spends a lot of time on court but that's more to do with him playing slow. Today I have less of a worry for him for some reason. Even though he has accumulated a lot of matches and his body obviously feels that, I'm not so pessimistic about his chances of playing longer."

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