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Murray plays down Dubai chances

Andy Murray believes he is mentally tougher than he was six months ago © Getty Images

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Andy Murray insists he is not the favourite to win the Dubai Tennis Championships following Roger Federer's withdrawal.

The world No. 1 pulled out of the ATP 500 tournament on Friday with a lung infection, and with Rafael Nadal still recovering from a knee injury, Murray will be the second favourite to win the title after friend and rival Novak Djokovic.

But the British No. 1 has not played since his Australian Open final defeat to Federer, and is taking one match at a time.

"I'm not thinking about my chances of winning the tournament here," said Murray. "I've not been practising since Australia. I don't know how I am going to shape up and how well I am going to play. So I'm not thinking about winning the event. I am just thinking to try and play well."

Murray is currently ranked fourth in the world, and having been as high as No. 2 last year he has set his sights on reaching the top spot, but insists winning is more important than his ranking.

"Winning tournaments is more important to me as that takes care of the rankings," he said. "So I have to focus on bringing in the results. You need to play well in the Slams and the Masters Series. Last year my results in the Slams were fine, but they could have been better. If I can perform as well as I did in Australia then my ranking can move up as well. I've been as high as No 2 and I would like to go even higher than that."

As Murray's quest to win the all-elusive Grand Slam continues, Murray believes he is mentally tougher than he was last year and vowed not to give up on his fight to win his first major tournament. He said: "The one difference I've made is in my mentality in the last six months or so. I want to go the Slams feeling right. Last year this wasn't the case.

"I will try at the French Open and if it doesn't happen at the French Open then I will try again at Wimbledon. And if it doesn't happen there, then I'll try again at the US Open. I'll just keep on trying and give my best. If it doesn't happen, then it doesn't, but it's important that I don't give up."

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