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Respectful Murray plays tit-for-tat with Federer
Andy Murray has refused to enter into a war of words with Roger Federer, but the British No. 1 happily reminded his Swiss rival that all career records can be belittled.
Murray and Federer are two of the favourites to win the season-ending ATP World Tour Finals, which begin on Sunday at London's O2 Arena. Federer kicks things off against Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, while Murray must wait until Monday to face David Ferrer.
It appeared Federer was in the mood to stir the pot in the build-up, questioning Murray's recent hat-trick of successes in Asia by pointing out the fact that he did not beat many of the world's top players.
"I'm not taking anything away from what Andy did, but was Asia the strongest this year?" asked Federer on Friday. "I'm not sure. Novak [Djokovic] wasn't there, I wasn't there and [in Shanghai] Rafa lost early."
The quotes were repeated to Murray on Saturday, who responded by pointing out the respect he has for Federer. "For me, I have always said that Roger is obviously one of the best players ever to play and I love having the chance to compete against him," the Brit stated.
Murray then dabbled in a bit of tit-for-tat, pointing out Federer's recent success at the BNP Paribas Masters was hardly something to boast about.
"Look at Paris," said the 24-year-old. "Rafa wasn't there, Novak was injured and I was injured. Every week is different. It depends on whether you can play your best tennis.
"If you can play your best tennis and not everybody is there, well, it is not really relevant. You can only beat what is in front of you."
Murray's final message was simple, and it could be an indicator of a potentially fiery semi-final or final, if both players make it that far in the tournament. "Hopefully I will get a chance to play against him this week and we can let our tennis do the talking," said the home favourite.
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