Andy Murray has said that he will go into the Masters 1000 series with renewed confidence despite defeat in the Dubai Tennis Championships final.
The Scot was beaten 7-5 6-4 by Roger Federer on Saturday afternoon.
Murray has been plagued by poor form in the wake of impressive performances in the Australian Open in the previous two years.
However, the 24-year-old is in a far more positive mood this season.
"It's not that often where guys beat top players on back-to-back days," said Murray. "It's not an easy thing to do. But overall it was a good week, perfect preparation for the stretch coming up in America.
"I worked on some things with Ivan Lendl before coming here, just been trying to put them into the matches little by little. This week was a good start."
"At this stage last year I was in a very different position, a different frame of mind. It's a very important period for me, this one coming up because I struggled [in Indian Wells and Miami] the last couple of years. I'm going to get over there early, get some good practice in."
The Indian Wells Masters 1000 event begins on March 8.
Michael Penkman
