Murray in awe of mighty Federer

INDIAN WELLS, California, March 8 (Reuters) - British teenager Andy Murray, the last player to beat Roger Federer, is in awe of the records piled up by the dominant Swiss.

Since Murray upset the world number one in the Cincinnati second round last August, Federer has equalled Bjorn Borg's total of 41 match wins in a row and stayed on top of the rankings for 161 consecutive weeks.

''It must be so hard to keep a run like that going,'' world number 14 Murray told reporters yesterday as he prepared for the Pacific Life Open.

''When you've won so many tournaments and so many slams, to keep yourself mentally focused for every tournament is obviously great.

''And I guess it makes my win look better against him given that he's now won 41 in a row.'' Although in awe of Federer's achievements, Murray is not at all surprised.

''He doesn't lose very often and the year before I think he lost just five or six times,'' said the 19-year-old Scot, who successfully defended his San Jose Open title last month.

''It's not really a huge surprise because he's one of the best players to ever play the game.'' Seeded 13th at Indian Wells and sporting a close-cropped hairstyle this week, Murray is delighted with his own start to the year.

''I played well in all the tournaments and I haven't played too many bad matches,'' said the Briton, who reached the Doha final in January and the semi-finals in Memphis two weeks ago.

BAD RUN ''To win a tournament early in the year is good and I was pleased to get to the fourth round of the Australian Open when I had a bad run last year (losing in the first round).

''I think I'm 15 (wins) and three (losses) this year, which is a good way to start. I wasn't expecting to start as well but I did work hard in the off-season.'' Murray, who fought back to beat Croatian Ivo Karlovic 6-7 6-4 7-6 in the San Jose final, says he is more focused on becoming a better player than breaking into the top 10.

''It's not all about winning just now, it's about improving my game so that when I do get to 22 or 23 years old, I'll be a much more complete player,'' he added.

''I want to try and practise serve-volley, work on coming to the net more and play more aggressively some times.

''It's not about getting into the top 10 just now,'' added the Scot, who will meet either South African Wesley Moodie or Czech Lukas Dlouhy in the second round at Indian Wells.

''I just need to take care of my game. If I do improve my game, I think I'm going to get there.

''I'd much rather be ranked 50 in the world and reach the finals of a slam than be ranked five or six and just play consistently the whole year. I want to be able to build my game so when the slams come, I will be able to go deep into the tournaments.'' Asked about his new haircut, Murray replied: ''I just felt like a change. It was a rush of blood, I guess.

''I haven't had it done like this since I was about 14 so it's a big change. But I've no regrets.'' REUTERS SAM VC1132