Britain's Andy Murray was delighted to exceed his own expectations at the ATP event in Indian Wells, despite being demolished by top seed Rafael Nadal in Sunday's final.
The 21-year-old Scot had to withdrew from last month's Dubai Championships and a Davis Cup tie because of a virus and was not fully fit when he arrived in the California desert.
"I don't feel I'm that disappointed just now with how the week went because I wasn't expecting to do that well," Murray told reporters after losing 6-1 6-2 to world No 1 Nadal.
"I had some very good wins. I got a lot of the matches that I wasn't necessarily expecting.
"So going into Miami, I'm going to be better prepared than I thought," he added, referring to the second Masters Series event of the season.
"Obviously today was not my best day but I'll definitely get over it because I'm guessing I'm not going to play in those conditions each week."
Tricky winds
Murray, who beat three-time champion Roger Federer in the semifinals, struggled in tricky swirling winds on Sunday that continually blew dust around the stadium court at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden.
"It was tough," the British world No 4 said after being swept aside in 80 minutes by Nadal.
"I haven't played in conditions as windy as that for quite a long time. Rafa dealt with it very well. He hit the ball cleaner and just seemed to get himself in better positions than I did."
Murray had high hopes going into Sunday's final, having beaten the Spaniard in their previous two encounters.
"The thing I always felt when I played him was that you get a chance to play your game because he does play with a lot of topspin," the 21-year-old Scot said.
"Early on in the rally, the ball sort of comes up to a nice height and you can move the ball around. But he moves very well, he's got a big forehand and he competes great.
"He's improved the rest of his game, he's using a bit more slice and coming to the net a little bit. He does everything quite well. He definitely deserved to win today."
(Reuters via China Daily March 24, 2009)
