Andy Murray, who fell to Roger Federer in the Dubai final, says that the 30-year-old could recapture the top spot if more tournaments were held on faster surfaces. Federer has won five tournaments since late October. Four of those tiles were indoors (2011 Basel, the Paris Masters, the ATP Finals and 2012 Rotterdam) and 2012 Dubai was outdoors.
"If there was more tournaments on these courts, I think he could definitely be No. 1 in the world for the next few years," Murray told reporters. "It really suits his game well. Just so many of the courts are so slow now. It’s nice for us to get a change-up like here. Some of the tournaments are so slow it's tough against so many guys that are moving well and serving big. It’s become tougher and tougher to stay at the top of the game longer."