Andy Murray saving his best until last as competition intensifies

In the afterglow of one of his finest wins – his eighth over Roger Federer in 13 matches, in straight sets to win the Shanghai Masters – Andy Murray is determined to "stay as humble as possible". It is an odd sentiment, perhaps, for someone so clearly brilliant in his calling but one consistent with a player and a human being whose core values are rooted in a Scottish upbringing big on respect and hard work. The most important message of the many he took immediately after he had thumped Federer 6-3, 6-2 in an hour and 25 minutes on Sunday night was from his grandmother, Shirley. "My gran had broken her hip not long ago and she had surgery just before I came here two weeks ago," he said in the recently emptied press conference room of the Qizhong Tennis Center, an hour from the heart of this hectic metropolis. "She had the surgery just towards the end of [the] Beijing [Masters, the previous week]. She was obviously happy because she sent me a message after the match and said, 'My hip feels a lot better now'. She's a bit worried because it's [brother] Jamie's wedding in 10 days, so I'm hoping she'll be up and about for that." This was Murray at his contented best – not dancing on the tables or wild-eyed with ill-considered boasts, just quietly proud of what he has achieved and hoping that the next month or so will be similarly fulfilling, on and off the court. "I'm obviously chuffed to have won the tournament," he said, "but chuffed for that reason, too," he added, referring to his grandmother's health and his brother's upcoming nuptials. He was relieved, as well, he said, that Jamie will not be having any speeches, sparing him the ordeal of performing. As for his tennis, Murray said: "It's important for me to stay grounded because I've been very inconsistent this year. That's something I need to work on. This tournament was great but I want to try to finish the season as well as possible. The only way for me to do that is to work hard and go into every match thinking it's going to be incredibly difficult." It would not be Murray if he did not find a reason to lower his expectations. That said, his realism is warranted. Although Rafael Nadal , earlier in the week, and Federer, when it mattered in the final, were below par, the men's game is a dangerous place to be complacent at the moment. Novak Djokovic, so dominant in Beijing and earlier in the week in Shanghai, did not quite perform in the semi-finals against Federer, but his is a game of obvious threats in all parts of the court. Federer alluded to the evenness of the competition at the summit of the men's game. Still, the Swiss had not dropped a set in Shanghai until Murray broke him in the first game of the final and went on to take the first set comfortably. Murray faltered briefly in the second before capitalising on his opponent's glaring fall-off in spirit when a line call went against him in the fourth game. Federer's smash was called out, the decision overruled and the point replayed. He lost it – and the plot thereafter. Murray, meanwhile, is on the rise. He has the World Tour Finals to look forward to in London next month – alongside Nadal, Federer, Djokovic and four other players yet to qualify – and he could hardly be better placed, mentally or physically. "That was the best I moved, probably since Australia," he said of his court positioning. "When I move well, it makes such a big difference to my game." The Scot returned to London last night and will rest until Saturday before resuming his practice on the court, so he does not lose what he has worked hard to get back after a miserable patch of form recently. "I don't like spending a week or 10 days off the court," he said, "because I feel as if I am losing my rhythm. I want to keep hitting the ball like this." Then it is off to the Valencia Open to defend the tournament Murray won last year, beating Mikhail Youzhny in the final, and Paris for the final Masters 1000 tournament, before the O 2 arena and what has become an exciting climax to the season.