TENNIS: Winning in Shanghai can be a stepping stone for Andy Murray�s career, suggests Eleanor Preston

In Andy Murray's hotel room in Shanghai, there are pillows with his name monogrammed on to them. It does not say world No 4 on the duvet, or even Scotland's Greatest Export on the loo roll, but it might just as well, for this week at the Masters Cup he is surrounded by reminders that he is one of the special ones.

"Yeah, all the players have got their name on their pillowcases. They've got the names on the dressing gowns as well at the hotel, so that was a nice touch. I'm not used to that," said Murray yesterday, fresh from having to don a suit for the official photo alongside the other seven pampered players at the season finale.

"There's a lot of things that are different, that you don't get everywhere else. You get your own locker room, you get your own driver. Because there's not so many players here, it's easy to get a practice court. Everything is very easy. It's a beautiful hotel as well. We are all treated great. Just to be around all the top players in the world is a really nice feeling because obviously it's like a reward for the season that you've had."

That season has included an astonishing run of form over the last five months or so, beginning after his humbling defeat to Rafael Nadal in the Wimbledon quarter-finals. Looking back at the two Masters Series titles Murray has won since then and his run to the US Open final (not to mention retaining his trophy in St Petersburg), that loss to Nadal seems to have been a tipping point.

It was as if Nadal was showing just how well he would have to play to keep pace with the very best in the world. Since then, he has beaten Nadal, Roger Federer and, in the final of the Cincinnati Masters, Novak Djokovic. Interestingly, it is that victory over the Serb that Murray says really instilled the requisite self-belief in him to do what he has done since.

"The final in Cincinnati was a big one for the confidence because I hadn't won a Masters Series before, it was against someone I didn't have a great record against in Djokovic," said Murray. "There was a lot over the summer that made a difference but it was probably winning my first big tournament and winning that match that gave me extra confidence."

He will not have to face Djokovic in Shanghai until at least the semi-finals, depending on the outcome of the three round-robin matches each competitor has to play in the group stages. Murray's group contains Federer, Andy Roddick, whom he plays tomorrow, and Gilles Simon, a last-minute replacement for the injured Nadal. Djokovic has Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, Juan-Martin Del Potro and Nikolay Davydenko in his group.

The format of the Masters Cup means Murray could, in theory, lose a match in the group phase and still qualify for the semi-finals. He would rather not, but admitted yesterday that the mental and physical demands of a long and successful season are beginning to drag on him.

He is not prone to talking up his chances in any tournament but Murray sounded yesterday as though he had no idea what to expect from his weary mind and body this week. He certainly did not sound certain that he could muster one last big push before he heads for a well-earned holiday at his second home in Miami.

"I don't expect too much really," he said. "I've had a great season. I'm a little bit tired and I'll try to play the best I can. If I do that then I'll be happy. Even if I lose all the matches, I'd still be happy. But I'd be disappointed if I didn't play well.

"Obviously Federer and Roddick have got the most experience out of everyone here. Roddick's been here six times, Federer's won four times. Simon is the match out of all of them that I'm expected to win but the first match against Roddick is going to be very important."

Tired Murray may be but, emerging as one of the top two from his group to make the semi-finals is a realistic expectation. As a keen student of the game, he probably knows that many players have used the Masters Cup or its equivalent as a springboard from which to win their first grand slam title.

Federer reached the semi-finals in Shanghai in 2002 and said later that it was where the journey to his first Wimbledon title in 2003 began. Amelie Mauresmo won her first grand slam at the 2006 Australian Open after winning the WTA Tour Championships.

"I don't know if I'm ready to win a grand slam," said Murray yesterday. "My results would suggest that I am. I just need to make sure that I keep getting stronger physically and improve my game so that if I get into another grand slam final, I'm better prepared."

That preparation will take the form of an exhausting training programme which will follow the brief, post-Shanghai holiday he plans to take. Murray had better make sure he gets plenty of rest on those monogrammed pillows.