NOTEBOOK: Murray suffers added indignity of late-night anti-doping

Jan 28, 2012, 3:05 GMT

Melbourne - Andy Murray's agony didn't end after his five-hour semi-final loss to Novak Djokovic at the Australian Open. The Scot then had to stick around in the bowels of the Rod Laver arena waiting the obligatory half hour before blood could be drawn for a doping test.

With anti-corruption heavies not known for their sympathetic nature, the post-match test only added insult after Murray's five-set defeat in a marathon which finished at nearly 1 am.

'Just a bit annoyed ... I know the players go on about it a lot, but they've changed these rules with the drug test,' said the Scot, who had already been through a urine test required for all losers at the major.

'They just told me I need to sit down for 30 minutes before I can give blood. I want to get out of here, so I'm annoyed with that, which on top of losing a match like that, it's really a frustrating thing to have to go through at 1:00 in the morning.''

Murray and the enforcers have never been on the best of terms, with the sleepy-headed Scot never amused when the hit squads descend without warning on occasion to rouse him out of bed anywhere in the world at 6 am.

At Wimbledon last summer, he was hit by tests on three occasions during the fortnight, all of them at the crack of dawn.

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NOTEBOOK: Federer doesn't bemoan another loss to Nadal

Melbourne (dpa) - Roger Federer flies out of Melbourne and into a busy February on court determined to continue lifting his game despite going out in the Australian Open semi-finals to Rafael Nadal.

With the Spaniard now holding an 8-2 record in grand Slams against his Swiss rival, Federer might be feeling the effects - but that's not how the 30-year-old with more honours than anyone in the game sees it.

'It's not that bad. Don't feel too sorry for me. I haven't lost in five months or something,' he said after suffering his first defeat in an official match since missing on two match points a US Open semi-final against Novak Djokovic in September.

Since then, he won three straight 2011 tournaments, suffered a walkover due to a bad back in Dubai this month and raced through his field in Melbourne until hitting the Nadal wall.

'What's important is the reaction from here,' said the methodical Swiss with a record 16 Grand Slam singles titles. 'Where do I go from here? You know, start planning other trips. Start planning the preparations and have a good reaction like I showed after the US Open.'

Federer is due to play in the Davis Cup first round for Switzerland at home against the US, then headline at Rotterdam indoors before competing in Dubai in late February.