ANDY Murray reckons his ATP World Tour Masters defeat to Rafa Nadal is proof that he needs to sharpen up his game before the Davis Cup final. The Scot was disappointed with the manner of his 6-4, 6-1 reverse to the Spaniard and knows he will get away with no sloppiness in his shoot-out with French Open champion Stan Wawrinka for a place in the semi-finals. Immediately after his tournament, Andy and his brother Jamie fly out to Belgium to attempt to bring the Davis Cup back to Britain for the first time since 1936.

"I’m not saying that losing is ever the most positive thing," said Murray. "But in these situations, if I had done very well here, played great the whole week, it would have been easy to get a little bit complacent. Whereas now I’m quite aware that my game needs to go up a level. I can’t have dips like I did against Nadal. It was very disappointing not to win the match but I need to use it the right way, both for Friday and for the Davis Cup."

Wawrinka, a man who participated in this event 12 months back before going on to win the Davis Cup alongside Roger Federer for Switzerland, said he wasn't sure whether the World No 2 might also be a little pre-occupied with the imminent team tennis final against the Belgians.

"It's tough to say what he's thinking," said Wawrinka. "If he's completely focused or not. If he's already thinking too much about Davis Cup. Maybe he's going to feel more relaxed, no pressure, go for it more, or maybe he's not going to be completely here. We'll know soon how he is. If he's mentally not really here, then he's a different player."

If both players are mentally and physically in the zone, Murray versus Wawrinka promises to be quite a contest. As the World No 3 and World No 4 for much of this year, the two men haven't played since the quarter finals of the 2013 US Open, when a straight sets win for the Swiss punctured the Scot's post-Wimbledon win feelgood factor. Wawrinka, a semi-finalist at this venue each of the last two seasons, has captured two Grand Slam titles since then, to move level with Murray's tally, but in truth his game is more unpredictable than the Scot's.

"He’s played well here for the last couple of years," said the Scot. "He’s always dangerous because he goes for it, he doesn’t really hold back. Sometimes he can make a bunch of errors and then in the space of a couple of games can completely change and start hitting winners from all over the court. He’s a tough guy to play against for that reason. He has a lot of power and he can almost take the racket out of your hand at times."

Meanwhile, Leon Smith, the Great Britain Davis Cup captain, has shrugged off concerns about Andy Murray's preparation so long as the World No 2 gets off court at the o2 in one piece. "It will be a factor but I have seen Andy push through," said Smith. "You saw how tired he was in the last tie against Australia and against France. Against very good players, he finds a way. This means an awful lot to him. So I don’t see it as an issue, just very good preparation. But clearly I would like no injuries."