Special pride for Andy Murray after Briton becomes new men’s number one tennis player
He replaces Novak Djokovic at the top of the ATP rankings after Milos Raonic withdraws from their Paris Masters semi-final clash
Andy Murray took special pride in reaching the world number one ranking in an era when Roger Federer, Rafa Nadal and Novak Djokovic – arguably some of the greatest players ever – have dominated the game.
The first Briton to achieve the feat, Murray will take over from Serb Djokovic when the ATP rankings are updated on Monday, after his Paris Masters semi-final opponent, Canadian Milos Raonic, withdrew with a leg injury on Saturday.
“That’s the most satisfying thing, really. It’s been such a difficult thing to do during my career because of how good the guys around me have been, the guys ahead of me,” said Murray, who will take on American John Isner in Sunday’s final.
“It has been really, really hard to do it, been really difficult. Obviously they are three of the best players that have ever played the game.”
The 29-year-old Murray is the 26th player to reach number one since the creation of the rankings in 1973, but only the fourth man in almost 13 years.