Murray becomes 26th player in history to hold no. 1 in Emirates ATP Rankings

Murray will now battle Djokovic for the coveted year-end No. 1 at the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals.

Murray was guaranteed to move to No. 1 for the first time as a result of reaching the BNP Paribas Masters final in Paris on Saturday. Djokovic had been No. 1 for the past 122 weeks since 7 July 2014, and 223 weeks overall. Murray, who has spent 76 weeks at No. 2 since first reaching the mark in 2009, is the first British male to rank No. 1 in the history of Emirates ATP Rankings (since 23 August 1973).

“To get to No. 1 isn’t about today, but it’s about 12 months of tournaments to get to this stage,” said Murray. “The last few months have been the best of my career and I am very proud to have reached No. 1. It has been a goal of mine for the past few years.”

On Monday, at 29 years, 5 months and 23 days, the Dunblane native will be the 26th player in the history of the Emirates ATP Rankings (since 1973) and the second-oldest player (John Newcombe, 30 years, 11 days, on 3 June 1974) to debut at No. 1 in the official rankings in men's tennis.

He is the 15th European player to rank No. 1 and owns the ATP World Tour record for most time between becoming No. 2 and No. 1, having debuted at No. 2 on 17 August 2009.

Murray is tied first with Djokovic on the ATP World Tour with a career-best seven titles in 2016, including his second Wimbledon crown and second Olympic Games gold medal.

He also captured two ATP World Tour Masters 1000 titles (the Internazionali BNL d’Italia in Rome, Shanghai Rolex Masters).

He has a 73-9 record on the season and is currently riding a 19-match winning streak.

ATP Executive Chairman & President Chris Kermode said, “Andy has shown incredible dedication, determination and hard work in his bid to get to No.1. It’s difficult to think of a player more deserving of this accolade, what is more in one of the toughest eras in the history of our sport. He has had a phenomenal season and fully deserves this latest recognition, which confirms his status as the best player in the world.”

This year, his brother, Jamie Murray, rose to No. 1 in the Emirates ATP Doubles Rankings for the first time on Apr 4,  2016 and held the top spot, in two stints, for a total of nine weeks.

On July 8, Murray became the second player to qualify for the season-ending Barclays ATP World Tour Finals to be held at The O2 in London from Nov 13-20.

It is the ninth straight year that he has qualified for the elite eight-player tournament.

Murray will receive the No. 1 trophy during the Official Launch of the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals at the Cutty Sark, the 19th century tea clipper ship, in London on 10 November.

Image: Wikipedia Commons