Murray a step closer to being the number one

Andy Murray will become world No.1 next week if he can win the Paris Masters and Novak Djokovic fails to reach the final.

Andy Murray holds the trophy after winning the Erste Bank Open. Picture: LISI NIESNER

TENNIS: Andy Murray will become world No.1 next week if he can win the Paris Masters and Novak Djokovic fails to reach the final.

The Briton closed the gap at the top of the rankings to 1100 points after defeating Frenchman Jo-Wilfried Tsonga 6-3 7-6 (8-6) in the Erste Bank Open in Vienna.

It was Murray's third consecutive title following victories in Beijing and Shanghai.

He has lost only three times since the French Open in June, including wins at the Olympics and Wimbledon.

Murray has never top the rankings but said there was still plenty of work to do to overtake Djokovic.

"I get a step closer with every win but it's still a long way from here,” he said.

"From two to one seems a small jump in a way but it's the hardest one to make. To go from 100 to 50 is more spots but is a lot easier.”

"I was thinking more about how you are going to win the match rather than what it would mean if you did win it,” he added.

"But obviously it's nice to win my seventh tournament. A lot of them have come in the last few months.

"After the Australian Open I struggled a little bit for a couple of months but the last few months have been very good.”

Originally published as Murray a step closer to being the number one