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

Andy Murray WimbledonParis: More than seven years after he first ranked No. 2, Great Britain’s Andy Murray will take over the No. 1 position in the Emirates ATP Rankings on Monday, replacing Novak Djokovic, who has held the top spot since 7 July 2014. 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 72-9 record on the season and is currently riding a 18-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 4 April 2016 and held the top spot, in two stints, for a total of nine weeks.

On 8 July, 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 13-20 November. 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.

THE NUMBER ONES

Following is a list of the 26 players who have ranked No. 1 in the history of the Emirates ATP Rankings (since 1973):

Player Date Reached Age Tot. Weeks
Andy Murray (GBR) 7 November 2016 29 1
Novak Djokovic (SRB) 4 July 2011 24 223
Rafael Nadal (ESP) 18 August 2008 22 141
Roger Federer (SUI) 2 February 2004 22 302
Andy Roddick (USA) 3 November 2003 21 13
Juan Carlos Ferrero (ESP) 8 September 2003 23 8
Lleyton Hewitt (AUS) 19 November 2001 20 80
Gustavo Kuerten (BRA) 4 December 2000 24 43
Marat Safin (RUS) 20 November 2000 20 9
Patrick Rafter (AUS) 26 July 1999 26 1
Yevgeny Kafelnikov (RUS) 3 May 1999 25 6
Carlos Moya (ESP) 15 March 1999 22 2
Marcelo Rios (CHI) 30 March 1998 22 6
Thomas Muster (AUT) 12 February 1996 28 6
Andre Agassi (USA) 10 April 1995 24 101
Pete Sampras (USA) 12 April 1993 21 286
Jim Courier (USA) 10 February 1992 21 58
Boris Becker (GER) 28 January 1991 23 12
Stefan Edberg (SWE) 13 August 1990 24 72
Mats Wilander (SWE) 12 September 1988 24 20
Ivan Lendl (CZE) 28 February 1983 22 270
John McEnroe (USA) 3 March 1980 21 170
Bjorn Borg (SWE) 23 August 1977 21 109
Jimmy Connors (USA) 29 July 1974 21 268
John Newcombe (AUS) 3 June 1974 30 8
Ilie Nastase (ROM) 23 August 1973 27 40