British tennis superstar, Andy Murray, is the new world number one following the withdrawal of Milos Raonic from their Paris Masters semi-final on Saturday because of injury.
The 29-year-old Murray will dislodge Novak Djokovic from the top of the rankings for the first time in his career.
The Scot’s climb to the ATP rankings’ summit caps a remarkable year which has seen him win a second Wimbledon crown and mount a successful defence of his Olympic title in Rio.
“It feels a little bit strange how it’s happened today and obviously unfortunate that Milos is injured,” Murray said.
“To get to this stage is about 12 months of tournaments. The last few months have been the best of my career and I’m very proud to get to this moment.”
Those 12 months have included a second Wimbledon title and a retention of his Olympic gold, part of seven tournament wins overall.
He will meet John Isner in Sunday’s final, an eighth of the season.
“I feel like getting to number one it wasn’t about this week, or about last week. It’s been many years of work to get here,” he added.
“The most satisfying thing is it’s been such a difficult thing to do in my career.
“In the beginning of my career, I always wanted to win a Grand Slam, but now that I’ve gotten older, getting to number one was something I have tried to do.
“I needed to improve my consistency and the last couple of seasons I have done that. I’m happy to have done that.”
Murray has won 42 career titles including three Grand Slams, two Olympic gold and the Davis Cup.
