Andy Murray can be World Number One

By Geoff Nichols | May 22, 2015

Andy Murray can be World Number One

With debates surrounding whether Andy Murray is a member of the Big Four surely put to bed, the British number one ought to be looking forward rather than over his shoulder for the first time in a while. Currently safely placed at world number 3, he has all the makings to be the world’s best player in the coming months and years.

Although he has maintained that topping the rankings is not an obsession, unlike breaking his Grand Slam duck and then winning Wimbledon, he must at least harbour ambitions of making a serious tilt at the number one spot in the future.

Such is the dominance of Novak Djokovic that the rankings have received less publicity than usual. The Serb has such a stranglehold over the top spot that he could only play half the year and still be there or there about. His current lead over Murray is over 6,000 points, which can be put firmly into context by the fact that Murray’s current total is 7,040 points.

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Even in the Race standings, which only measure points gained this year, Djokovic has drawn out a significant lead over the rest of the field. The heartening aspect for Murray, however, is he is the closest challenger and quite a way ahead in second.

The 2,500 point difference between the two that has developed in the Race could be turned on it’s head if Murray were to have scored some big wins over Djokovic at the big events this year. The Briton was in control of the Australian Open final, which had he gone on to win would have caused a 1,600 point swing in his favour.

Add in their meetings in the semi finals of Indian Wells and the final of Miami, the latter where Murray again had chances, and you begin to see how important their rivalry is. This will especially be the case when Murray takes over Federer into second spot in the rankings, meaning Murray and Djokovic will only meet in the finals of events.

Murray’s rivalry with Djokovic is set to extend off the court and into the numbers. If he can figure out a way to be the Serb more often than not, he has a great shot at the number one ranking. Often his clay court season would be the blip on his year in terms of points, but his recent form on the surface renders that irrelevant.

At 28 years of age Murray has all the skills required to be world number one. It may be the Djokovic era and if the current world number one continues to set such a high standard, the rest of the tour might well be forced into simply saying he was too good. Murray loves a challenge, however, and come the end of the year I think he will be eyeing the number one spot in 2016.

Next: What can Rafael Nadal achieve on the clay?

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