Murray drops out of world’s top 10

 

Originally published on 10/09/14

The Croatian’s maiden Grand Slam title at Flushing Meadows catapulted him back into the Top 10 and to a career-high ranking of No.5, while Kei Nishikori’s run to the final saw him climb four places to No.6.

Now ranked No.11, Murray, who lost to Novak Djokovic in the quarter-finals in New York, also faces a battle to qualify for the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals in London at the end of the season.

The British No.1 is scheduled to play three more tournaments before the end of the season, including two Masters 1000 events in Shanghai and Paris, and he is not tempted to add more events in a bid to qualify for the end-of season event.

“To be honest, it was not a massive goal of mine,” Murray said. “I mean, it’s obviously nice to qualify for it as it’s a good tournament. I played a number of years and enjoyed it, but I don’t want to overplay.

“I’ll play the right schedule. I’ll likely play probably a tournament before Shanghai, but I’m not sure exactly which one yet. I won’t expect to overplay just to try to qualify.”

Murray, whose best performance at a major in 2014 was a semi-final appearance at Roland Garros, has not won a title since his 2013 Wimbledon victory. The Scot underwent back surgery in September last year and has struggled to rediscover his peak form.  

"I don't feel like I'm that far away from playing my best tennis,” Murray said after his fourth-round win against Jo-Wilfried Tsonga at the US Open – his first win against a top 10 player this season, while he was determined to build on his quarter-final defeat to Djokovic: “I feel disappointed,” he said. “But I think there was some good tennis… Hopefully I can build on that.”

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