Murray can continue his climb up the world rankings

AFTER his best tournament victory to date, Andy Murray is up to a career-high No6 in the ATP world rankings. The question now is whether he can continue his climb and challenge the quintet above him, or whether players he has recently overtaken such as Andy Roddick and James Blake will be able to fight back.

The Scot's victory over Novak Djokovic in the final of the Cincinnati Masters on Sunday certainly suggested he can carry on up the charts. Djokovic, the world No3, had just enjoyed one of his best wins in months when he beat world No 2 Rafael Nadal in the semi-finals, but he could not prevent Murray winning in straight sets.

The Serbian player is a week younger than his Scottish friend and rival, but has consistently been several steps ahead of him over the last two or three years. Now, after a period in which he was beginning to close in on Nadal and Roger Federer, Djokovic is in danger of steadily being caught by the pack.

Murray and his advisers have always insisted he was maturing physically somewhat later than many other young professionals on the tour. At 21, he is now better prepared to challenge Djokovic for the title of best of the rest behind the top two.

Nikolay Davydenko and David Ferrer are placed fourth and fifth respectively, but Murray is already ahead of the latter in the ATP Race, which is based on results this calendar year as opposed to the rankings, which take the last 12 months into account. He is also just a handful of points behind Davydenko, so on current form it will be only a matter of time before he is ahead of them both in the rankings.

Of course, it would not do to become too concerned with ranking points. Anyone, for instance, would surely rather be sixth in the world having just won a tournament than fourth having lost in the second round (as Davydenko did to Carlos Moya after getting a bye in the first round).

There is a tangible advantage to breaking into the top eight, as Murray has now done, as it means you cannot meet the likes of Federer and Nadal until the quarter-finals. Having said that, it should be remembered that Murray was outside the top eight when the Wimbledon seedings were decided, yet he still beat the higher-seeded Richard Gasquet to get through to the quarter-finals.

The way in which the rankings work mean it will be some time before he is close to Djokovic, and at present Nadal and Federer are out of sight over the horizon. But it is by no means certain that Federer will hang around on the circuit for years to come.

The five-times Wimbledon champion should soon be overtaken by Nadal, and lose the No1 slot for the first time. Having already been dethroned by the Spaniard at the All England Club last month, Federer is at a crossroads in his career.

As he turns 27 on Friday, will he be thinking of a new life away from the grind of the tour?

Almost five years younger, Nadal now looks hungrier and more confident than Federer. In the past, too many players were beaten before they took to the court against the world No1. Now, more and more of them fancy their chances of rattling the once-serene Swiss champion.

Provided he retains an appetite for the game, Federer will remain superior to everyone else bar Nadal when it comes to consistency, but that does not mean that lower-ranked opponents cannot catch him on an off-day. Murray, for example, already has a winning record against him, having won two of three meetings.

And the same goes when it comes to grand slam titles. Tennis players are fitter than ever before, and thus more able to play a greater number of tournaments. There are many, however, who would happily swap years of high rankings, and dozens of minor titles, for one major win.

For some, that major always remains elusive, despite the fact that they are more talented than some peers who have a grand slam title to their name. Of course tennis is not the only sport in which such a situation obtains.

Take golf. Colin Montgomerie proved his consistency and world-class status by finishing top of the order of merit eight times, yet he has never won a major. On the other hand, Ben Curtis and Todd Hamilton have won the Open while not coming close to completing an ascent of the world rankings.

In tennis, while the greats of the game can have multiple grand slam victories, there is still room for the odd relative outsider who peaks at the right time. Pat Cash, for example, only won one major, Wimbledon in 1987, as did Richard Krajicek, who won the same tournament in 1996.

So Murray's assertion that he can win a grand slam is by no means an unrealistic claim. Given the right circumstances – which at present really means avoiding Nadal and hoping someone else knocks him out – he has the ability to do so.

Approaching the top of the rankings appears a far more daunting task, but it is no disgrace if there are one or two of your generation who are that bit more consistent and always keep you off the No1 spot.

ATP RANKINGS

1 Roger Federer (Switz) 6,680pts

2 Rafael Nadal (Spa) 6,455

3 Novak Djokovic (Serb) 5,390

4 Nikolay Davydenko (Rus) 2,795

5 David Ferrer (Spa) 2,775

6 Andy Murray (GB) 2,135

7 David Nalbandian (Arg) 1,980

8 James Blake (US) 1,955

9 Andy Roddick (US) 1,865

10 Stanislas Wawrinka (Switz) 1,610

11 Richard Gasquet (Fra) 1,525

12 Fernando Verdasco (Spa) 1,385

13 Simon Gilles (Fra) 1,350

14 Nicolas Almagro (Spa) 1,320

15 Fernando Gonzalez (Chile) 1,285