Murray to top rankings after Raonic withdraws

Reuters: After all the battles and hard graft chasing the world number one spot, Briton Andy Murray arrived there without hitting a ball on Saturday as Milos Raonic pulled out of their Paris Masters semi-final due to a leg injury.

The triple grand slam winner, who will take over from Serb Novak Djokovic at the top when the rankings are updated on Monday, still went out on centre court for a practice session in front of a bemused crowd.

“I never thought I’d be No. 1 in the world and never, never imagined that was something that was going to happen,” Murray told a news conference.

Fourth seeded Canadian Raonic explained his injury.

“Yesterday at I believe 4-2 in the first set I started feeling some pain in my leg,” he said, referring to his match against Frenchman Jo-Wilfried Tsonga.

“I didn’t think too much of it at that point. I had an MRI half an hour ago...they found that I have a grade one tear in the right quadriceps.”

Raonic is now doubtful for the season-ending ATP World Tour Finals to be held in London from Nov. 13-20.

“I still have the possibility of making it but I was told five to 10 days so I’m on the borderline,” he said.

Murray is the first Briton to get to number one and, at 29 years and 174 days, he will be the oldest player to reach the summit for the first time since Australian John Newcombe in 1974.

Djokovic, number one for 122 weeks since July 2014, was knocked out in the quarter-finals by ninth seed Marin Cilic on Friday.

Croat Cilic lost 6-4 6-3 to American John Isner in the semi-finals on Saturday.

Isner broke in the ninth game of the first set and served three aces in a row as he saved a break point in the second to down Cilic, who appeared to lack focus a day after eliminating Djokovic.

Isner became the player to serve the most aces this year - 1,133 - as he claimed his first victory over Cilic in seven matches.

Murray celebrates number one with maiden Paris Masters title

Reuters: Andy Murray celebrated his impending rise to the world number one ranking with a 6-3 6-7(4) 6-4 victory against John Isner to claim his maiden Paris Masters title and his eighth tournament win of the season on Sunday.

The Briton, who will take over from Novak Djokovic at the top of the ATP rankings on Monday, survived a barrage of aces against the towering American to win his 14th career Masters tournament.

The three-times grand slam champion gave little breathing space to Isner, who was hoping to clinch his first Masters title after two lost finals.

Murray will be the top seed at the season-ending ATP World Tour finals at the O2 Arena in London from Nov. 13-20.