Top seed Andy Murray is hoping to make the most of Novak Djokovic’s absence as he bids to close in on the world No.1 position at the Beijing Open in China.
The Wimbledon champion is currently ranked second in the world rankings, 4695 points behind Djokovic. Despite the gap between the two men, Murray has a golden chance of grabbing 500 extra points if he wins in Beijing as defending champion Djokovic loses points this week after his absence due to injury.
“I think obviously trying to reach number is a goal,” Murray told reporters on Sunday. “I think most of the players that are near the top of the game would like that.
“I’ve never been there. It’s something I would like to do for the first time, which is maybe more of a motivation for me than some of the guys that have been there before.
“But I want to just try and finish this year strong from a personal point of view. It’s been my best season to date, and I want to try to finish it as best as I can.”
Since the introduction of the ATP ranking system in 1979, a British player has never reached the top. Murray has already made progress in achieving the milestone this year with a trio of titles on the tour as well as an Olympic gold medal (which doesn’t award any points). The summer success comes as his rival struggle with injury setbacks. At the start of the year Murray was 7640 points behind the world No.1 position following a sensational 2015 from Djokovic.
Proceedings in Beijing will be far from simple for the Brit. In his projected path to the title, he could face Roberto Bautista Agut in the quarter-finals, Dominic Thiem or David Ferrer in the semis followed by a showdown with Rafael Nadal in the final.
Leading up to the Asian swing, Murray has been hampered by a thigh injury, which he picked up during the Davis Cup. The injury itself wasn’t a substantial factor, however, it has reduced the preparation time for the top seed, who arrived in China just two days before his first match.
“I needed to take quite a few days off after the Davis Cup to try and let my injury heal and to rest.” The world number two said.
“I needed a break anyway. I haven’t been able to practise as much as usual coming into an event like this. But I feel healthy. My leg feels good.
“I only arrived here today (Sunday). I’ll try and get some good practice in the next couple of days and hopefully have a good tournament.”
Beginning his campaign on Tuesday, Murray will play Italy’s Andreas Seppi in the first round. Since losing to the 32-year-old at the 2006 Nottingham Open, Murray has defeated Seppi seven consecutive times on the tour with his latest triumph occurring in the third round of the Wimbledon Championships last year.
