Post by rooobarbcustard on Aug 21, 2006 8:41:46 GMT -1
Britain's Andy Murray has broken into the top 20 in the world rankings for the first time in his career.
The 19-year-old Murray, who defeated world number one Roger Federer at the Cincinnati Masters last week, has jumped two places to 19th.
Murray, who was beaten by eventual winner Andy Roddick in the quarter-finals, reached the last four of the Toronto Masters last Saturday.
Roddick's first title of the year lifts him back into the top 10.
The American beat Spain's Juan Carlos Ferrero in straight sets in the final in Ohio on Sunday.
British number two Tim Henman has fallen three places to 62nd while British number three Greg Rusedski has dropped 11 places to 138th.
Beating the number one player in the world is always very special in any sport - it was certainly no fluke
Tim Henman
Rusedski is now only four places above compatriot Alex Bogadanovic.
Henman, who was beaten by Murray for the second time in the space of a week in Cincinnati, believes the Scot's rise up the rankings is far from over.
"I can tell you that he's very talented and he's getting better all the time," said Henman, 31.
"One of the difficult things about playing him is that he's comfortable playing from the baseline but he also likes a target at the net.
"There's no doubt that Roger played poorly against him last week; he was tired after winning in Toronto and was struggling making the adjustment to the very different conditions in Cincinnati.
"But you still have to be able to make the most of the situation and mentally be ready to beat him - something that only Rafael Nadal had been able to do so far this year before Andy.
"So it was still a very special result and Andy deserves a lot of credit for that.
"Beating the number one player in the world is always very special in any sport and perhaps in tennis even more so given Roger's dominance, so it was certainly no fluke.
"Obviously, he's still not anywhere near as good as Roger but he's improving all the time and it will be interesting to see how long he can keep the improvement going."
The 19-year-old Murray, who defeated world number one Roger Federer at the Cincinnati Masters last week, has jumped two places to 19th.
Murray, who was beaten by eventual winner Andy Roddick in the quarter-finals, reached the last four of the Toronto Masters last Saturday.
Roddick's first title of the year lifts him back into the top 10.
The American beat Spain's Juan Carlos Ferrero in straight sets in the final in Ohio on Sunday.
British number two Tim Henman has fallen three places to 62nd while British number three Greg Rusedski has dropped 11 places to 138th.
Beating the number one player in the world is always very special in any sport - it was certainly no fluke
Tim Henman
Rusedski is now only four places above compatriot Alex Bogadanovic.
Henman, who was beaten by Murray for the second time in the space of a week in Cincinnati, believes the Scot's rise up the rankings is far from over.
"I can tell you that he's very talented and he's getting better all the time," said Henman, 31.
"One of the difficult things about playing him is that he's comfortable playing from the baseline but he also likes a target at the net.
"There's no doubt that Roger played poorly against him last week; he was tired after winning in Toronto and was struggling making the adjustment to the very different conditions in Cincinnati.
"But you still have to be able to make the most of the situation and mentally be ready to beat him - something that only Rafael Nadal had been able to do so far this year before Andy.
"So it was still a very special result and Andy deserves a lot of credit for that.
"Beating the number one player in the world is always very special in any sport and perhaps in tennis even more so given Roger's dominance, so it was certainly no fluke.
"Obviously, he's still not anywhere near as good as Roger but he's improving all the time and it will be interesting to see how long he can keep the improvement going."