PARIS – 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 November 13 to 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. (Reuters)
