AUSTRALIAN OPEN
Venue: Melbourne Park Date: 18-31 January
Coverage: Live on BBC Red Button (streamed on BBC website) and Radio 5 Live sports extra daily from 0830 GMT, text commentary daily from 0000 GMT on BBC Sport website  Murray has been as high as number two in the world rankings |
British number one Andy Murray has dropped out of the world's top four for the first time since August 2008. Murray was overtaken by Juan Martin del Potro and slips to fifth after opting to play in the Hopman Cup instead of defending his Qatar Open title. The 22-year-old will now be seeded fifth for next week's Australian Open. "Seedings don't make a difference. If you get to the quarter-finals, you have to beat the best players anyway," Murray told the Daily Record. "Maybe it's one more than normal but you bank on the top four seeds getting to the last eight.  | 606: DEBATE |
"There are always surprises and I need to make sure I get there myself first." Murray first broke into the world's top four after reaching the 2008 US Open final where he was beaten in straight sets by Roger Federer. Victory over Argentine Del Potro in the final of last year's Montreal Masters, following on from a rich vein of form after his defeat by Federer at Flushing Meadows, saw Murray climb as high as number two in the world last autumn. | CURRENT MEN'S RANKINGS 1. Roger Federer, Switzerland, 10,550 points 2. Rafael Nadal, Spain, 9,310 3. Novak Djokovic, Serbia, 8,310 4. Juan Martin del Potro, Argentina, 6,785 5. Andy Murray, Britain, 6,780 6. Nikolay Davydenko, Russia, 4,930 |
However, he was subsequently overtaken, first by Spaniard Rafael Nadal and then by Serbian Novak Djokovic, and now - as a result of losing the 250 points he earned from winning last year's Qatar event - by US Open champion Del Potro. Despite Murray and Laura Robson suffering a 2-1 defeat by Spain in the final of the Hopman Cup, the Scot won three of his four singles matches in Perth. He will complete his Australian Open preparation as a replacement for Roger Federer at the Kooyong Classic exhibition event on Thursday.
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