Andy Murray has lost his world No 2 ranking after Rafael Nadal’s victory in the Cincinnati Masters.
The Scot is now set to be named third seed for the final major of the year, the US Open, which gets under way at Flushing Meadow on Monday.
Murray has reached the final of the last four Grand Slams he has played, winning at the US Open and Wimbledon, but slips to three in the latest rankings.
Meanwhile, Roger Federer has dropped from fifth to seventh his lowest ranking in 11 years. The 17-time Grand Slam champion was defeated in the quarter-finals at Cincinnati by old foe Nadal.
That meant Tomas Berdych of the Czech Republic and Argentina’s Juan Martin del Potro, both of whom reached the last four in Cincinnati, moved above Federer.
It has been a forgettable year for the former world No 1, who is enduring his worst season since before he won his first Grand Slam at Wimbledon a decade ago.
Indeed, his shock loss to the lightly-regarded Sergiy Stakhovsky at SW19 this year led many to believe Federer’s days as a elite-level player were coming to an end.
He has struggled with injury and poor form since then, but his performance in a three-set defeat against Nadal may give the Swiss reason for optimism ahead of the US Open.
Nadal heads to New York as world No 2 after his ninth victory of the year.