Andy Murray claims reaching number one in the world this week would be an unexpected bonus after he moved to within one match of displacing Novak Djokovic. Incumbent Djokovic lost to Marin Cilic at the Paris Masters on Friday to surrender control of his ranking destiny.
Murray promptly defeated Tomas Berdych in the French capital and can depose the Serbian by reaching the final of the ATP Masters event. However, the Brit claimed moving to the summit of the individual standings is not his short-term priority.
"My goal isn't to get to number one this year," he told Sky Sports. "I was looking at the beginning of next year as a chance to do it. If it happens this week, great. I'm happy with the way I'm playing just now, it's been a great few months for me. I'll try and finish this week as best I can."
Murray, though, did acknowledge the implications of Djokovic's defeat added to the tension before his quarter-final. "Yeah, maybe a little bit before the match there's a few more nerves," he said.
"But once I got out there, no, it didn't change much. It was a really good atmosphere, a packed crowd. Once I actually got on the court and started playing it didn't really bother me. Before the match there was a few more nerves but once I got out there it didn't really bother me."
As for how the three-time grand slam champion and Davis Cup winner would handle the prospect of achieving a long-awaited career first, he said: "I don't know, because I've never been in that position before.
"It's a new experience for me. I don't know how I'll deal with it. Normally, when you play big matches, when you get out on the court you feel fine. It's just the half hour, 45 minutes before can be tough sometimes."
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