Murray could clinch No.1 before London

Andy Murray heads to Vienna next week with extra incentive.

The Brit, currently ranked second, could boost his chances of reaching No.1 for the first with victory at the ATP 500 indoor event in the Austrian capital.

He would need to do more, however.

Murray would then need to win the Paris Masters title the following week, and hope Novak Djokovic doesn’t reach the final.

If the Serb was to reach the final in Paris – even if Murray managed to win both the Vienna and Paris titles – Djokovic would head to the World Tour Finals with just a 15-point lead in the rankings.

That would set the stage for a thrilling conclusion to the season in London.

Murray actually doesn’t have to perform faultlessly in both Vienna and Paris to overtake Djokovic for No.1.

He could bomb in the first round in Vienna and still pass Djokovic with a win in Paris, if the Serb was to lose before the third round in Paris. Or, if he was to win in Vienna, he would only have to make the final in Paris – provided Djokovic lost in Bercy before the semifinals.

Djokovic has not entered the draw in Vienna; he is expected to rejoin the tour in Paris.

Djokovic has held the top ranking ever since winning Wimbledon in 2014, a streak of 120 weeks.