Novak Djokovic says Andy Murray’s quest for his world No1 status has “rejuvenated” him after a dip in form.
Since winning the French Open in May, Djokovic has struggled to maintain his high standards, bowing out early at Wimbledon and the Olympics, two of Murray’s seven tournament wins in 2016.
The Briton closed the gap in the race to be No1 by winning the Erste Bank Open in Vienna yesterday and will top the rankings for the first time if he wins this week’s Paris Masters and Djokovic fails to reach the final.
“It makes me want to go on court and fight for every point because there is something to win at the end,” said the Serb over the battle to be No1, adding the scrap had made him feel “rejuvenated and regenerated”.
“Andy is playing maybe the best tennis he’s ever played. He definitely deserves to be in the position to finish up the year as No1. But it doesn’t depend only on him, it depends on me as well.”
Murray, meanwhile, downplayed his chances of overtaking Djokovic in the French capital this week.
The Scot said: “I get a step closer with every win but it’s still a long way from here. From two to one seems a small jump in a way but it’s the hardest one to make.”
