Murray sets his sights on toppling world No 1 Djokovic

The 25-year-old Scot climbed above Roger Federer on the ATP ladder thanks to a gruelling 2-6 6-4 7-6 (7/1) victory over David Ferrer in the final of the ATP Sony Open in Miami.

Murray (8,750 points) still trails some way behind six-time major winner Djokovic (12,370 points), but is optimistic he is on the right path to one day hit the summit.

When asked about his return to the world’s top two, Murray said: “For me, it doesn’t change a huge amount but the fact that I’m moving up the rankings is a good sign.

“I have been winning a lot of matches. My consistency has been better over the last few months. The rankings obviously reflect that, so I will try and keep working hard during the clay and, hopefully, I can go higher.”

Murray was far from his best for long periods on Sunday, losing the first set and seeing his own serve frequently broken by his Spanish opponent.

But the Briton clung on for over two hours and 45 minutes, staving off a match point late in the third set, to claim the Miami title for the second time in his career.

“It’s taking a little while to sink in because it’s tough to think really at the end of the match,” he said.

“It was so tough physically and mentally that you were just trying to play each point. I wasn’t thinking too much only because I was so tired and (did) not (have) too many nerves at the end of the match, either.

“I think it was an exciting match. I don’t think either of us played our best tennis. There was a lot of breaks and ups and downs, and quite a lot of mistakes from both of us.

“But what I did do was fight hard, showed good mental strength to get through that match, because it easily could have slipped away from me.”

He continued: “That sort of match a couple of years ago I probably would have lost... I was up a break three or four times in the third set and kept letting him back in through some loose shots.

“I tried to keep fighting, chased down every ball, made it as hard for him as possible.

“There was a lot riding on the match and I was glad to get through in the end.”

It is not an achievement he will have time to reflect on for long, though.

Instead, he will soon be back in training on clay ahead of the Monte Carlo Rolex Masters, which begins on April 13.

“My focus now is on Monte Carlo. I’ll take probably four days off and then start training here (in Miami) on clay,” he added.

“Monte Carlo is next and I’ll just keep trying to improve my clay game. I did a lot of things well this week but I need to serve better. I served poorly.

“If I’d served better I could have made it easier and that’s something I need to do better in the clay court season.”