Swiss ace Roger Federer has dropped out of the top three places in the world tennis rankings for the first time since before he won the first of his 16 Grand Slam titles at Wimbledon in 2003.
Federer falls to fourth due to Andy Murray's win in the Shanghai Masters, his third straight ATP title triumph in Asia during the last month.
Murray has few points to defend before the end of the season and with Federer sidelined with an injury, the Scot is well-placed to end the season as world number three for the first time.
Serbia's Novak Djokovic, who has won the Australian and US Opens as well as Wimbledon this year remains comfortably at the top of the rankings despite taking time off to rest a back injury.
Spain's French Open champion Rafael Nadal remains in the number two spot.
