Monday, 7 April, 2008

Andy Murray has dropped outside the world's top 20 for the first time since August 2006 after his second-round exit at the Sony Ericsson Open in Miami.

The British number one had a lot of ranking points to defend after reaching the semi-finals last year and a 6-2 2-6 7-6 defeat by Croatian Mario Ancic saw him drop nine places to 22nd.

Murray began the year well with his victory in Qatar lifting him back into the world's top 10 but a disappointing run of results means his ranking is at its lowest since he was down in 31st on August 7, 2006.

However, he remains in the top 10 in the ATP Race, which only reflects this year's performance.

Rafael Nadal closed the gap on world number one Roger Federer after reaching the final in Miami while Federer lost to Andy Roddick in the quarter-finals.

Australian Open champion Novak Djokovic held onto top spot in the Race despite a shock first-round defeat by Kevin Anderson.

Murray drops outside top 20
Nadal hails 'unbelievable' Davydenko
Williams claims another Miami title
Corretja to work with Murray
Federer crashes out
Lundgren quits as Davis Cup coach
Sharapova to miss Fed Cup semi