Tuesday 3 March 2015 19:04, UK
Andy Murray slipped to fifth in the ATP world rankings after he was leapfrogged by the in-form Kei Nishikori.
The British No 1 has suffered surprising defeats since reaching the Australian Open final as he was beaten by Gilles Simon in the quarter-finals in Rotterdam, while he was ousted by Borna Coric at the same stage in Dubai last week.
Nishikori moved ahead of Murray after recently winning his third successive Memphis Open, his eighth ATP Tour title, and only trails third-placed Rafael Nadal by 260 ranking points.
The 24-year-old, who is the top-ranked Asian-born man ever, tweeted: "Just saw the new rankings. Very proud of another step...#4 this week."
Djokovic holds a comfortable lead at the top of the rankings, but nearest rival Roger Federer sent out a warning to the Serb with a 6-3 7-5 win in Saturday’s Dubai Championship final.
Davis Cup duties will occupy Murray’s mind in the next few days as he is preparing for Great Britain’s upcoming tie against the United States in Glasgow from March 6-8.
1 N Djokovic (Ser) 13165
2 R Federer(Swit) 9205
3 R Nadal (Spa) 5675
4 K Nishikori (Jap) 5415
5 A Murray (GB) 5370
6 M Raonic (Can) 4980
7 S Wawrinka (Swi) 4595
8 D Ferrer(Spa) 4535
9 T Berdych(Cze) 4340
10 M Cilic (Cro) 3450
