Andy Murray reflected on his road to No. 1, saying that the achievement means more because of the great players who have surrounded him during his career.
Having reached No. 2 seven years ago, he had long been pursuing the top spot and eventually found it handed to him when Milos Raonic withdrew from their semifinal match in the Paris Masters.
"I'm very proud to get to this moment," Murray said. "I would have liked to have done it on the court, but it’s been many years of hard work to get here."'
There was little fanfare when Murray heard about Raonic's withdrawal.
"I was in the locker room watching some videos of Milos’s match yesterday when he came into the room where we were. I kind of, like, quickly closed the iPad," he said. "Then he told us he had hurt his quad and he wasn’t going to be able to play."
Murray's climb has been particularly notable because of the huge gap between him and Djokovic just a few months ago. Following the Serbian's win against Murray in the final of the French Open, Djokovic was more than 8,000 points ahead of the Brit.
"I never expected to do what I had done after the French Open," Murray said.
Having played alongside the greatest players of his era, such as Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Djokovic, Murray doubted he would ever see himself up there.
"I think that's the most satisfying thing, because of how good the guys around me have been," Murray said. "Obviously they are three of the best players that have ever played the game and some of the years that they have had in that period have been ridiculous..."
Murray capitalized on his new ranking by defeating John Isner in the Paris Masters final, claiming the title for the first time.