It has taken a phenomenal run over the last seven months for Andy Murray to put himself within striking distance of the world No 1 ranking, but the Scot sees his journey on an even longer scale. Murray, who at the end of this week’s Paris Masters can overtake Novak Djokovic to become the first Briton to head the official world singles rankings, believes he is only now making up for the time he lost after undergoing back surgery three years ago.

When Murray won Wimbledon for the first time in 2013 he had won two Grand Slam titles and Olympic gold in the space of 10 months, but in September of that year he had a back operation. He was off the court for three months and then took time to rediscover his form.

“It set me back a lot and at the same time Novak improved,” Murray told Canal Plus after arriving here fresh from his third consecutive tournament victory in Vienna on Sunday. “In that time Novak has had some of the best years in tennis history and obviously Roger [Federer] and Rafa [Nadal] were still playing very well.

“I wasn’t able to get back quick enough to the level that I wanted to be. It’s taken me quite a long time, but winning Wimbledon this year again was a big boost for me. To win one of the major competitions after a long time was important for me. I now feel like I’m back to where I was three years ago, before I had my surgery. It took me a really long time and a lot of hard work. I went through quite a lot of ups and downs and I’ve finally managed to get back there.”

In the shorter term it has taken a stunning turnaround in the fortunes of both men to put Murray in with a chance of overhauling Djokovic. When the Serb beat the Scot in the French Open final in June he was 8,035 points clear at the top of the world rankings, but since then Djokovic has stumbled through injuries and off-the-court problems while Murray has been on the most consistently successful run of his life.

Murray beat Tsonga to win the Vienna Open (Getty)

Murray, who meets Fernando Verdasco in his opening match here on Wednesday, has reached the final in 10 of his last 11 tournaments, winning six of them, and has trimmed Djokovic’s lead to the point where he will replace him as world No 1 if he wins the title here and Djokovic fails to reach the final. Murray will also go to No 1 if he reaches the final and Djokovic fails to make the semi-finals.

The recent form of the two men is demonstrated in the number of matches they have played. Murray, who has recorded more victories this year (69) than any other player on the men’s tour, has played 44 matches in nine competitions (including Britain’s Davis Cup semi-final) since the first week of June, while Djokovic has contested only five tournaments and played just 19 matches.

“I’ve been very motivated to try to make this my best ever year,” Murray said. “That’s made a difference in the last few weeks, because sometimes at the end of the season when I haven’t had so much to play for I haven’t been as motivated as I am now.”

Murray came through his semi-final against Simon in straight sets (Getty)

Djokovic himself could yet secure the year-end world ranking this week – even before the season-ending Barclays ATP World Tour Finals start in London in 13 days’ time – by winning the title here if Murray fails to make the semi-finals, but in the long run a change at the top seems likely. The rankings are based on a rolling total of points earned over the last 12 months and Djokovic will be defending maximum points in six of his next seven tournaments through to the Miami Masters in March. Murray has significantly fewer points to defend over that period.

Murray, who has spent a total of 76 weeks at No 2 in the world rankings, insisted that getting to No 1 was not an obsession. “It’s something I would like to do and I’m trying to work towards that,” he said. “I think I’ve seen with the consistency I’ve had over the last five or six months that I have a chance to get there, but I need to [keep going] for three or four more months.”

He added: “My goal wasn’t to finish No 1 at the end of this year. I wanted to finish this year as strongly as possible. I think there is a lot stronger chance of doing it in the early part of next year, which is what I targeted rather than this week.”

Djokovic needs to make the final to keep his no 1 spot (Getty)

Djokovic meanwhile feels “rejuvenated” to be back in the city where he completed his Grand Slam collection earlier this year but admitted that he had felt exhausted and less motivated in the wake of his triumph at the French Open, where he became the first man to hold all four Grand Slam titles at the same time since Rod Laver in 1968.

“I don’t think people appreciate how difficult that is to do,” Murray said of Djokovic’s achievement. “I’m sure he was extremely motivated to try and do that. I think it was quite normal when you’ve been on such a high to have a bit of a low after that, but I’m sure he’ll have his motivation back and will be hungry to finish the season well.”

Murray’s run since May

Madrid Masters: runner-up (lost to Djokovic)

Rome Masters: champion (beat Djokovic in final)

French Open: runner-up (lost to Djokovic)

Aegon Championships: champion (beat Raonic in final)

Wimbledon: champion (beat Raonic in final)

Olympic Games: champion (beat Del Potro in final)

Cincinnati Masters: runner-up (lost to Cilic)

US Open: quarter-finals (lost to Nishikori)

China Open: champion (beat Dimitrov in final)

Shanghai Masters: champion (beat Bautista Agut in final)