Murray spoke ahead of Queen’s (Picture: Getty)

Andy Murray insists he’s been the best player in the world over the last 12 months, despite John McEnroe describing him as a ‘distant fourth’ in comparison to Roger Federer, Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal.

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The world No. 1 climbed to the top of the rankings in the backend of 2016 after a splendid run of form saw him overtake Djokovic at the summit.

But despite that incredible surge in form, McEnroe still suggested he was behind the other major stars of the game, saying: ‘He’s always been top four, but it’s been a distant fourth. In a way, he’s still a distant fourth.’



While Murray wouldn’t disagree with the assessment throughout his career, he hit back at the idea that he’s still behind them now.


McEnroe still rates Murray behind the rest of the ‘Big Four’ (Picture: Getty)

‘I think for pretty much all of my career, yeah, I think that would have been the case,’ he said ahead of Queen’s.

‘I’ve always been behind them in the rankings. If you look at the titles and everything those guys have won, I mean, I can’t compare myself to them.

‘There’s maybe one or two things that I have done that they won’t have but for the most part I would have been fourth. That’s if you look at a whole career.

Nadal and Federer are chasing Murray in the rankings (Picture: Getty)

‘But it’s not true of the last year because I’m ranked No. 1 in the world. I’ve been better than them for the last 12 months, that’s how the ranking systems work. It took me a long time to get there.

‘It’s not true of the last year but in terms of the career as a whole, then I would, if I could swap careers with those guys I obviously would because they’ve won a lot more than me.’

The Scot has plenty of work to do to maintain his status as the world’s best player, which will start with the defence of his titles at Queen’s and Wimbledon.

Murray enjoyed a good run at the French Open (Picture: AFP/Getty)

Murray had previously endured a tough start to the season but an encouraging run to the semi-finals of the French Open has seen him be cast as one of the top-two favourites for the title at Wimbledon.

But despite his solid performances at Roland Garros, Murray revealed what he’s looking to improve on as he heads into the grass-court season.

‘My serving could have improved,’ he added. ‘That is something that in the last few months has not been so good.

‘It was better in Paris but again, if you want to win the best competitions you cannot get away with things not being at a great level.

‘At the Slams and the major tournaments, you have to be doing everything well. That is something I struggled a little bit during the clay.

‘So I worked a little bit on that. Obviously, the grass helps being a little bit quicker – you get a lot more free points.

‘I felt I could have moved a bit better in Paris but again it is a completely different surface. It is a completely different way of moving and playing the points, so I have worked a bit on that as well.’



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