By Bill Scott Aug 15, 2009, 21:33 GMT
Montreal - Rafael Nadal lost his number two ranking to Andy Murray Saturday as the Scot beat France's Jo-Wilfried Tsonga 6-4, 7-6 (10-8) for a finals place at the Montreal Masters.
Murray's victory means the 23-year-old will stand second in Monday's ATP ranking list behind Roger Federer for the best showing of his career.
'This is very special for me,' said Murray, who Sunday plays for the title against either Andy Roddick or Juan Del Potro. 'Roger and Rafa have been one and two for the past five years.
'I played well and I'll try to justify this new ranking, but it will be very difficult.'
Nadal, beaten in the Montreal quarter-finals Friday by Argentine Juan Del Potro, took over number one from Federer last August before the Beijing Olympics but lost it after being beaten in the French Open fourth round by Robin Soderling.
It marks the first time in four years that someone other than Federer or Nadal has entered the top two on the ranking list.
Australian Lleyton Hewitt moved to second behind Federer in July 2005 for a brief period.
Murray holds the highest ranking ever for a British player.
The Scot won the first set, firing a forehand winner on his second set point to take the opener.
The second set went strictly on serve as Tsonga's big hitting determined the pace of play.
The Frenchman took it into a tiebreaker, with Murray forced to recover from 4-2 down before saving two Tsonga set points.
The Frenchman saved a match point with a low lob, which Murray's racket touched, putting it out of play.
The Scot third seed notched his third ace to set up another match point and leaped for joy at his achievement seconds later as the Frenchman returned long after just under two hours.
'Jo brings so much energy to the court and he really hits huge,' said Murray, bidding for his fifth title of the season. 'I tried to stay with him and play solid, which I was able to do.'
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