Elated Murray breaks into top 50

BRITISH PLACINGS 40 Tim Henman 43 Greg Rusedski 47 Andy Murray

Andy Murray's maiden ATP Tour title has propelled him into the world's top 50 for the first time in his career.

The 18-year-old's victory over Lleyton Hewitt in the San Jose final lifted him 13 places to 47th and put him within sight of the British number one spot.

Tim Henman, currently the best-ranked Briton, lies in 40th place, three ahead of closest rival Greg Rusedski.

Murray could overtake Henman and Rusedski at this week's RMK Championships in Memphis.

He will move past Henman by matching his older compatriot's performance in Rotterdam.

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However, he would have to out-perform Rusedski, who is also in the Netherlands, to be sure of the number one spot.

Murray said consecutive victories over world number three Andy Roddick and Hewitt had given him added confidence.

"It's the biggest moment of my life in tennis so far," said Murray.

Murray jumped into the crowd to celebrate with girlfriend Kim Sears

"Anybody who wins his first ATP tournament and beats guys as good as Roddick and Hewitt is going to have much more confidence.

"I'm really looking forward to the next few weeks. I know now I have a good chance of winning against the elite players."

Murray is the youngest British player in the Open era to capture an ATP title and the fifth teenager to lift the San Jose trophy, joining John McEnroe, Stefan Edberg, Michael Chang and Andre Agassi.

Of those four, only Agassi failed to go on and claim his first Grand Slam title within 12 months.

Bookmakers William Hill have shortened Murray's odds of winning Wimbledon from 25-1 to 16-1 and make him a 10-1 shot to win one of this year's remaining Grand Slam tournaments.

MAIDEN ATP TITLES Lleyton Hewitt - 16yrs 10mths Bjorn Borg - 17 yrs 11mths Rafael Nadal - 18yrs 3mths Andy Roddick - 18yrs 8mths Andy Murray - 18yrs 9mths Roger Federer - 19yrs 6mths Pete Sampras - 19yrs 6mths Greg Rusedski - 19yrs 10mths Tim Henman - 22yrs 4mths

They have also installed Murray as 8-1 to win BBC Sports Personality of Year, in from 40-1 on Friday.

Murray's mother Judy, who missed the San Jose final as she was in Sheffield with her older son Jamie, said Andy had a better chance of progress at the US Open than at Wimbledon.

"There'll be massive expectation at Wimbledon, but you would have to say that Andy plays better on hard courts, so probably his best chance of doing well in a Grand Slam is likely to be the US Open," she told BBC Radio Five Live.

"But he did pretty well last year on grass, so as long as everybody doesn't expect him to win Wimbledon this year, then maybe he's got a shot in the next few years."

Shortly after Murray's first title win, 47-year-old John McEnroe picked up the 78th doubles trophy of his career alongside Jonas Bjorkman.

The American legend said Murray deserved the hype surrounding him.

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"A lot of the time there is hype and people talking about players when deep down they know it's not going to happen but Murray really is capable of being a great player," he said.

"He has a way of keeping you off balance and a real feel for the game. He plays hard, shows a lot of emotion and is a breath of fresh air. Just the type of player tennis needs."

As in his victory against Roddick in the semi-finals, Murray's return proved crucial to his recovery from a set down to beat former world number one Hewitt.

The beaten Australian, who was 16 when he won his first ATP title, said Murray stood out from other young talents.

"I guess there haven't been too many 18-year-olds in the last five years or so with that kind of skill," he said.

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"He hits the ball extremely well, he mixes it up extremely well. He can dictate when he wants to, but he is also very good on the defence.

"Murray's going to continue to get better and better in the next few years and people will see a lot more of him."