Murray Wins Shanghai Title; Becomes World #3

Mark Ralston/AFP/Getty Images

Andy Murray continued his post-US Open 15-match winning streak by defeating David Ferrer 7-5 6-4 to defend his Shanghai Masters title and surge past Roger Federer to #3 in the ATP Tour rankings. Federer falls to #4, the lowest he has been in the rankings since he first won his first Grand Slam at Wimbledon in 2003.

Murray has won the last three tournament he has entered and now has 21 ATP Tour titles in his career including 8 Masters series titles, the most by any active player who has yet to win a Grand Slam, and more than several former players who did win a slam (Andy Roddick, Jim Courier, Marat Safin to name a few).

The other big news in Shanghai was Rafael Nadal's shocking loss in the 3rd round which cemented Novak Djokovic's hold on the World #1 spot through the end of the year despite the Serbian not having played a tour match since winning the 2011 US Open.