Murray rises to third after Asian hat-trick sweep

By Bill Scott Oct 16, 2011, 12:29 GMT

Shanghai - Andy Murray has lifted his tennis to a new level with his third title in as many weeks and a place in the ranking top three after winning the Shanghai Rolex Masters on Sunday.

Murray's 7-5, 6-4 defeat of Spain's scrambling David Ferrer will yield him the world number three spot on Monday, displacing Roger Federer down to fourth - a place the Swiss has not been since winning his first Wimbledon title in 2003.

'I feel like I'm still improving,' said Murray, who has won trophies in Bangkok, Tokyo and Shanghai in as many weeks during a torrid October stampede. 'These last three weeks were a good step for me.

'That's all you can do is just keep improving. It's tough to improve by 50 percent at this stage of my career. But if I keep improving just a little bit, my ranking's going the right direction, I'm winning tournaments, giving myself opportunities at the majors, then I'll win.'

The victory in one and three-quarter hours was the second straight at the Qi Zhong arena for the 24-year-old who had vowed last month after a US Open semi-final exit to Rafael Nadal to work to try to lift his ranking to third or even higher.

'This has been one of the best runs of my life,' said Murray, now with 21 career titles from 30 finals. 'I've played very well over the last few weeks. I really wanted to win today and defend this title.'

Murray won his fifth title of 2011, improving to 8-1 overall in Masters 1000 finals. Eight days ago in Tokyo, Murray beat Ferrer in a semi-final on his way to that title during his torrid October sweep.

Ferrer now stands 0-3 in career Masters finals and 11-14 overall in all finals.

'I tried my best' said Ferrer. 'I fought a lot but it was impossible to beat Andy today. I've had my best career moments here in Shanghai,' said the 2007 Shanghai finalist at the Masters Cup. 'Shanghai is almost like my second home.'

Murray claimed victory with a clinched fist as he drove a forehand winner deep into the corner to lift his record against Ferrer to 5-3 with all victories coming on hardcourt.