• Rogers Cup

Murray targets Federer's No. 3 spot

Andy Murray still believes Roger Federer is a major threat during the US hard court season © Getty Images

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Andy Murray is targeting Roger Federer's world No. 3 spot as he begins the US hard court season this week, although he flatly rejects suggestions that the Swiss master is on his way out of the sport.

Murray enters this week's Rogers Cup as the reigning champion, and he will begin his defence in the second round against Germany's Michael Berrer or the in-form Xavier Malisse. That represents just the start of a nightmare draw for Murray, who is likely to have to beat Robin Soderling, Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer to retain his crown.

Anything less than victory would see the Scot lose out on rankings points, but Murray is only looking up in the tennis world standings. Despite not winning a trophy all season, he sees Federer as a reachable target, although there would be no surprises if the 16-time Grand Slam winner returned to his sublime best for a season that has previously seen him win five US Opens.

"I'm going to try to overtake him, but I wouldn't say he is vulnerable," Murray said in the Daily Mail. "He had three or four years where his consistency was incredible. The number of matches he was winning, it's almost impossible to keep that up.

"But when it comes to the big tournaments, he's still up there with the best guys in the world. It's not always about the rankings. When it gets to the big events, whether he's three or 10 in the world, he'd still feel very comfortable.

"But I want to improve my ranking and the only way to do it is to win tournaments so that's what I'll be focusing on."

ATP Tour Rankings
1. Rafael Nadal (ESP), 2. Novak Djokovic (SRB), 3. Roger Federer (SUI), 4. Andy Murray (GBR) 5. Robin Soderling (SWE), 6.Nikolay Davydenko (RUS), 7. Tomas Berdych (CZE), 8. Juan Martin Del Potro (ARG), 9. Fernando Verdasco (ESP), 10> Jo-Wilfried Tsonga (Fra)

WTA Tour Rankings
1. Serena Williams (USA), 2. Jelena Jankovic (SRB), 3. Caroline Wozniacki (DEN), 4. Venus Williams (USA), 5. Sam Stosur (AUS), 6. Elena Dementieva (RUS), 7. Kim Clijsters (BEL), 8. Francesca Schiavone (ITA), 9. Agnieszka Radwanska (POL), 10. Vera Zvonareva (RUS)

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