Andy Murray's Wimbledon defeat means he is now in danger of losing his World No 1 ranking to Novak Djokovic

Murray is now in danger of losing his World No 1 ranking

Andy Murray could lose his World No 1 ranking after his five set defeat to Sam Querrey in the Wimbledon quarter-finals.

Murray was the top seed and defending champion at this year’s Championships, but struggled with injury in his epic battle with Querrey on Centre Court, eventually losing 6-3 4-6 7-6 1-6 1-6 to the American.

The fact that he did not reach the semi-final stage of the tournament means his World No 1 ranking is now vulnerable.

With the rankings working on a 12-month rolling system, Murray's Wimbledon title last year meant that he was defending the maximum 2,000 points, and needed to lift the trophy again simply to remain on his pre-tournament points total of 9,390.

Rafa Nadal was in with a chance of overhauling Murray at the top of the rankings, but his shock defeat to Gilles Muller means he cannot catch the Brit.

However, Novak Djokovic will overhaul Murray as the world’s best player if he wins Wimbledon for a fourth time this summer.

Murray struggled with injury during his five-set defeat (EPA)

Since ascending to top spot in November, Murray has been out in front as tennis' top man despite an indifferent start to this season.

He crashed out in the fourth round of the Australian Open, and was beaten in the semi-finals of the French Open by Stan Wawrinka.

He has won just one title this year, when he beat the Spaniard Fernando Verdasco in the final of the Dubai Tennis Championships, back in March.