Andy Murray defeated Jo-Wilfried Tsonga 6-4, 7-6 (10/8) in the semi-finals of the ATP Montreal Masters to rise to second in the world for the first time in his career.
The Scot will replace Rafael Nadal in the slot behind Roger Federer when the new ATP rankings are released.
"It's great, in terms of rankings it's the biggest step that I've made so far," said the 22-year-old, who will be bidding for a fifth title of the season when he plays the winner of the second semi-final between Argentina's Juan Martin Del Potro or Wimbledon finalist Andy Roddick.
"I played consistently well this year, so bar winning a Slam, I've done enough to justify being number two and getting closer to hopefully one day becoming number one - it's one of my goals.
"I've put in a lot of hard work to get to this stage, and I keep working hard to go one step farther."
Murray had needed to go farther than Nadal this week in Canada, and his trip to the final insured his promotion after Nadal lost in the quarter-finals on Friday to Del Potro.
{{/usCountry}}Murray had needed to go farther than Nadal this week in Canada, and his trip to the final insured his promotion after Nadal lost in the quarter-finals on Friday to Del Potro.
{{/usCountry}}The change makes Murray the first player other than Nadal or Federer to rank number two since July 18, 2005, when Australia's Lleyton Hewitt stood second behind Federer.