Andy Murray defeats Jo-Wilfried Tsonga to win the Erste Bank Open in Vienna

Andy Murray has moved a significant step closer to becoming the world number one after defeating Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in straight sets (6-3 7-6 (8-6)) in the final of the Erste Bank Open in Vienna. The 29-year-old - who currently trails Novak Djokovic in the rankings - eased past his French opponent to claim the coveted crown.

Murray, 29, won the match in less than two hours after being given a pass into the final because of an injury to David Ferrer. The brief time off clearly benefited the Brit, who won a second set tie break to defeat Tsonga.

Victory in Vienna means Murray will leapfrog Djokovic at the top of the rankings if he wins the Paris Masters and the Serb fails to reach the finals. The Olympic gold medal-winning star - who has never previously topped the rankings - recently admitted it would represent a major achievement in his trophy-laden career.

"I'd rather set the bar as high as possible and not quite achieve it," he said, according to BT Sport. "It's better to try to finish number one in the world and finish at two.

"I'd love to get to number one obviously but I think a lot of people are forgetting what Novak's done because he lost in the third round here. The last 18 months he's been unbelievable, he's hardly lost any matches at all, so I know if I want to get there I'm going to have to try to win more matches against him."