Murray set to be seeded fifth in Australian Open

Andy Murray will find himself seeded fifth at the Australian Open for the second consecutive year after he was overtaken in the rankings by Robin Soderling yesterday.

The British number one reclaimed the number four spot with his run to the semi-finals of the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals in London in November, but Soderling’s victory at the Brisbane International on Sunday means they have swapped places again.

Murray has also been in good form, winning all three of his singles matches at the Hopman Cup last week, but the 23-year-old has paid the price for the team tournament not being a ranking event.

Murray was well aware of the potential implications of his decision to play in Perth, having been usurped by Juan Martin Del Potro in similar circumstances last year.

The drop means he could find Novak Djokovic, Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal all blocking his path to a first grand slam title when the draw is made on Friday.

Federer’s emphatic Qatar Open win has propelled him to joint favourite for the Australian Open alongside the ailing Nadal, an online bookmaker said yesterday.

The reigning Open champion’s odds have firmed to 2/1, according to sportsbet.com.au, while top-ranked Nadal’s lengthened slightly after he complained of illness.

Since the weekend, Federer’s odds had shortened from 9/4 to 2/1 while Nadal’s odds stretched from 9/5 to 2/1, said spokesman Haydn Lane.

On Saturday, Federer demolished Nikolay Davydenko for his second title in a row after clinching the ATP World Tour Finals against Nadal in December.