Novak Djokovic was dumped out of the Paris Masters in straight sets by Marin Cilic yesterday, opening the door for Andy Murray to end the Serb’s two-year stranglehold on the world number one ranking.

Djokovic, chasing a fifth title in Paris, slumped to his first defeat by big-serving Cilic in 15 matches as he went down 6-4 7-6(2).

The defeat means Murray, who ousted Tomas Berdych 7-6(9) 7-5, needs only to win his semi-final against Frenchman Jo-Wilfried Tsonga or Canadian Milos Raonic to bring to an end the Serb’s reign as no.1 that stretches back to July 2014.

“He definitely played better today and deserved to win. I wasn’t at the level I could have been,” said Djokovic.

“I was in a good position to take the match into the third set but hit two double faults. In important moments I wasn’t able to deliver.”

Asked about Murray replacing him as number one, Djokovic said: “He’s definitely a player who deserves that. To see how he has raised his level in the last 12 months is quite extraordinary.

“We have known each other since very, very early days. We were I think 11 years old when we first played against each other – much respect for what he has done.”

Murray came through an exciting encounter with Berdych.

The Scot saved five set points, and seven in all, after going 6-1 down in a captivating 16-minute tiebreak that he eventually took 11-9.

Berdych, realising he had missed a golden opportunity, had his serve broken in the opening game of the second set.

The Czech broke back when his opponent served for the match at 5-4 but Murray responded by breaking again before he completed victory with a venomous ace.