Andy Murray will be within striking distance of the top five players in the world today with an outstanding opportunity, at the age of 21, to outstrip anything Tim Henman and Greg Rusedski did in ranking terms and elevate British men’s tennis to a status it has not enjoyed in seven decades.

In winning the Western & Southern Financial Group Masters in Cincinnati, Ohio, Murray’s position in the tennis hierarchy is No 6, a sound platform with the Beijing Olympics - where medals also mean ranking points - and the US Open on the immediate horizon with excellent prospects for more improvement.

Murray’s 7-6, 7-6 victory over Novak Djokovic, the world No 3, in 100F (38C) heat of the American Midwest was a compelling vindication of his success over the same man nine days ago, and this after he had been Djokovic’s pigeon the first four times they crossed swords. These are heady days indeed. Murray’s first Masters Series victory is a significant moment in a career that truly blossomed on Wimbledon’s Centre Court when he came from two sets down to defeat Richard Gasquet of France and become a grand-slam tournament quarter-finalist for the first time.

Knowing he had that ability within him, knowing his game was coming together, knowing he can hold his own against the very best, Murray has stepped up these past two weeks on the hard courts where he has always felt most contented. To beat Djokovic in the manner he did yesterday, on his sixth match point with a blistering backhand winner (still his best shot) spoke of the character of the man from Dunblane.

Remarkably, this was the 27th time in 28 matches when he has won the first set this year that Murray has gone on to win the match. It speaks of his innate belief in the kind of tennis that he has to offer and his rally late in the second set, after Djokovic had contrived to save a clutch of match points with increasing audacity, will only add to the Murray mystique.

The British No 1’s analysis of the state of the game is as compelling as anything he has spoken of in recent months. He knows the balance of power is beginning to shift. After five years as the big cheese, Roger Federer is having an uneasy period, Rafael Nadal has been revelatory and will become the No 1 player on August 18, Djokovic has responded to his disappointing Wimbledon with renewed vim and those above Murray, Nikolay Davydenko and David Ferrer, have stalled. Murray has moved into the position of chief challenger to the three who had put significant daylight between themselves and the chasing group.

“Federer is not playing as well as he was, but he’s been unbelievable for the last five years,” Murray said. “It was always going to happen - it happens in every sport - when someone sets the bar so high, guys find a way of creeping up behind you."

Henman and Rusedski, who both reached a career-high ranking of No 4, had defining moments: 11 titles, six grand-slam semi-finals and one Masters Series victory for Henman; 15 titles, including the 1999 Grand Slam Cup and the same Masters that Henman won, the BNP Paribas Masters in Paris, as well as reaching the final of the 1997 US Open, for Rusedski. But they were a good deal farther down the age track than Murray.

And the Scot’s surge of form has come at an encouraging time for the sport as several of the country’s professionals experience an invigoration of fortune. Of Britain’s top ten male players, only Jamie Baker’s ranking has fallen, which is more to do with a serious illness he contracted in the spring than anything that has gone wrong with his game. In the cases of Josh Goodall, Britain’s No 3, Alex Slabinsky, the No 5, and Chris Eaton, the seventh-ranked Briton, the improvement has been 124, 117 and 272 places respectively since January.

And on the women’s side, Anne Keothavong, the No 1, is at No 80 on the Sony Ericsson WTA Tour, Melanie South has sneaked into second place domestically ahead of Elena Baltacha for the first time and, a little farther down the scale, Amanda Elliott, the British No 8, has risen more than 300 places and Tara Moore, at No 12, almost 300 places to No 534 on the international list.

The whole sport is beginning to look up rather than into its navel.