Andy Murray had been flying leading up to his decision to rest a niggling hip injury back in September.

The Scot claimed the World No. 1 ranking for the first time on November 7, 2016, and managed to retain the honour for the best part of nine months.

Shortly after reaching top spot, Murray added a pair of titles to his name at two of the most prestigious tournaments outside of Grand Slams.

The 30-year-old celebrated his first win at No. 1 with a victory over John Isner in the Paris Masters final before besting Novak Djokovic to clinch the ATP World Tour Finals in London.

Unfortunately for Murray, his body failed to keep up with his form, and only one other trophy has since followed in March’s 2017 Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships.

For a player of his pedigree and consistency, Grand Slam performances have been largely disappointing this year, with his only highlights being semi-final and quarter-final appearances at the French Open and Wimbledon.

MURRAY TAKES EXTENDED BREAK

A five-set loss to Sam Querrey at the All England Club was the final straw for Murray, as he announced a break from tennis that will keep him sidelined until next season.

“I will be beginning my 2018 season in Brisbane in preparation for the Australian Open and I’m looking forward playing in Glasgow later this year against Roger [Federer] for UNICEF UK and Sunny-sid3up,” Murray wrote on his official Facebook page.

“I have a fantastic team working alongside me to help me through this process and appreciate the support from them and all of my fans over this difficult period.”

It’s certainly been a difficult few months for the three-time major winner, though an already difficult road ahead seems to have just gotten a whole lot harder.

Having been replaced by Rafael Nadal as World No. 1 in August, Murray has now slid to his lowest ranking in almost a decade.

Yep, the dual Wimbledon champion is now 16th in the official ATP rankings.

While sure to fight his way back into contention at the peak of the sport, he won’t be getting a chance to do so until a fresh campaign rolls around in January.

But it’s not all bad for Murray and his fans – Federer awaits in a charity match to be played in Glasgow on Tuesday.

Will Murray get back to World No. 1? Let us know what you think in the comments.