Andy Murray had a surprising loss at the Citi Open but he is still on course to overtake Roger Federer for the no.2 spot at the US Open.
A detailed look at the Live rankings and the point system has Federer with a slim lead over the Scot. At the top, Novak Djokovic sits comfortably at 13675 points while Roger Federer is a mile below at 8065. Murray trails by just a hair at 7670.
Murray still has enough time and chances to start as the no.2 seed in the US Open. As detailed by Tennis World USA, there are still two tournaments before the start of the year's final Grand Slam title fight.
The website has details of how Murray can overtake Federer if he reaches the Finals of the Rogers Cup: "If Andy were to reach the final, he would have a total of 8270 points, 205 points more than Roger Federer. If the Scot were to win the title in Canada, he would reach a total of 8660 points, 595 points more than the Swiss." This is because Federer has pulled out of the Montreal-based tourney.
The draw for the Rogers Cup has already been revealed and it might be a Herculean task for Murray. He might meet Gael Monfis in the third round and face Marin Cilic in the quarterfinals.
The World no.3 can survive Rafael Nadal or Ken Nishikori in the semis and set-up a face off with Novak Djokovic in the Finals. By this time, it will already be a clash of the (unofficial) no.2 and no.1 players.
The US Open will use final rankings on August 24 to determine the seeding. If the cards lay out this way for Murray, he would be at no.2.