Andy Murray took another step towards claiming the number one spot in the world rankings after winning his third consecutive title, at the Erste Bank Open in Vienna.

The 2016 Wimbledon champion prevailed comfortably in the first set against Jo-Wilfried Tsonga and after surviving a revival in the second set, Murray eventually secured a 6-3 7-6 (8-6) victory after the tie-break.

This latest success compliments his previous wins in Shanghai and Beijing and victory at next week's Paris Masters will arrest the world number spot from his rival Novak Djokovic, provided the Serb does not make the final.

Murray, who has only lost three times since the French Open in June, has never previously held the top spot in the rankings.

Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray's possible ranking points totals on November 7th after Paris: pic.twitter.com/MRyOe9qQUi

— Stuart Fraser (@stu_fraser) October 30, 2016

Andy Murray's results since the start of the Rome Masters:

WWWWWWWWWWWLWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWLWWWWLLWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW (52-4)

— Stuart Fraser (@stu_fraser) October 30, 2016