Kyle Edmund replaces injured Andy Murray as new British number one

The ATP rankings on Monday morning showed Australian Open semi-finalist Edmund at a career high of 24 while Murray slips to 29

Going up, going down: Edmund has replaced Murray as the British number one (Getty)

Kyle Edmund has overtaken the injured Andy Murray to become the British number one for the first time.

The ATP rankings on Monday morning featured Edmund at a career high ranking of 24, with Murray slipping to 29th in the world after the 500 points he collected for winning last season’s Dubai Championship were wiped off his total.

Edmund’s ascent ends Murray’s 12-year reign as the best British male player. The two-time Wimbledon champion rose above Greg Rusedski on July 10 2006 and has been number one ever since.

However, Murray has been sidelined with a hip injury since reaching the Wimbledon quarter-finals last summer. He underwent surgery in January and hopes to make a comeback at Queen’s Club on 18 June.

Meanwhile Edmund has shot up the rankings as a result of his run to the semi-finals of this year’s Australian Open: the 23-year-old’s career best performance at a Grand Slam.

Edmund beat seeded players Kevin Anderson and Grigor Dimitrov en route to the last four of the tournament, where he eventually lost to current World No 3 Marin Cilic.

Edmund reached the semi-finals of the Australian Open (Getty)

“As proud as I am, I would have been much happier had Andy stayed healthy and occupied his place at the very top where he belongs,” Edmund commented on Monday.

“Wishing Andy a speedy recovery and I hope to battle it out with him in a more legitimate fashion in years to come. I'll continue to work hard and represent Great Britain as best as I can.”

Edmund has also battled with a hip injury this season – albeit nowhere near as bad as the one suffered by Murray.

He missed Great Britain’s Davis Cup tie against Spain, as well as ATP events in Argentina and Rio because of illness.

But he has reassured fans that he will compete in the Masters 1000 events in Indian Wells and Miami.

“I've unfortunately been away from the courts for the last couple of weeks due to a bad dose of the flu virus but I am now back on track and excited to get back to it,” he added.

“I'm all set and ready to play in Indian Wells and Miami.”