Murray is top 10 hit

Andy Murray described his elevation into the world's top 10 as the achievement of a long-standing goal.

The 19-year-old moved to 10th in the world rankings after Tommy Haas failed to reach the US Clay Court Championships semi-finals. The Scot now has the likes of James Blake and Ivan Ljubicic, who are immediately ahead of him in the rankings, firmly in his sights and he expressed his satisfaction at finally reaching such a goal.

Murray told atpmasterseries.tv: "It's good, it's been a goal of mine for pretty much the last five years and that's something I've been working towards, is getting there."

He added: "I've had a very good start to the year. Unfortunately it wasn't through winning a match which would have been nicer but I'll take it anyway and to get to the top 10 is a big deal for most players when it happens the first time."

The Dunblane teenager is competing at the Monte Carlo Masters in both the singles, where he will meet Marc Gicquel in the second round after a first-round bye, and the doubles with brother Jamie.

Murray admitted he was looking for a vast improvement on his performances on clay last year, saying: "I'm looking forward to it. Last year's clay court season didn't go so well for me but I'm playing much better now than I was last year and I'm much stronger physically.

"I think my game is pretty well suited to clay so hopefully I can do well this year.

"I do enjoy playing on it. Last year I think I'd played just one tournament. It's a bit of a shock how physical it is, this year I'm better prepared and know what to expect."

Murray revealed he was looking to bring greater consistency to his game, focusing on all his events as he prepares for the French Open.

"These tournaments are big ones too - the Masters series - all the mandatory tournaments for the players are important, these are where all the big points are. I'm focusing on being more consistent this year."