Andy Murray heads into the Davis Cup relegation battle with Austria on Friday convinced he can break into the world's elite.

No British player has been that high in the rankings since tennis went professional and Murray's position of No4 equals the best achieved by Greg Rusedski and Tim Henman.

Given that the present top three of Rafael Nadal, Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic are seen as men apart from the rest of the sport. Murray's target is going to take some hitting.

However, the 21-year-old said: "I know that in the first couple of Slams of next year [the Australian and French Opens] I don't have many points to defend - and it's the same in the Master Series.

"If I play well in Australia and other tournaments there is no reason why I cannot get closer to Djokovic. There is going to be a time when those guys have a few bad months compared to last year and I will have a chance to jump in. My results this summer showed I could play consistently well on hard courts and grass, and that means I am going to be very close to them."

Murray suffered a first-round defeat to Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in the Australian Open last January and having reached the US Open Final on a similar surface, the British No1 is more confident now.

He said: "Having got to the final in New York does motivate me because I know I can get that far.

"The Davis Cup and the Masters Cup in China at the end of the season are important if I am going to get into the top three of the game. I need to see how I do against the top guys."