Tennis: Andy Murray drops to sixth in the ATP rankings

A disappointing performance at the Australian open saw Andy Murray slip to sixth in the world rankings after losing in the quarter-finals of the first Grand Slam tournament of the season. Roger Federer, the man who defeated Murray in the quarter finals, also dropped two places to eighth position. Australian Open winner Stanislas Wawrinka moves up to a career-high third place while Juan Martin Del Potro climbs to fourth position. Rafael Nadal remains the world number one ahead of Serbia's Novak Djokovic. Nadal has a rather comfortable lead of almost 4,000 points over Djokovic, while Wawrinka is around 5,000 points behind the world number two. The places from 3 to 8 are pretty much up for grabs though, with fewer than 1,400 points separating Wawrinka from Federer. Murray was number 2 after winning Wimbledon last year but now he is at his lowest ranking since August 2008. Wawrinka, who was 18th in the world in March of last year, claimed his first Grand Slam title in Melbourne to add to his semi-final appearance at the US Open in September to become Switzerland's number one for the first time in his career. "Some players realise that it is possible now to win a Grand Slam," said Wawrinka. "Last year, the top 15 players were thinking the four major guys were still amazing players, but we had more chances to beat them. We didn't in Grand Slams but we were close to them, so I think we all realised that it can be possible to do something big. I don't know about the others but, for me, I have my Grand Slam trophy and no-one can take it away." The next Grand Slam tournament is the French Open at Roland Garros at the end of May and you can already bet on the winner at Bet365. Here are the odds for the top five favourites: Rafael Nadal - 4/6 Novak Djokovic - 7/4 Andy Murray - 12/1 Juan Martin Del Potro - 14/1 Roger Federer - 16/1