Andy Murray has forged an entire career on being the chaser. Born into the greatest ever generation of men's tennis, the Scot has spent over a decade looking upwards. Now, finally, there is nothing more for him to look at. Nothing to chase.

For the first time Murray is the world number one - above Novak Djokovic, above Rafael Nadal, above Roger Federer, above everyone. The Scot is the best tennis player on the planet and has the ranking to prove it.

Of course, as a triple Grand Slam winner Murray's rise to the number one ranking merely underlines his status as one of the very best, but there is a symbolic significance to the Scot sitting atop the pile. It changes perceptions of him.

It was somewhat anti-climatic that having fought through arguably the greatest generation of men's tennis to finally become number one in his own right Murray achieved his grand objective with a walkover, as Milos Raonic withdrew from the semi-finals of the Paris Masters.

But it ultimately provided the perfect metaphor for what Murray has done in the sport. He ground down the competition until they couldn't put up any more of a fight. Having spent no fewer than 72 weeks as number two, as the supporting act, Murray is now officially the main event.

*As rankings currently stand ahead of Paris Masters final.

Not so long ago Djokovic's 2016 was shaping up to be another 2015 for him. Until the summer season the Serbian boasted double the points of Murray, turning the pinnacle of tennis into a monopoly.

But between Roland Garros and Wimbledon Djokovic lost his way. He suffered his earliest exit at SW19 for eight years, also losing the US Open final to Stan Wawrinka despite receiving the benefit of three byes or retirements in the tournament's earlier rounds.

Djokovic carried that slump into the Asian season, crashing out early in the Beijing Open (which Murray won) and losing in the semi-finals of the Shanghai Masters (which Murray also won).

From there Murray had the number one spot in his sights, and while he did his best to refuse it, remaining coy on his immediate ambitions, he went all out to grab it, playing at the Vienna Open to pick up 500 points he normally wouldn't go out of his way for.

Murray crossed the line at the Paris Masters, securing the number one spot ahead of the ATP Tour Finals in London. That could be where the Scot truly consolidates his place as the undisputed best player in the word.

Born just one week apart, Djokovic and Murray always seemed destined to be great rivals. While they became friends on the junior tour it didn't take long for the competition between the two players to foster.

Murray won his first ever meeting against Djokovic, beating the then 13-year-old Serbian 6-0, 6-1 at a tournament in the French town of Tarbes. From then on a rivalry was sparked.

"I remember Andy playing Djokovic when he was under 14 and he had a really solid backhand and he could really hurt but he wasn't consistent enough at that age," Judy Murray recalled about her son's early matches against Djokovic. "But you could see the weapons that they could develop."

Djokovic beat Murray in the final of the 2016 French Open, at which stage the Serbian held an 8,000-point lead over the Scot in the rankings.

From that first defeat, however, Djokovic beat Murray to every major milestone. He made the top 100 before the Scot, and the top 10, also winning his first Grand Slam final a full four years before his rival.

There have been breakthroughs for Murray, with his US Open title triumph coming after a five-set thriller against Djokovic. In fact, the Scot has been confronted by his Serbian adversary at every obstacle he has faced.

It was Djokovic he had to overcome to end Britain's 77-year wait for a men's singles Wimbledon winner. And it's Djokovic who Murray has faced in four of the five Australian Open finals he has made, and lost.

The rivalry between Djokovic and Murray can be encapsulated best by what has happened in 2016, with the Scot chasing the Serbian like Wile.E.Coyote hunting down the Road Runner. Except this time there was no falling anvil or ACME dynamite to scupper him.

Despite holding an 8,000 lead over Murray in the ATP World Rankings after winning the French Open in May, Djokovic suffered an almighty dip in form in the second half of the year to allow his Scottish rivalry to eventually become world number one for the first time ahead of the ATP Tour Finals in November.

Murray won his second Wimbledon title against Milos Raonic in the 2016 final, raising for the first time that he could catch Djokovic in the rankings.