Murray faces stellar field in bid to win four in a row

Andy Murray will join world No 1 Novak Djokovic and home hero Roger Federer at the ATP World Tour event in Basle next week.

The 24-year-old is on a 15-match winning streak after lifting titles in Bangkok, Tokyo and Shanghai to usurp Federer as world No 3.

Murray also won the Cincinnati Masters title in August and his only defeat in his last 26 matches came against Rafael Nadal in the semi-finals of the US Open last month.

Murray will have his work cut out if he is to make it four titles in a row. Djokovic has only lost three matches in an astonishing year that has seen him win the Australian Open, Wimbledon and the US Open, while Federer is the defending champion in his home city having won the title for the fourth time last year.

Murray’s decision to play in Basle rather than Valencia, where he was the champion two years ago, means it will be one of the best fields of the season outside the grand slams and Masters tournaments, with Mardy Fish, Tomas Berdych and Andy Roddick also among the entrants.

The Scot has played in the event once before, in 2005, when he beat Tim Henman in their first professional meeting before reaching the quarter-finals.