Australian Lleyton Hewitt claimed his second consecutive year-ending number one ranking today after Andre Agassi bowed out of the race with an epic three-set loss to Juan Carlos Ferrero.
Agassi, 32, had to win the tournament to have a chance of overtaking Hewitt as world number one, but his 5-7, 6-2, 6-7 (6/8) loss to Ferrero meant he would not even make it out of the initial round robin stage.
Hewitt, 21, is the youngest player to finish consecutive seasons as world number one and he continues a reign that began when he won last year's Masters Cup edition in Sydney.
Hewitt's achievement lifts him to an elite group that includes only Jimmy Connors, Ivan Lendl and Pete Sampras as players to have held on to the number one position for a full calendar year.
The top ranking capped off a wonderful year that included the Wimbledon trophy, three other titles and more than $2.5million in prize money.
Agassi fought valiantly to stay in the tournament today, saving four match points, three of them in the nail biting final set tie break.
But he eventually succumbed to the pressure, serving a double fault to hand Ferrero victory after nearly two-and-a-half hours of battle at the Shanghai New International Expo Centre.
AFP