American tennis player Andy Roddick has officially become the second-youngest man to finish the season with the world number-one ranking. The final ATP rankings were released Monday.
The 21-year-old Roddick finished 2003 with 4,535 points, 160 more more than Wimbledon champion Roger Federer of Switzerland.
But it was Federer who was the most impressive at the season-ending Masters Cup in Houston. He did not lose a match in group round-robin play and then went on to win the final Sunday in convincing fashion (6-3, 6-0, 6-4) over former number-one Andre Agassi of the United States.
Federer's performance vaulted him over French Open winner Juan Carlos Ferrero of Spain into the number-two ranking for the year. Ferrero finishes third, Agassi fourth and Argentine Guillermo Coria fifth. German Rainer Schuettler finishes the year sixth, and rounding out the top 10 are Spaniard Carlos Moya, Argentine David Nalbandian, Wimbledon runner-up Mark Philippoussis of Australia and Sebastien Grosjean of France.
Roddick won six titles this year, including the U.S. Open. But he looked far from his best at the Masters Cup. Federer, on the other hand, played superb tennis in Houston, taking his seventh title of 2003 and sparking debate about who is the true number one. Federer graciously said Roddick deserves his number-one spot, but the Swiss player felt he was the best this week and hopes to reach number one next year.
The previous youngest year-end number-one men's tennis player was Australian Lleyton Hewitt at age 20 in 2001.
Justine Henin-Hardenne, the only woman to win two major tennis titles this year, finished atop the WTA Tour rankings last week. Fellow Belgian Kim Clijsters was second, followed by American Serena Williams.