WorldTennisMagazine.com takes a look back at ATP World Tour Finals from yester-year in this special series – ATP World Tour Final Rewind. Today we look back to an epic match from November 16, as excerpted from the book ON THIS DAY IN TENNIS HISTORY ($19.95, New Chapter Press, www.TennisHistoryBook.com)
2001 – Twenty-year-old Lleyton Hewitt clinches the No. 1 year-end ranking, becoming the youngest player to accomplish the feat in the history of the ATP rankings since 1973. Hewitt clinches the ranking when he defeats fellow Aussie Patrick Rafter 7-5, 6-2 in his final round-robin match at the Tennis Masters Cup in Sydney, Australia. Hewitt’s victory, coupled with the loss of Gustavo Kuerten to Yevgeny Kafelnikov, ensures the top year-end ranking for the Adelaide, Australia native. Says Hewitt, the first Australian to finish the year ranked No. 1, “It’s an unbelievable feeling. To become No.1 at 20 years of age, and to do it in Australia, you couldn’t have written a better dream.” Hewitt, at 20 years, 8 months, is younger than the previous year-end No. 1 Jimmy Connors, at 22 years, 3 months, in 1974.
1997 – Pete Sampras wins the year-end ATP Tour Championships for a fourth time, defeating Russia’s Yevgeny Kafelnikov 6-3, 6-2, 6-2 in Hannover, Germany. Sampras becomes the first player to win the season-ending championships for a second consecutive year since Ivan Lendl in 1986 and 1987.
2003 – Roger Federer routs Andre Agassi 6-3, 6-0, 6-4 to win the year-end ATP Masters Cup for the first time in his career. Playing at the West Side Tennis Club in Houston, Texas, Federer fires 11 aces in the 88-minute match that is delayed two-and-a-half hours due to rain. “It was one of the best matches for me this season,” Federer says. “I’m very happy how the whole year went, especially this tournament. I worked hard this year. You always have ups and downs but I feel this season has been complete.”
