The current world No. 1 Rafael Nadal defeated South Korean Hyeon Chung 7-5, 6-4 on 1 November, Wednesday to reach to the quarter-final of Rolex Paris Masters and secured the ATP ranking top spot for the fourth time in his career.
It was a round of 32 match in Paris masters, where Nadal took the opening set from the world rank 55 by 7-5. In the second set, Nadal showed his dominance and won the second set by 6-4.
There was a chance for Swiss great Roger Federer to surpass the Spaniard and finish the season at the top position. But when Federer pulled out from the year-end tournament Paris Masters, it became clear that Nadal will be the top rank player at the end of this season.
The 31-year-old Nadal has become the oldest player to achieve year-end No. 1 Emirates ATP Ranking since 1973.
"I'm very, very happy for everything. It has been an amazing year. One year ago, for sure I never dreamed about being World No. 1 again... It's something that means a lot to me. But the season is not over."
After the confirmation, Nadal posted a video to thank his supporters on social media on 2 November, Thursday.
"The year-end No.1 ranking is the ultimate achievement in our season, demanding the very highest standards in terms of excellence, consistency and endurance. By becoming – at the age of 31 – the oldest player in the game's history to achieve this spectacular feat, Rafa has once again demonstrated his unwavering work ethic, determination and passion for the game. He continues to re-write the record books and is a credit to our sport. On behalf of the ATP, we congratulate him on a phenomenal season," said Chris Kermode, the ATP Executive Chairman and President, as quoted by ATP world tour.
In 2017, Nadal was featured in four Grand Slam tournaments. While in Australian Open he was defeated by rival Federer, in the next major tournament he claimed a historic 10th French Open title against Stan Wawrinka.
Although in 2017 Wimbledon, he was out after a defeat by Luxembourg ace Gilles Müller in the round of 16, Nadal clinched his fourth US Open trophy after the win over South Africa's Kevin Anderson.
Apart from the Grand Slam tournaments, Nadal won Monte-Carlo Rolex Masters, Barcelona Open Banc Sabadell, Mutua Madrid Open and China Open.
The top seed player of 2017 will be playing the quarter-final match of 2017 Paris Masters against Serbian ace Filip Krajinović on 3 November, Friday at 4:00 pm local time at AccorHotels Arena.
