American Andy Roddick took over as world No. 1 on Thursday after reaching the quarterfinals of the Paris Masters and said he felt "pretty cool."
The US Open champion is the 22nd player to top the rankings since they were introduced in 1973 and the sixth American-born player after Andre Agassi, Pete Sampras, Jim Courier, John McEnroe and Jimmy Connors.
PHOTO: AP
Roddick beat Spain's Tommy Robredo 6-3, 6-4 in the last 16 to topple Juan Carlos Ferrero from the top spot but he was not aware the No. 1 ranking was in play until after the match.
"Pretty cool," he said when asked for his reaction. "I've got there and no one can take that away from me -- for ever.
"It never crossed my mind when I was a kid that I might be No. 1. It's definitely something I never thought would happen."
Roddick's elevation to the summit followed Ferrero's shock 7-5, 7-5 defeat by Czech Jiri Novak earlier on Thursday.
The American -- the fourth youngest No. 1 -- now leads the Champions Race and will be confirmed as No. 1 in the 12-month Entry System rankings next Monday.
Roddick's serve was too much for Robredo, seeded 16th, to handle as the 21-year-old's bullet deliveries repeatedly thwacked into the backboards on the center court in Paris.
The second seed kept the pressure on by hurrying through his serves and broke Robredo's delivery in the fourth game of the first set and the third of the second.
"I definitely cleaned up some things today. I was getting good heat on my serve and I played the big points pretty decently," he said.
After this tournament, Roddick and Ferrero travel to Houston for the season-ending Masters Cup, starting on Nov. 8, where the year-end No. 1 will be crowned.
Also still in with a chance is Wimbledon champion Roger Federer. The Swiss third seed saved four match points before overcoming Dutchman Martin Verkerk 6-7, 7-6, 7-6.
Federer will take on Britain's Tim Henman, who trounced Gustavo Kuerten 6-4, 6-2, for a place in the last four.
If the seedings work out, Federer and Roddick should meet in the semifinal.
Despite his achievement, Roddick said reaching No. 1 was not as important to him as winning in Paris and Houston.
"Every match win or lose could be the difference," said Roddick who will next play Sweden's Jonas Bjorkman, a 6-3, 7-6 winner over French qualifier Gregory Carraz.
"What's done is done but I'd like to be greedy and go for more."
Ferrero, who became No. 1 in September, was outplayed from the back of the court by 14th seed Novak.
His forehand, the weapon that won him the French Open this year, misfired throughout.
"I'm surprised but I was playing great tennis today," said Novak. "I had nothing to lose -- this is one of the best results of my life."
Before this tournament Ferrero led the year-long ATP Champions Race by four points from Roddick and he still hopes to end 2003 as top dog. The rankings and the Champions Race converge as the year nears its end.
"He [Roddick] has to play very well here and in Houston to take No. 1. I will fight with all my powers to get it," Ferrero said.
David Nalbandian of Argentina became the eighth and last player to qualify for the Masters Cup after Thailand's Paradorn Srichaphan was beaten 7-6, 6-3 by qualifier Hicham Arazi of Morocco.
Arazi now plays Novak.
Fifth seed Rainer Schuettler beat Chile's Nicolas Massu 6-4, 7-5.
The Australian Open runner-up next plays Romanian Andrei Pavel whose opponent, fourth seed Guillermo Coria of Argentina, withdrew with a fever.
Yu Yao-hsing on Tuesday nabbed Taiwan’s only goal in the final round of qualifiers for the 2027 AFC Asian Cup, as they fell 3-1 to Sri Lanka at Taipei Municipal Stadium. Early goals from Sri Lanka in the first half left Taiwan struggling to get on the board, and Christopher Tiao’s own goal at 53 minutes sealed the team’s fate in the third round of qualifiers. While acknowledging that the defeat, Taiwan’s sixth in Group D, was disappointing, head coach Matt Ross said he saw reasons to stay positive about the team’s development. “There were lots of positive signs in terms of the
Mercedes’ Kimi Antonelli yesterday vowed to “keep raising the bar” after winning the Japanese Grand Prix to become the youngest driver in Formula One history to lead the championship standings. The 19-year-old Italian took advantage of a mid-race safety car to jump into the lead after a dreadful start from pole position, crossing the line ahead of McLaren’s Oscar Piastri and Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc. Antonelli’s Suzuka victory came two weeks after the first grand prix win of his career in China, and sent him top of the championship standings after three races, nine points ahead of team-mate George Russell. Mercedes are struggling to
INDIGESTION: Italy failed to qualify for the World Cup for a third consecutive time after a 4-1 defeat to Bosnia on penalties in a loss Gattuso said was ‘difficult to digest’ Coach Graham Arnold on Tuesday challenged his players to “shock the world” after Iraq became the 48th and final team to qualify for the FIFA World Cup with a nerve-shredding 2-1 win over Bolivia in an intercontinental playoff in Mexico, as Bosnia and Herzegovina, Turkey, the Czech Republic, Sweden and the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) also secured their places at the finals. Iraq, whose preparations were disrupted by the war in the Middle East, sealed their first appearance at the finals in 40 years and are to play in Group I against France, Senegal and Norway. Goals from Ali al-Hamadi
Teng Kai-wei, the only Taiwanese player on an opening-day roster in this year’s Major League Baseball (MLB) season, took his first win of the year with the Houston Astros in his season debut. Teng entered in relief in the top of the fifth inning against the Los Angeles Angels on Saturday, with the Astros trailing 5-0. He pitched 2-1/3 scoreless innings with two strikeouts, as Houston scored 11 runs during his outing to snatch an 11-9 comeback victory. The win is the Astros’ first of the season and the third of Teng’s MLB career. “It’s my first time pitching for the Astros, so
RSS