Rafael Nadal to finish year as World No. 1

Rafael Nadal will finish 2017 at the top of the ATP Rankings. (Source: AP)

Rafael Nadal is confirmed to finish 2017 as the top-ranked player in the world after winning his second round match at the Paris Masters. The Spaniard triumphed 7-5, 6-3 in just under two hours over South Korea’s Hyeon Chung. This is the fourth time that Nadal is finishing the year as World No 1 after 2008, 2010 and 2013. At 31, Nadal has also become the oldest year-end World No 1 since the rankings began.

Nadal has become the seventh player in ATP history to finish the year as World No 1 at least four times. Previously the record was achieved by Pete Sampras, Jimmy Connors, Roger Federer, Novak Djokovic, Ivan Lendl and John McEnroe.

By not playing in Paris, Federer made Nadal’s path to the top unchallenged. He had also taken over at the top from Andy Murray in August after Federer withdrew from Cincinnati Masters. In the recent rankings released on Monday, Nadal stood top with 10465 points as against Federer’s 9005 points.

At the Paris Masters, Nadal will next face Pablo Cuevas on Thursday.