Roger Federer was yesterday honored as the world's No. 1 men's player at a ceremony in Shanghai, following another amazing season of achievements.
Etienne de Villiers, Association of Tennis Professionals chairman, presented the Swiss star with the award, a crystal cup with an Arabic numeral "one" sitting in the middle of a circle, on the center court of the Qi Zhong Tennis Stadium in suburban Minhang District, where the Tennis Masters Cup is being played."Thank you everybody for sharing this moment with me," said Federer at the award ceremony. "I'm very excited to again win the award, I'll try to get up for it and hope to keep it for the following years."As part of the bounty for retaining his year-end No. 1 crown, Indesit presented the Swiss with a check for the Roger Federer Foundation in Africa.For the second straight year the 24-year-old finished as the world No. 1, compiling another outstanding season in 2005 with an ATP-best 11 titles, including two grand slams and a record four ATP Masters Series crowns.Federer, holding an unbeaten streak of an all-time best 24 in finals, is only the fifth player in the history of ATP Rankings to rank No. 1 every week during a calendar year. At the start of the Tennis Masters Cup on Sunday, he was ranked No. 1 for 95 consecutive weeks since February 2, 2004.(Xinhua)