World Number 1 Crown for Roger

With the three set defeat of Andy Murray on Tuesday, Roger Federer gained enough ranking points to finish the year as World Number 1. With Nadal's losses confirming the fact that no one can now inch ahead of Roger, Roger Federer became the only player since Ivan Lendl to successfully reclaim the number 1 ranking after losing it. Lendl lost it to Mats Wilander for a year in 1988, and regained it the next year [1989], while Federer lost to Nadal last year, and has now regained it this year.

With this, Roger Federer has now 5 year-end number 1 ranking, or in other words, he has finished the year ranking number 1 for 5 years, a feat for which he is tied with Jimmy Connors. Only Pete Sampras has more, he not only had 6 end of year number 1 titles, but also held them consecutively. Federer, with 5 will definitely eclipse Sampras' record [or so, his many fans hope], but will not be able to emulate the consecutive part of the record.

Roger was awarded the ATP World Tour Champion trophy just before Wednesday's action at the O2 Arena in London, the venue for this year's ATP Tour Finals. Calling it the 'most emotional moment' in his career, Roger was overjoyed with all that he achieved - on court and off court - during this year. In on court action, after a loss to Rafa in the Australian Open, Federer won the French Open, in the process becoming only the 6th player to win a Career Grand Slam. He also won Wimbledon in an epic five set final against Andy Roddick, before losing the US Open to Argentine Juan Martin Del Potro. Besides making it to the final of all the 4 grand slams for the third time, he holds another record of being the only player to have done this. Federer also moved past Pete Sampras' record with his win over Andy Roddick in Wimbledon. The victory gave Roger his 15th Grand Slam title, a record that seems very difficult to break. Amidst all this tennis action, Roger was also very busy off court this year. He got married to his longtime girlfriend, Mirka Vavrinec, in April 2009, and became a father of twin girls in July 2009.

At the award ceremony he said, "It means a lot to have returned to No. 1 and to finish the year again at No. 1. It was an incredible year for me both on the court and off the court and to be able to break the all-time Grand Slam record and finish the year on top is amazing."

Federer is currently in contention for the ATP Tour Finals trophy, winning his first 2 matches. On Thursday, he will take on Juan Martin del Potro, where a victory will see him qualifying for the semi final in this round robin tournament. Becoming the champion at this prestigious year-end tournament will be the icing on the cake of Roger Federer's amazing achievements.