Nadal becomes first Spaniard to earn year-end top ATP ranking

London - Rafael Nadal will become the first Spaniard to finish the ATP season on on number one despite a semi-final loss at the Madrid Masters. The reigning Roland Garros, Wimbledon and Olympic champion ended the five-year reign of Roger Federer, first earning the top spot in August. Federer's semi-final loss to Andy Murray on Saturday in Madrid guaranteed Nadal the leading position. The 22-year-old Mallorca native is the first left-hander to finish No. 1 since John McEnroe in 1984 and the third in the 36-year history of the ATP rankings. McEnroe was number one from 1981-84 and Jimmy Connors from 1974-78. Nadal becomes the 15th different year-end number one after finishing runner-up to Federer for the last two years and holding number two for a record 160 consecutive weeks (since July 25, 2005). Federer held the top position for a record 237 straight weeks from Feb. 2, 2004 to Aug. 17, 2008. 'To become number one during the year was one of my goals and it is important to have achieved it,' said Nadal, who will end his regular season by playing at the Paris Masters before travelling to Shanghai for the year-end Masters Cup. 'I'm very happy to bring something more to Spanish sport, something for Spanish history and for our great tennis tradition.' Nadal leads the ATP circuit with eight titles and an 80-10 match record in 2008. In July, he became the first man since Bjorn Borg in 1980 to win the Roland Garros and Wimbledon double after dethroning five-time champion Federer in a five-set epic at the All England Club. <#> Year-end number one players (since 1973) 2008 Rafael Nadal Spain 2004-2007 Roger Federer Switzerland 2003 Andy Roddick US 2001-2002 Lleyton Hewitt Australia 2000 Gustavo Kuerten Brazil 1999 Andre Agassi US 1993-1998 Pete Sampras US 1992 Jim Courier US 1990-1991 Stefan Edberg Sweden 1989 Ivan Lendl Czech Republic 1988 Mats Wilander Sweden 1985-87 Ivan Lendl Czech Republic 1981-1984 John McEnroe US 1979-1980 Bjorn Borg Sweden 1974-1978 Jimmy Connors US 1973 Ilie Nastase Romania <#>