Kuerten ends 2000 on a high

Brazil's Gustavo Kuerten has shrugged off a reputation as a clay-court specialist, winning the year end World Championship. Fittingly perhaps he has finished the year as the top ranked player. He certainly had to work for his achievement, beating five-time winner Pete Sampras in the semis on one of the American's best surfaces. He went on to thrash Australian Open champion Andre Agassi in the final 6-4, 6-4, 6-4. This victory adds luster to the Brazilian's French Open title this year, and stamps him as a genuine threat at the Australian Open hard-courts.

Few observers would have rated Kuerten's chances at the beginning of the tournament, given that most of his big results had come on clay or on outdoor hard-courts. His loopy ground-strokes and baseline hugging game certainly didn't appear suited to the fast indoor game, which generally has been the reserve of big servers such as Sampras and Becker.

But it was a virtuoso performance from Kuerten in the final, hitting an incredible 50 winners and 19 aces over just 3 sets. Agassi, now 30; was unable to respond to the Brazilian's brilliance. This could mark the beginning of the end of Sampras and Agassi's domination at the top of men's tennis. Kuerten, along with Olympic champion Yevgeny Kafelnikov and US Open champion Marat Safin have shown themselves to be the future of men's tennis. The battles between them and other members of the new guard for the top spot will be facinating, along with the efforts Agassi and Sampras to reassert themselves. It's an exciting time for men's tennis.

Tennis News

Singles winners:

Stuttgart: Wayne Ferreira (RSA)

Lyon: Arnaud Clement (FRA) St. Petersburg: Marat Safin (RUS) Paris: Marat Safin (RUS) Brighton: Tim Henman (GBR) Stockholm: Thomas Johansson (SWE)

Tennis Masters Cup: Gustavo Kuerten (BRA)

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