Blake ends year at fourth
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ByEurosport
Published 20/11/2006 at 15:19 GMT
Despite being thumped by world number one Roger Federer in the Masters Cup final, James Blake climbed four spots in the ATP rankings to finish the year at a career-high fourth in the world.
TENNIS, James Blake
Image credit: Reuters
Federer, coming off of his 29th consecutive victory, ensured that he would not only finish the year in the top spot, but also break Jimmy Connors' 160-week record run at the top of the rankings.
French Open champion Rafael Nadal and Russian Nikolay Davydenko finish the year at second and third respectively.
By reaching the Masters Cup final the American Blake leaped past Ivan Ljubicic (5th), Andy Roddick (6th), Tommy Robredo (7th), and David Nalbandian (8th).
"Even though I lost I'm on a pretty high note since beating Rafael Nadal, Nikolay Davydenko and David Nalbandian in a week is pretty good," Blake was quoted by the AFP.
"Although it looked like I got just destroyed out there today (Sunday), I feel like one of the best in the world. I would never have had the confidence to utter those words just a few years ago."
The 26-year-old is considered to have made one of tennis' greatest recent come-backs after breaking his neck then losing his father to cancer during a devastating 2004 season.
"It's something that I never thought was possible. I'm proud to have done it. But I know there's no chance in the world I would have been able to do it without the people around me."
Croatian Mario Ancic and Chile's Fernando Gonzalez round out the year's final top-ten.
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