Tennis: Hewitt is number one after beating Rafter

Lleyton Hewitt became the youngest ever year-end number one after beating Pat Rafter in their final round robin match at the Masters Cup.

Hewitt, who is 20 years eight months, captures 20 points and moves to 783 for the season, 12 ahead of Gustavo Kuerten.

The Brazilian opened the door for Hewitt to take over as the Champions Race leader when he lost all three of his matches this week in the event played at the Sydney SuperDome.

Hewitt, who saw off the challenge of Sebastien Grosjean and Andre Agassi in his previous two matches, beat his fellow Australian 7-5 6-2 in one hour and 37 minutes.

Jimmy Connors had been the youngest player to have achieved the year-end number one ranking.

In 1974, a year after the rankings began, he finished top of the pile at the age of 22 years and three months.

Having made history, Hewitt can now focus on winning the Masters Cup, which would earn him £1m.

He must overcome Juan Carlos Ferrero in Saturday's semi-final and then beat the winner of Yevgeny Kavelnikov's match against Grosjean.

Hewitt, who captured his first grand slam in September at the US Open, will then turn his attention to the Davis Cup final against France.