Hewitt celebrates world No1 status

Lleyton Hewitt celebrated ending the season as world number one by handing Marat Safin his third straight defeat at the Masters Cup in Shanghai.

Hewitt clinched the top ranking before he took the court when Andre Agassi, the only player who had a mathematical chance to overtake him, lost to Juan Carlos Ferrero.

Aussie Hewitt then beat Safin 6-4 2-6 6-4, but must still wait to see if he has clinched a place in the semi-finals.

"I think Lleyton obviously has had a great year," Agassi said. "He's again proven himself to be the best out there, and that's not easy to do."

Shortly after his loss, Agassi withdrew from Friday's round-robin match.

"He came to the tournament with a hip injury that he sustained in Paris," tournament director Brad Drewett said. "He aggravated that injury in tonight's match and has been forced to withdraw from the tournament."

The round-robin portion of the tournament winds up on Friday when Carlos Moya takes on fellow Spaniard Albert Costa, Ferrero plays Novak and Federer meets Thomas Johansson of Sweden, who replaces Agassi.

Friday's key battle is the Moya-Costa match. Moya has already qualified for the semi-finals, and if Costa wins in straight sets, he would gain the other spot from the Red Group and keep Hewitt from defending his title.

Against Hewitt, Safin finally showed off the game that took him to third in the world. But he also showed the inconsistency that has plagued him throughout his career.

After cruising through the second set, when Hewitt served a miserable 28 per cent, the Russian had an early break in the final set. Hewitt refused to wilt, however, and broke back.

In the ninth game, Safin won the first two points before eventually losing his serve. It was the opening Hewitt needed, and he took advantage of it, holding his own serve in the next game to close out the victory.