![\"Gustavo](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/kuerten-number-one-club-rise-2000.jpg\")
<\/p>\n No 1 Club
\n On this day: Kuerten hits No. 1 after Masters Cup magic in Lisbon<\/p>\n
Brazilian defeated Agassi on final day of 2000 season to seal rise to top spot<\/p>\n
December 04, 2025<\/p>\n
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Henri Szwarc\/Bongarts\/Getty Images<\/p>\n
Gustavo Kuerten closed 2000 with four consecutive Top 10 wins to finish the year as World No. 1.
\n By Andy West<\/p>\n
It may take 12 months of hard work to reach No. 1 in the PIF ATP Rankings, but Gustavo Kuerten<\/a>\u2019s rise to top spot will forever be associated with a hectic 48 hours in Lisbon. <\/p>\n Competing at the 2000 Nitto ATP Finals<\/a> (then known as the Tennis Masters Cup), Brazilian star Kuerten pulled off back-to-back victories against a pair of American greats to seal the tournament trophy, his first rise to World No. 1, and ATP Year-End No. 1 presented by PIF honours \u2014 all in one swoop. <\/p>\n Incumbent No. 1 Marat Safin<\/a> headed into the prestigious season finale needing three match wins to guarantee he held onto top spot, but he finished his campaign one victory short after losing to Pete Sampras<\/a> (in the group stage) and Andre Agassi<\/a> (in the semi-finals). The door was ajar for Kuerten, but the Brazilian now faced the same opponents as Safin, only in reverse: if he could beat Sampras in the semi-final and Agassi in the final, the No. 1 spot was his. <\/p>\n Roared on by an adoring Lisbon crowd, Kuerten somehow overcame the physical issues that plagued him all week in Portugal to pull off a pair of memorable victories. He rallied from a set down in the best-of-three semi-final to defeat Sampras, before riding a wave of emotion to a 6-4, 6-4, 6-4 championship-match triumph against Agassi. <\/p>\n Kuerten\u2019s Lisbon triumph was his fifth tour-level title of the 2000 season. He triumphed on his favoured clay in Santiago, at the ATP Masters 1000 in Hamburg, and at Roland Garros<\/a>, where he reclaimed the major title he had first won in 1997. He also won the first ATP Tour hard-court crown of his career in Indianapolis and reached further Masters 1000 finals in Miami and Rome, respectively, en route to a 63-22 record for the season, according to the Infosys ATP Win\/Loss Index. <\/p>\n![\"It](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/1764882626_923_it-all-adds-up-banner.jpg\"\/)
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