club one
This day: Kuerten tops the list after Lisbon Masters Cup magic
The Brazilian beat Andre Agassi on the final day of the 2000 season to move to the top of the table
December 4, 2025
Henry Swark/Bongarts/Getty Images
Gustavo Kuerten ended 2000 with four consecutive top ten finishes en route to becoming world number one.
Andy West
It may have taken 12 months of hard work to reach number one in the PIF ATP Rankings, but Gustavo Kuerten’s ascent to the top will forever be associated with a busy 48 hours in Lisbon.
While competing in the 2000 Nitto ATP Finals (then known as the Tennis Masters Cup), Brazilian star Kuerten defeated two American greats in a row to secure the tournament trophy, becoming world No. 1 for the first time and being honored by the PIF as ATP’s year-end No. 1—all in one fell swoop.
Current number one Marat Safin needed three wins to secure his top spot heading into the prestigious season final, but he ended his season with just one win after losing to Pete Sampras (group stage) and Andre Agassi (semi-finals). The door is open for Kuerten, but the Brazilian now faces the same opponent as Safin, only in reverse: if he can beat Sampras in the semi-finals and Agassi in the final, the No. 1 spot will be his.
To the cheers of the Lisbon fans, Kuerten somehow overcame the physical problems that plagued him during his week in Portugal to score two memorable victories. He fought back from two out of three sets to defeat Sampras in the semifinals, then defeated Agassi 6-4, 6-4, 6-4 in a thrilling match to win the championship match.
Kuerten’s win in Lisbon was his fifth Tour-level title of the 2000 season. He has triumphed on his favorite clay courts in Santiago, the ATP Masters 1000 in Hamburg and at Roland Garros, where he regained the Grand Slam title he first won in 1997. He also won his first career ATP Tour hardcourt crown in Indianapolis and reached further Masters 1000 finals in Miami and Rome respectively, finishing the season with a 63-22 win/loss index, according to Infosys ATP Win/Loss Index.
As a result, Kuerten has a lot of great memories from the 2000 season alone, not to mention the rest of his career. Yet even after ending his career as a three-time French Open champion and enjoying 43 weeks as world number one, he still recognizes that his heroics in Lisbon were special.
“As a tennis player, there is nothing higher than being No. 1 in tennis. [Tennis Masters Cup]Kuerten is the only South American player to win the ATP year-end No. 1 ranking from PIF. He later said: “Beating Peter and Andre in a row. This is the highlight of my career so far.”
