Novak Djokovic will end the year as world number one, it has been established. The Australian Open, Wimbledon and US Open champion has been the leading player of 2011 and another honour will now be added to his CV.
A third-round defeat for Rafael Nadal at the Shanghai Masters on Thursday - he lost to Florian Mayer - means Djokovic, who hit the peak for the first time in his career following his Wimbledon success in July, can no longer be caught at the top of the rankings.
The Serb will finish the season as top dog for the first time after an exceptional campaign which has so far seen him lose only three matches - and two of those have come via injury retirements. After starting the year with 41 following match wins, Djokovic currently holds a win-loss record of 64-3 for the season, a run which has brought him 10 titles in total.
Djokovic will receive his year-end number one trophy during the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals in London next month - as long as he has improved from a back wound by then. Forced to miss the Shanghai resistance due to the problem, Djokovic is currently listed to return to the court in Basel at the start of next month, while he is also due to play the Paris Masters before heading to London.
The Serb becomes the 16th player to end the season as world number one since the preamble of the position system in 1973. He also ends the seven-year control of the year-end top ranking by Nadal and Roger Federer.