LONDON -- Lleyton Hewitt, the youngest ever world No. 1, was voted player of the year by his fellow
professionals, the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) said.
The 20-year-old Australian, who won his first grand slam title at the 2001 U.S. Open, capped a fantastic season by winning the
Tennis Masters Cup in Sydney to knock Gustavo Kuerten off the top of the world rankings.
"It's an unbelievable feeling. To become number one at 20 years of age, and to do it in Australia, you couldn't have written a better
dream," Hewitt said in a statement.
"It's a great honour to be awarded the trophies, especially coming from behind all year and to finally get to number one."
Hewitt, who won six tournaments in 2001, became the first Australian in ATP rankings history to end the year as number one.
Goran Ivanisevic, ranked 129th at the end of 2000, was voted most improved player after his unexpected Wimbledon victory
rocketed the Croatian to world number 16.
Andy Roddick was voted newcomer of the year after the 19-year-old American won three ATP titles in his first full season on the
tour.
"It feels really good to get this award since it was voted for by my fellow players," Roddick said.
Jonas Bjorkman and Todd Woodbridge, who together won three titles in 2001, were recognised as the best doubles team after
their first year together.
Argentina's Guillermo Canas was named the comeback player of the year.
The 24-year-old recovered from a wrist injury in 2000 to climb from 227th to 15th in the world rankings, winning his first ATP title in
Casablanca on the way.
Australia's Pat Rafter won his third straight Stefan Edberg sportsmanship award. The twice U.S. Open champion also took the
award in 1997.
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