Moya Secures Year-End No. 1 Ranking With Fourth ATP Champions Tour Title

© AFP/Getty ImagesCarlos Moya has clinched the year-end No. 1 ranking in his debut year on the ATP Champions Tour.

Carlos Moya completed a perfect debut year on the ATP Champions Tour by winning his fourth successive title and guaranteeing the year-end No. 1 position in the South African Airways Champions Tour Rankings.

Moya, who squeezed past No. 2 Mark Philippoussis on Saturday to give himself a chance of sealing the year-end No.1 spot, beat Mariano Zabaleta 6-3, 6-4 in the Royal Guard Champions final in Santiago, Chile.

The Spaniard was ecstatic afterwards.

"For the first year to finish at Number One is all I could hope for, it's great," say Moya. "After I lost to Thomas [Envqvist] this week I knew I had to try to beat Mark [Philippoussis] in straight sets, not just for a final place but to get those extra rankings points as well. And I was on my way to doing that and then suddenly I got a bit tired, he started to play a bit better and I had to save match point to get the victory. Then I had to wait for [Agustin] Calleri to beat Enqvist before I knew my fate so it has been very up and down this week with the rankings. I was lucky in some ways but now I am very relieved that I am sure to be No. 1 at the end of the year.”

Visit ATP Champions Tour Website

The final itself saw Moya at his best. He went into it knowing that victory would ensure the No.1 ranking with only London still to play. Zabaleta stood no chance.

“I think this was my best match of the week today," said Moya. "The conditions were so much better - it was in the night so it was a bit colder and the ball wasn’t flying so much. I’ve been struggling a little bit with the altitude this week and when it’s very dry conditions and it’s sunny it’s tough for me to control the ball. But tonight was a different kind of match and I think I performed really well. I was very focussed on playing a good match tonight and that paid off. I’m very happy to win another tournament here, it’s a great feeling.”

Having completed a perfect first year on the circuit, Moya is looking forward to more in the future on the ATP Champions Tour.

"I only lost two matches and I feel very happy with the tennis I have played in most of the events this year," he said. "I am fit, I am happy to be on the Tour and hopefully I will be playing for many years.”

The ATP Champions Tour will now move on to London for the year-end AEGON Masters Tennis at the Royal Albert Hall (30 November-4 December).