American Pete Sampras returned to the top of the ATP world rankings at Victoria Park yesterday, though the achievement filled him with only a fraction of joy.
Beating crowd favourite Michael Chang 6-4, 3-6, 6-4 in the US$328,000 Salem Hong Kong Open final meant much more than his ascension to the top, where he replaces Austrian Thomas Muster.
American-Chinese Chang has been invincible in his home away from home since a 1993 semi-final loss to Jim Courier, winning the Hong Kong title for the past two years.
Sampras has now ended that great run, setting off on his 117th non-consecutive week as the world's number one player by competing in the Japan Open in Tokyo.
'Winning the tournament is more important than the ranking,' said Sampras, who raised his arms in triumph after the 122-minute tussle following a flurry of shots at the net which saw Chang balloon a mid-court volley on match point.
'We played a very high level of tennis for most of the match and it felt really good beating him here,' said Sampras, 24, who is assured of the number one spot irrespective of how Muster performs in the Estoril final.