Rafael Nadal of Spain holds the national flag of Spain at the awarding ceremony of the men's singles gold medal match of Beijing Olympic Games tennis event against Fernando Gonzalez of Chile in Beijing, China, Aug. 17, 2008. Nadal won the match 3-0 and claimed the title in this event. [Xinhua]

Spaniard tennis player Rafael Nadal on Monday became officially number one in the world, after the release of latest ATP world rankings.

Nadal knew he would be the world No. 1 when he beat Ecuadorian Nicolas in the Cincinnati Masters Series quarterfinals two weeks ago.

After being number two for 160 weeks, since July 25, 2005, Nadal, 22, the third youngest in obtaining such victories since Jimmy Connors and Bjorn Borg, has replaced Federer with 30 titles.

With 70 victories and only 8 defeats in this season, Nadal will have now the aim of keeping the leadership until the Masters Cup in Shangai in November, and the challenge of obtaining the Davis Cup with Spain.

(Xinhua News Agency August 19, 2008)