Novak Djokovic aimed to fulfil his lifetime goal of becoming the world number one next year after winning the season-ending Masters Cup in Shanghai.
The 21-year-old Serbian started the year with his first grand slam title at the Australian Open and ended it with a 6-1 7-5 victory over Russian Nikolay Davydenko to close within 10 ranking points of world number two Roger Federer.
While conceding that Rafael Nadal deserves to finish the season as the top player, Djokovic is pleased to see new younger players challenger the Spaniard and Swiss Federer.
He says it's good for the sport to see some new faces playing the final stages of the major events.
Serbian tennis has had a good year with Jelena Jankovic the number one woman and Nenad Zimonjic teaming up with Belgrade-born Canadian Daniel Nestor to win the Masters Cup and take the number one spot in doubles.