Ferrero sliced a forehand over the baseline on the first chance, and Novak saved the second with a backhand drive.The Czech had two match points with Ferrero serving at 4-5 ­ the Spaniard encapsulating his afternoon's work by following a superb drop-shot from the baseline with a double-fault ­ and converted his third match point with Ferrero serving at 5-6."I'm going to fight with all my power to get to the year end as No 1," Ferrero said "I have one more week until I go to Houston And then one more week to go to the Davis Cup. He intends to watch a video of the match to check exactly why his delivery let him down. Novak, ranked No 18, is generally a dangerous opponent; the more so when he senses a weakness at the other end of the court. He broke for 3-1 in the opening set and remained confident after Ferrero recovered in the next game, pouncing to take the set in 43 minutes after the Spaniard double-faulted on game point at 5-6.Ferrero had two opportunities to come back into the match with Novak serving at 2-2 in the second set. He goes from there to Melbourne for the Davis Cup final against Australia, who are putting down a grass court in the hope of capitalising on home advantage.Ferrero said he played "a solid match without mistakes" against Novak, adding that the only thing missing from his performance was the reliability of his serve. Jonas Bjorkman, of Sweden, is next in line for the American, who is trying to add the Paris title to his Masters Series victories in Montreal and Cincinnati last summer."It's pretty cool," Roddick said, "I got to No 1 and no one can take that away from me, ever. But there is still a lot ahead ­ and it's all going to come down to the Masters Cup."Having won the Madrid Masters two weeks ago, Ferrero may be feeling the strain of the race, particularly since his season will not end in Texas.

Roddick, Ferrero, and the Swiss Roger Federer, the latest Grand Slam singles champions, are locked in a three-way battle to finish the year as No 1.Ferrero, the 23-year-old French Open champion, lost ground here yesterday in the last tournament before the Masters Cup in Houston, falling in the third round of the Paris Masters to the experienced, often underestimated Czech, Jiri Novak, 7-5, 7-5.Roddick, the United States Open champion, swiftly took advantage, overpowering Tommy Robredo, of Spain, 6-3, 6-4, to advance to the quarter-finals It was Roddick's sixth consecutive win against Robredo. The 21-year-old Nebraskan, who supplanted Juan Carlos Ferrero, of Spain, is the sixth American to head the rankings and the fourth No 1 in a season that has also seen the leadership in the possession of Lleyton Hewitt and Andre Agassi. Henman will tonight play Roger Federer, the 22-year-old Wimbledon champion, who edged a thrilling contest against the Dutchman Martin Verkerek 6-7, 7-6, 7-6. Andy Roddick yesterday became the 22nd world No 1 since ATP computer rankings began in 1973.

Federer saved four match points and won on his third match point.Thankfully, in spite of myriad problems in the sport, competition continues to sizzle at the top of the men's game. A fascinating day's play at the Paris Masters ended with Tim Henman advancing to his first quarter-final here, having dismantled the Brazilian Gustavo Kuerten, a three times French Open champion, 6-4, 6-2. He was listed to run the line in today's match between France and the United States in Wollongong, but no appointments for the knock-out stages have yet been made.So endeth this peculiar saga, a minor event in the great scheme of this tournament but one that outgrew itself because England were the team involved. Accusations of institutional arrogance are only to be expected when English sportsmen visit this part of the world, especially when those sportsmen are considered to be capable of actually winning something. As Woodward said after the first outbreak of what he sees as anti-English paranoia: "It will only get worse.". "We are delighted that this verdict has been reached."It remains to be seen whether Walsh, one of the leading referees in the world, is penalised for his alleged role in the argument with Reddin, after which England accused him of verbally abusing their man. The touchline duties will probably pass to one of the physiotherapists, Barney Kenny or Phil Pask, or the masseur, Richard Wegrzyk."Dave Reddin is and will continue to be a valuable and well-respected member of the squad," said the England communications director, Richard Prescott, before refusing to take questions on the outcome of the hearing.

He will not, however, be permitted near the pitch for Sunday's final pool match against Uruguay and next weekend's likely quarter-final against Wales. "But this was weighed against a number of factors, including the fact that the directions of the match official were ignored and the need to maintain the integrity of those officials."The judgement does not prevent Reddin carrying out by far the most significant of his roles in the England camp - that of overseeing the physical preparation of the team for each fixture. "Mr McLoughlin took into account that there had been an admission of guilt and that there were a range of mitigating circumstances, including a clean record, character evidence and an apology," said the World Cup authorities in an official statement. Much to the disgust of the ever-sympathetic sporting pundits of Australia - "England spend 10 grand on tea and biccies every afternoon," snorted Phil Kearns, the former Wallaby captain - the least popular side in the tournament escaped serious punishment for their pitch-side misdemeanours during last weekend's epic match with Samoa in Melbourne. There was more than a whiff of convenience about yesterday's decision by the competition's independent judicial officer, Brian McLoughlin of Ireland, following a three-hour hearing in Sydney.