AFP
 
Paris, Dec 17: World No.1s Rafael Nadal of Spain and Jelena Jankovic of Serbia were named on Wednesday as World Champions for 2008 by the International Tennis Federation (ITF).

The 22-year-old Nadal, who won the French Open, Wimbledon and Olympic gold in Beijing to dethrone Roger Federer atop the rankings, is the first Spanish man to be named men's World Champion.

"It has been an incredible year for me and I will never forget all that's happened," Nadal said.

"To finish the year ranked No. 1 was really special. At the same time I was proud to win the Olympic gold medal, and help Spain regain the Davis Cup. It has been a wonderful year for Spanish sport."

Jankovic becomes Serbia's first tennis World Champion in singles after securing the year-end No. 1 ranking in a standout year.

She reached her first Grand Slam final at the US Open, and won more matches on the tour than any other player, capturing four titles in Rome, Beijing, Stuttgart and Moscow.

The 23-year-old also represented her country at the Olympics and in the Fed Cup, where she helped Serbia qualify for the World Group for the first time ever.

"I am very proud of myself for all I have accomplished in 2008 and am delighted to be named ITF World Champion," Jankovic said.

"I worked really hard this year and to finish No.1 is where I want to be and where I want to stay.

"It was also an honour to represent Serbia in the Beijing Olympics and I hope I can achieve further success for my country in Fed Cup."

The ITF also announced that Daniel Nestor of Canada and Nenad Zimonjic of Serbia, and Cara Black of Zimbabwe and Liezel Huber of the United States are the 2008 ITF Doubles World Champions.