Federer ties Connors' record

TENNIS: Roger Federer tied Jimmy Connors' record of 160 consecutive weeks as the top-ranked player in men's tennis Monday.

The 10-time Grand Slam champion has held the No. 1 ATP Tour ranking since Feb. 2, 2004. The Swiss star is assured of breaking the record next week.

"Breaking records and doing something that hasn't been done for a long time, it's really nice," Federer said recently. Connors was No. 1 from July 1974 to August 1977. He is now coaching one of Federer's biggest rivals, Andy Roddick.

Federer, who has won six of the last seven Grand Slam titles, hasn't played since beating Fernando Gonzalez in the Australian Open final on Jan. 28. He returns to action next week at the Dubai Open. Federer has 8,120 points in the year-based rankings. Rafael Nadal, the man who beat Federer at the French Open last year, is second with 4,705 points. Nadal also beat Federer in the Dubai Open final last year.

The 25-year-old Federer has dominated tennis for the past three seasons, but is still trying to win a Grand Slam title on clay.

LONDON, Monday, AP