Mikhail Youzhny overtook Alex Bogomolov Jr. as Russia's No. 1 tennis player on Monday after winning the Zagreb Indoors tournament in Croatia over the weekend.
The 29-year-old Muscovite climbed seven places to 32nd in the world rankings after defeating 65th-ranked Lukas Lacko of Slovakia in Sunday's final 6-2, 6-3.
"I don’t want to think about my ranking," Youznhy was quoted as saying by the tournament website. "If I keep playing well, my ranking will come. ... I’m just enjoying my game at the moment, that’s it. It’s a nice atmosphere in Zagreb, I feel comfortable here and really enjoy this tournament."
Lacko had ousted Bogomolov in the second round 6-0, 6-7 (1), 6-1.
Bogomolov, now ranked two places below Youzhny, caused consternation in the United States by switching citizenship to represent Russia late last year, becoming the country's top player.
Youzhny has a career-high ranking of eighth, which he reached in January 2008. He has eight career titles and his best grand slam performance was reaching the semifinals of the U.S. Open, in 2006 and 2010.
Dmitry Tursunov is Russia's next-highest ranked player, at 49th, with Nikolai Davydenko at 51.
