Roger Federer has admitted to being "very surprised" by Andy Murray's 2016 form, culminating in the Scotsman claiming the world number one spot from Novak Djokovic.
The 29-year-old, who added another honour to his collection on Sunday evening by being crowned the BBC's Sports Personality of the Year, did enough in the second half of the season to oust his rival.
Federer describes Murray's run to the top of the standings as being "extraordinary" due to Djokovic's impressive start to the campaign, insisting that the three-time Grand Slam winner deserves nothing but respect for his achievements over the past 12 months.
"I was very surprised just because when a guy starts a season the way Novak does, achieves his dream by winning the French and his fourth Slam in a row, of course there's no way in the world that anybody, even the players, start thinking another guy could actually finish No.1," he told the New York Times.
"Novak, let's be honest, actually didn't play too bad in the second half. He won Toronto. He played finals in many other tournaments - US Open, the World Tour Finals.
"You would think that was going to be enough, but what it required was something extraordinary, and Murray was able to deliver that, and that's where I take my hat off."
Murray's final piece of silverware of 2016 came in London last month, as he beat Djokovic en route to winning the ATP World Tour Finals title at the O2 Arena.
Daniel Lewis
