Roger Federer, the world’s second best tennis player, has become the all-time leader in career prize money following a spate of good results in the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) circuit in Madrid. His second round victory over Czech player, Radek Štěpánek, saw his total earnings rise to $43,288,519 USD, beating Pete Sampras’ previous record of $43,280,489.

The 27-year-old is said to be elated with the new record but he remains modest about his substantial fortune: "It's not very special. Sure, money is important in life but it's not everything." Federer has now earned almost twice as much as his closest rival, Rafael Nadal, and is only one Grand Slam victory away from equalling Pete Sampras’ career record of 14.

Pete Sampras retired in 2002 as one of the most successful male tennis players in history. He held the number one spot in the world rankings for six consecutive years and ended his career with a convincing victory over his bitter rival, Andre Agassi.

Federer was seeded second in the recent Madrid Masters tournament but was defeated in the semi-final by the eventual winner, Andy Murray. Rafael Nadal also lost out on a thirteenth Masters Series trophy after losing to Frenchman, Gilles Simon, in the semi-final.

The competition moves to Paris on the 27th of October and then to Shanghai for the final ATP Masters Series tournament of the year on the 11th of November.

Federer was rewarded with $20,100 for his efforts at the Madrid Masters tournament, bringing his total earnings for 2008 up to $4,561,341. World number one, Rafael Nadal, has earned an impressive $6,583,074 to date.