Davis Cup next for masterful Hewitt

The unstoppable train that is Lleyton Hewitt reached its penultimate destination of 2001 yesterday when the newly crowned world No 1 defeated Sebastien Grosjean in straight sets at the Sydney SuperDome to add the Masters Cup title to his growing collection.

Next stop is Melbourne, where Hewitt and his Australian team-mates will play France in the Davis Cup final in a fortnight. Victory there would round off an extraordinary few months for the 20-year-old Hewitt, who won his first Grand Slam title at the US Open and overtook Gustavo Kuerten in the Champions Race last week to become the youngest year-end top-ranked player.

Grosjean, 23, played some of his best tennis on Saturday to beat Yevgeny Kafelnikov for a place in the final, but he was ineffective against Hewitt, who controlled the match from the baseline by sending the Frenchman scrambling into corners or dashing to the net. Grosjean dropped his serve five times and made 47 unforced errors during his 6-3, 6-3, 6-4 defeat.

"It's been a dream two months for me," said Hewitt, who rolled on his back and waved his legs in the air after serving out the final game to love. "Since winning the US Open, it's been getting better and better."

Hewitt, who dropped just one set during the tournament, added: "This is a great way to finish off the year for me individually; now I'm heading for Melbourne to get on the practice courts and get ready to beat this guy again. It would really top it off if we could win the Davis Cup, but France is going to be tough."

Grosjean, who is also off to Melbourne to practise on the grass surface chosen by the Australians, had an outstanding week despite losing in the final. He qualified for the season-ending Masters Cup just the previous week by overcoming Kafelnikov to win the Paris indoor tournament.

In Sydney, he outclassed Andre Agassi and Pat Rafter in the round-robin stages; his only two losses all week were to Hewitt. He reached No 6, his first year-end top-10 ranking.

Grosjean said of Hewitt: "He's beaten me twice this week and it's going to be difficult in Melbourne. But we are a strong team, so we will see."

Yesterday Hewitt attacked the powerful forehand that is Grosjean's best weapon, while the Frenchman hit his shots without much conviction and never gave the impression that he thought he could win. The Australian chased every ball, showing no sign of the groin strain that troubled him during his previous two matches. He kept up the pressure on Grosjean, sweeping aside one break of his serve in the third set to wrap up the match in an hour and 55 minutes.

Hewitt received a standing ovation from the home crowd and announced his intention to beat Grosjean again in the Davis Cup final. "I have to get ready and hit the practice courts, and try to beat this guy again," he said. He would become the first man to win the season-ending tournament and the Davis Cup since Germany's Michael Stich in 1993.

Last night Hewitt planned to celebrate with his girlfriend, Kim Clijsters, who flew in to Sydney on Saturday after helping Belgium win the Fed Cup last week. Asked if it had been the best week of his life, Hewitt replied: "It's up there."