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Hewitt Smashes Sampras

© Joel Hunt

Australian Lleyton Hewitt has stunned the tennis world by claiming his first grand slam title, the US Open. He did it in some style, destroying Yevgeny Kafelnikov in a lacklustre semi-final, and then straight setting 4 time champion Pete Sampras in the final. Sampras said "I lost to a great champion. You're going to see this Lleyton Hewitt guy for the next 10 years like you saw me." At only 20 years of age, and already possessing 9 ATP titles; Hewitt does indeed look set to be a major contender in men's tennis for some time to come.

Hewitt has long been hailed as a future tennis champion. At only 16 years of age he won the second ATP tournament he played, winning his hometown Adelaide event. This was no soft draw either, on the way he defeated Andre Agassi. Since then Hewitt has firmly established himself among the top players of the men's game. The only area he was lacking was in a grand slam, where his performances had not been up to the standards he had set in ATP events. Some critics felt that he wasn't strong enough to maintain his level in a best of 5 sets format over the 2 weeks required for a grand slam. Now Hewitt has proven himself, coming through several tough matches and adverse conditions to claim his first major.

Pete Sampras, a four time US Open champion and with more grand slam titles than anyone in history; was humbled in his match with Hewitt. Scorching returns and passing shots helped Hewitt to win a first set tie break, and then to accelerate past a demoralised Sampras in straight sets. The final result was 7-6 (7-4), 6-1, 6-1, the match spanning less than 2 hours.

Earlier in the tournament Sampras had impressed with tough victories over former champions Pat Rafter and Andre Agassi. He then beat the defending champion Marat Safin in the semi-final, but he had no answers against the speed and accuracy of Hewitt. "I tried everything to figure it out, and nothing seemed to work," Sampras said. "He returned and passed as well as anyone I think I've ever played."

Hewitt himself, though seemingly unfazed on the court, was stunned by the win.

"I don't know when it will sink in, if it ever will," Hewitt said. "I went and told [girlfriend] Kim: 'I'm not going to wake up'."

Hewitt has fulfilled a dream in beating Pete Sampras in fhe final of a grand slam. Now with both Sampras and Agassi on the wrong side of 30, it would appear that the little Aussie firebrand is set to usurp their position of supremacy in men's tennis.