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| Lleyton Hewitt returns a shot from Pete Sampras during the final of the US Open (© Allsport) |
Relentless Lleyton Hewitt chased down nearly every shot Pete Sampras fired across the net, demoralising the humbled legend in a stunning Grand Slam final debut to capture the US Open title.
The 20-year-old Australian routed Sampras 7-6 (7/4), 6-1, 6-1 Sunday in the worst US Open finals rout in a decade and the worst loss here for 10th seed Sampras since 1989.
"It's unbelievable," Hewitt said. "It's a feeling you can't describe. It's these moments you dream of and for it to come true for me at such a young age, it's just fantastic. It's a dream come true".
Fourth seed Hewitt committed only three unforced errors in the final two sets, zipping winners past the 30-year-old American with deadly accuracy as Sampras settled for runner-up honours for the second year in a row.
"I started to get into a bit of a zone with the passing shots," Hewitt said. "I was determined to hit the shots and I was getting them all".
Hewitt won his 10th career title, and by far his most important, before a crowd of 23,960 at Arthur Ashe Stadium, becoming the youngest US Open champion since Sampras won his first of four US Open crowns 11 years ago.
"He had all the answers for everything I tried, from picking off my serve to hitting great passing shots," Sampras said.
AFP