SYDNEY, Nov. 18 (UPI) -- Australia's Lleyton Hewitt ended a superlative season Sunday with a triumph at the Tennis Masters Cup.
Hewitt cruised past Sebastien Grosjean of France, 6-3, 6-3, 6-4, in the final of the $3.65 million, season-ending event.
The Australian's 2001 season began and ended with victories in Sydney. In between, he captured his first Grand Slam crown at the U.S. Open and became the youngest world No. 1.
In addition, his run to the crown here began and ended with victories over Grosjean. He defeated the diminutive Frenchman Monday in a tight match to open round-robin play but had little difficulty in Sunday's final.
A winner of 22 of his final 24 matches, Hewitt claimed his sixth tournament of the year. He began the season by winning the adidas International here and added titles in England, the Netherlands and Japan. This was his 12th career tournament title.
Hewitt became the first undefeated champion at this year-end event since Germany's Michael Stich won the 1993 ATP World Championship in Frankfurt.
Grosjean was playing in his second straight final. He had to win the Tennis Masters Series event in Paris two weeks ago just to qualify for his first trip to the ATP's season-ending showcase.
The 23-year-old was trying to capture his third career title and become just the fifth player to win the year-end championship in his debut. John McEnroe was the last player to achieve the feat in 1978.
