Hewitt victories will run and run
Lleyton Hewitt must be tempted to think that grand-slam finals are a bit of a doddle. Last year at Flushing Meadows Pete Sampras managed only eight games in a straight-sets defeat against the young Australian, and yesterday David Nalbandian mustered a mere six.
The fact is that Hewitt is naturally blessed with that supreme quality of focus that all champions possess and that currently singles him out, at the age of only 21, as the world's leading player.
Now that he has done it twice, the question will be whether he can go on to establish himself as the pre-eminent power in the men's game.
Hewitt, unlike in his victory over Sampras in New York, was nowhere near his best against Nalbandian in a disappointingly scratchy final that rarely rose above the routine. But his concentration was as intense as ever, and it is this mental strength more than anything that has enabled him to win two of the last four grand-slam events and establish himself as the world No1.
The Dutchman Sjeng Schalken, the only player in the past fortnight to push Hewitt beyond three sets, made the point that, unlike Sampras or Andre Agassi at their best, Hewitt is not the sort of player to blow an opponent off court. However, Schalken suggested that this may happen over the next couple of years, as Hewitt grows in confidence and strength.
There are already obvious signs that Hewitt's mental hold is intimidating enough. Tim Henman, who has now lost to him in all their six meetings, managing only two sets, was close to being beaten before he stepped on court for their semi-final last Friday, and Hewitt holds a head-to-head advantage against the majority of his main rivals.
He believes he has the capability to win all the grand-slam tournaments, and has already reached the last eight on the clay of Roland Garros, potentially the most difficult surface for him to win on. Understandably Hewitt passionately wants to succeed in the Australian Open, although he has never gone beyond the last 16.
Those watching him yesterday may have been a little puzzled about what all the fuss was about. Essentially he is a counter-puncher who loves a target at the net, or in that nowhere land at the edge of the service box. Neither Hewitt's serve, forehand nor backhand are particularly big, but his movement is exceptional, his tennis brain crystal clear, and his competitiveness huge.
His opponents recognise what they need to do to beat him - attack the slightly weaker forehand, be patient, and do not give him too much pace to work with - but in the process they frequently find their own games mangled by Hewitt's unbending aggression and unremitting focus. The best-laid plans, as in Henman's case, are often left in tatters.
He plays each point as if it were his last, offers the most miserly number of free gifts, and exerts an overall pressure that is desperately difficult to cope with. As he said yesterday: "I play to win. You don't always have to play your best tennis."
Winning his first grand-slam title last year flushed away the vestiges of self-doubt, and he entered Wimbledon in high confidence. Chicken pox had ruined his chances at this year's Australian Open and he was beaten in the fourth round of the French Open by another Argentinian, Guillermo Canas. He knew this was the moment to strike and take another significant step forward.
"Every since I've known Lleyton he's gone better than I ever thought he could do," said his fellow Australian Todd Woodbridge, who won the men's doubles title with Jonas Bjorkman of Sweden.
"I didn't expect him to win Wimbledon this time. He's a freak. People like him only come along every 15 or 20 years. As long as he stays fit I think he's going to be a four-to-six-slam winner."
And maybe more. There are many imponderables. Marat Safin and Roger Federer have more natural talent, but mentally they are not in the same league. This may change, although it seems unlikely that Hewitt will lose his place as the world No1 in the near future, such is his grip.
The one major doubt concerning Hewitt is the amount of energy he expends. Some fear that it will take a heavy toll on his body but comparisons with Michael Chang, who won the French Open when he was 17, are facile. Chang hurtled around the court with similar speed, but his running was essentially for defensive purposes. Hewitt is an attacker, and he also has a far better serve that is improving all the time.
Those who speculated, after last year's US Open, that Hewitt, like Chang, might be a one-slam wonder have been answered quickly, and such was the ease of this Wimbledon win, the Schalken five-set quarter-final excepted, that his victory may be the forerunner of many here.
Not that anybody would want to see another final like yesterday's. The move to slow down the courts and increase the size of the balls has made for much entertaining tennis throughout the fortnight but the game still needs attacking players such as Pat Rafter or Stefan Edberg in order to provide a contrast in styles. This was the first Wimbledon final of the modern era during which neither player served-and-volleyed once. And it was the poorer for it.