Lleyton Hewitt confirmed his newly-found status as world number one with a comfortable 6-3 6-3 6-4 victory over Sebastien Grosjean in the final of the Tennis Masters Cup today.
The Australian's 2001 season began and ended with victories in Sydney - and his run to the title in Sydney began and ended with successes over Grosjean.
In between, he captured his first Grand Slam crown at the US Open and became the youngest player ever to top the world rankings.
Hewitt defeated the diminutive Frenchman on Monday in a tight round robin match but had little difficulty in the 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 in Australia and added titles in England, the Netherlands, the United States 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.
PA