Tennis: Hewitt books final place

Lleyton Hewitt stormed through to the final of the Masters Cup.

He beat Juan Carlos Ferrero 6-4 6-3 in Sydney.

The win moves Hewitt within touching distance of a sixth title this season.

Hewitt secured his place as the youngest ever year-end world number one at the age of 20 years and eight months this week.

He now faces Sebastien Grosjean in the final, and will claim £1m prize money if he succeeds.

Hewitt beat Grosjean in the round robin group, but on seven of the previous nine occasions, the winner of the final has reversed a defeat in his round robin group.

Ferrero had played down Hewitt's history-making yesterday, saying that he was "no more than a new player that I have to play against".

But Hewitt showed the Spaniard that he is much more.

The Adelaide native is the hottest player in the game, having won 21 of 23 matches since the start of the US Open which he claimed for his first grand slam title in September.

Hewitt got the one break he needed today in the middle of the first set and then breezed past the player he lost to in last year's Davis Cup final in the second.

Grosjean presents a tough challenge for Hewitt, the Frenchman having beaten him twice before and pushed him to three sets in their round robin match.

He has established himself as a top 10 player and his semi-final appearances in this year's Australian, and French Opens suggests a grand slam title beckons.

Grosjean can break into the world's top five by winning the final.

If Hewitt succeeds, he will be the first undefeated champion at a year-end event since Germany's Michael Stich in 1993 ATP Tour World Championship in Frankfurt.

Sunday's final will also have psychological importance with the two likely to meet at the end of the month when Australia host France in the Davis Cup final in Melbourne.

Ironically, Stich was also the last player to win a year-end championship and go on to win the Davis Cup final.