Has the Australian now come of age?

21-year-old Lleyton Hewitt's defeat over David Nalbandian gave him his second Grand Slam title.

The feisty Aussie has already shown his dominance on grass with his third successive win at Queens in June.

And Hewitt's uncompromising desire to win has been rewarded by reaching the number one world ranking.

But has he got what it takes to rival Sampras' reign at the top?

This debate is now closed. A selection of your e-mails appear below.

Hewitt is the most talented youngster in the professional game, and I fully expect him to dominate on grass as Sampras has done over the years. Henman will never win Wimbledon, as he will never come to close to competing with the current world number one.
Sandra Edney, England

Hewitt is an absolutely breathtaking player, and he will go on to dominate men's tennis - and in particular the US Open and Wimbledon. His straight sets defeat of Henman showed how good he is, because Henman actually played one of his better matches but had no answer to Hewitt's superior ability.

Henman is a quality player, especially on grass, and his defeat highlighted the supreme ability of Hewitt. It will though be interesting to see how he deals with the emerging power players. I think he will survive the tests, but time will tell.

Also, there is the question of whether he has peaked too early. I feel he can only get marginally better, and this may see him being caught and possibly overtaken by other players (i.e. Malisse who has yet to realise his abundance of talent).
Michael Newsome, England

Hewitt is the world number one only because of the sub-standard opponents around today. He is all power and no finesse.
Steve Holden, UK

It goes without saying that he'll be around for some time. He has self-belief, skill and unrivalled passion.
Ben Hawkins, Australia

Hewitt has always been an amazing tennis player. The guy is hungry and has the Killer instinct, which a lot of other players at his level lack. That's what makes him such a formidable opponent. The only person capable of stopping Lleyton from becoming the very best is Lleyton himself.
Ali Evans, Australia

Lleyton Hewitt is undoubtedly an outstanding tennis player and deserves his position as world number one. But I hope we are not now going to have to sit and watch endless rallies where the players just slug the ball from the baseline.

This is not what Wimbledon is about. Please, guys, just come in to the net now and then!
F Newell, UK

Hewitt deserves credit for taking his chances, but as a preference I find his game ugly and lacking anything approaching charm. I hope Safin and Federer get their acts together.
Dina, United Kingdom

He was the best player at Wimbledon and deserved to win. However, I feel men's tennis is poor, and there is no real threat to Hewitt. During the era of Sampras there were at least 10 top stars, but now there is only one.

Unless there is more competition Hewitt will dominate, but cannot be considered one of the greats.
Kajam Maheswaran, England

I think it most unlikely that Lleyton Hewitt will last more than a year at the top. He is so emotionally committed to winning that either he will burn out mentally or the extra stress will cause serious physical injury.

The sooner the better since he plays the most boring tennis and needs to take time to grow up. Before the accusations of sour grapes start pouring in, I couldn't care less about Henman, or British performance in sport. We do well enough.
Tom, UK

It is all praise for Hewitt because he played a weak opponent. In tennis, unless his so-called "unpowered" tennis is given some more power, he will be swept aside like dust on the floor. If I am wrong, ask yourself where Hingis and her likes ended up. Where did Michael Cheng and Courier end up.

Tennis is a power sport and no matter how people would try to derrogate the real tennis players just because they hit hard, the reality still stands-that weak people shall always be swept of the tennis court like dust on the floor.
Luke, England

Hewitt is the next Sampras, no question. He will dominate men's tennis during this decade. He's only 21 and he is going to get better and better. The fact that he's a baseliner makes it even more interesting. The big, booming serve and volleyers do not make for good viewing (except for Boris Becker). Long live the baseliners and long rallies!
Lee, UK

To win Wimbledon without a big serve and volley is really quite impressive. Even Borg, a classic baseliner, took to serve and volley occasionally at Wimbledon. Hewitt shows incredible promise to be one of the all time best. He is certainly the favorite for the next U.S. Open.
D Olson, USA

Hewitt may be dominating now, but will he follow the same road as Michael Chang and Jim Courier? Both of these players were quite dominating for a number of years, but were found out at an age in which they were supposed to peak.

Will Hewitt also succumb to a new generation of (power) play which, once accustomed to Hewitt's counter-attacking style, will overpower Leyton Hewitt just like it overpowered the past greats named above? Judging from what I've seen, the answer would be a simple "yes".
Mark, Netherlands

Tennis needs more players like him. He is emotionally pumped up, always running balls down, has a never say die attitude, and he always gives his best. Remember - he is less than 6ft tall, and so does not dominate with his serve alone. I can see him winning more Grand Slams in the future.

This is definitely the start of a new era in men's tennis - the only sad thing being that once Henman, Sampras, Goran, Rafter, Rusedski and Philipoussis retire, we as an audience will be left to watch baseliners slug it out all day long - EVEN on grass courts!
Mr. Tech, London

Hewitt is definitely special. His poise and composure around the court shows a steely will and confidence. His pace is simply electric and he reads the games so well. A big match player - like all the greats he can turn up the heat in big occasions.

He is head and shoulders above the rest today. He is the only player in the world with a chance on a full Grand Slam - maybe in 2003?.

For the sake of tennis lovers around the world, I hope someone better steps up to challenge Lleyton.
Mrs. Agnihotri, USA

Hewitt is the undisputed leader of a new generation : Safin, Malisse, Federer, Roddick, ... I hope he will get a worthy challenger soon. Then we can see a rivalry that can compare with Borg-McEnroe or Sampras-Agassi !
Heidi, Belgium

Simply perfect
Daz, Australia

He is simply several steps ahead of his peers. He is raising the level of the game one more time and the rest of the lot (Safin, Federer, Ferrero, Haas, etc) will have to raise their game and mind strength to keep up with him.

To me he lost the Aussie open due to illness and the French open because he is still learning how to play on the "red stuff". It's only a matter of time until he emulates his country man Rod Laver in winning all four majors.
Nelson, USA

Hewitt is the undisputed leader of a new generation : Safin, Malisse, Federer, Roddick, ... I hope he will get a worthy challenger soon. Then we can see a rivalry that can compare with Borg-McEnroe or Sampras-Agassi !
Heidi, Belgium

Simply perfect
Daz, Australia

He is good ..but it's not tennis that I find enjoyable to watch, this was the least enjoyable men's final I can remember. Oh well
Tess, USA

Goooo Hewitt! He is an unbelievably good player, every shot is breathtaking, he is so quick and never lets a ball escape him, he feeds off his opponent's desperation, rises to the challenge and keeps his cool even with the whole crowd against him!

He is superb, absolutely excellent, unbeatable!!!!
Haz, England

A new king has just arrived. I think he will around for a long, long time.
Frank Konku, United States

I am so thrilled for Lleyton Hewitt. He has matured in leaps and bounds over the past 12 months and is now showing exactly what he can do on a tennis court. An amazing tennis player, who was far and away the most outstanding player of the tournament. Well done, Lleyton.
Leanne, Australia