They had dug up the tennis courts at the exclusive Hurlingham Club in Buenos Aires for reseeding. So Argentinian David Nalbandian asked them to mark out a tennis court on the cricket square of the old colonial sprawl for his preparation for the biggest tennis event in the world, Wimbledon.

Not ideal. Then again, Nalbandian didn't figure on travelling beyond the first or second round of the tournament, and given his performance in yesterday's final people would be forgiven for being confused over just how he managed that.

He was tight and unable to groove his natural baseline game, and Lleyton Hewitt ran him around and laced the corners with groundstrokes for just under two hours, coming through 6-1, 6-3, 6-2.

The nature of Hewitt's grinding game and his precision from the back of the court, combined with the debilitating attack of Nalbandian nerves in the opening games, gave the 21-year-old Australian the perfect start to the most one-sided match since John McEnroe confined Jimmy Connors to only four games over three sets in 1984.

The previously dangerous forehand and back-hand drives up the lines deserted the 20-year-old, who, playing in his first senior grass tournament, began the match with a double fault.

But most people came to praise, not to bury Nalbandian, and his progress through the draw over the two weeks has been the singularly most startling aspect of these championships.

Argentinian players like to say herba esta para vacas - "Grass is for cows" - and few have ever come to Wimbledon and achieved so much. No South American player has won the title since Alex Olmedo 43 years ago, while Nalbandian is the first player in the Open era to have made it to the final on his debut. Even McEnroe only made the semi-finals in his first solo run.

But Hewitt, the world number one, didn't fail to convince. Taking charge of the points and possessing the ability to change the tempo and complexion of the match at will, he drew strength from, and then cruelly exposed, Nalbandian's initial choking. Hewitt earned 10 service break points in the first set and took three to win it with ease 6-1.

Relentlessly working from the back court, the world number one did not once try to serve/volley. Having belief in his brand of scouring, abrasive, ground tennis, he took on Nalbandian in his own arena and where his own strengths were obvious.

For those weapons Hewitt is rightly feared and envied. The most durable legs, the toughest mental strength and the biggest competitor in the game - even the first rain break failed to break his momentum.

Coming out a set up and 1-0 ahead in the second set, Hewitt again broke the Nalbandian serve before handing his own over and the rain fell again, this time to enforce a 35-minute delay.

Once more he turned up the volume on returning to court, breaking Nalbandian for 5-3 and serving out the set for 2-0.

"In the second set he raised his game. He didn't make those early mistakes he was making, made me work a lot harder for my points," said Hewitt, one of the few back-court players, along with Andre Agassi, to have now won the event.

"When I first came on (grass) I was actually trying to mix it (style) up. I think I was playing the wrong style of game, coming to the net, chipping and charging, that kind of stuff. It wasn't working.

"I went back and said the guys are going to have to play extremely well if they are going to beat me from the back of the court."

When Hewitt left the Centre Court he met the last Australian winner of the title, Pat Cash, in the locker-room. What did Cash say to you?

"He said that I'll probably have to talk about him in the press conference actually. He said I'll probably get sick and tired of talking about him because he was the last Australian to win it."

Nalbandian, who stretched Hewitt in the final set until the Australian broke service for the second time for 3-2, ultimately collapsed. A few line calls that he saw differently, a couple of unlucky breaks at the net and the Argentinian was looking at the skies, knowing that his adventure was finally coming to an abrupt end.

"I think I did a lot of shots and the linesmen do many mistakes. But to be in the finals for me was great. Lleyton didn't miss many shots. He was great. He's a strong man. He's fast. He's difficult, because if you do just one mistake he takes it. He is very difficult to play."

Nalbandian takes home almost more money from this event, £262,500, than he has earned all year on the circuit. Will you put it into an Argentinian bank, asked a journalist.

"No," responded the player, laughing at the prospect of returning the money to his country where many financial institutions have crashed.

Hewitt heads off to the US Open as the world's best, the favourite. But there is little fear that with the comfort of that position the gut-buster will allow his game to idle.

"I'm number one in the world," he said. "Lose that ranking and I lose the reasons why I got to number one and what I'm playing this game for."

That's why he's a champion.

The Williams sisters completed their domination of women's tennis at Wimbledon 2002 by winning the women's doubles final last evening. They beat Argentina's Paola Suarez and Virginia Ruano Pascual of Spain, 6-2, 7-5, in the final.