Tennis: Hewitt's moment of history

Lleyton Hewitt became the lowest-ranked player to win an ATP tournament when he beat Jason Stoltenberg in the final of the Australian men's hardcourt championship in Adelaide yesterday.

"I don't think I will be going back to school this year," said the Australian teenager, who refused to be overawed by the more experienced Stoltenberg, a semi-finalist at Wimbledon in 1996.

The 16-year-old rookie, who was playing in only his second ATP Tour event, won 3-6, 6-3, 7-6 to send his world ranking up from 550 to around 200.

He also accounted for the former world No 1, Andre Agassi, in the semi- finals, on his way to beating the record of Senegal's Yahiya Doumbia, who was ranked 453 when he overcame Todd Martin as the lowest ranked player to win an ATP event in Lyon in 1988.

At 16 years and 11 months old, Hewitt is also the youngest player to win an ATP event since Michael Chang, now world No 3, won in San Francisco in 1988 aged 16 years seven months.