Roger Federer underlined his position as the world's best player by demolishing former champion Lleyton Hewitt 6-0, 7-6, 6-0 to win his first US Open title on Sunday.

The world number one was close to perfection as he raced through the first set in 18 minutes, and although Hewitt forced a tiebreak in the second, Federer stormed through the third to become the first man in the Open Era to win his first four Grand Slam finals.

The Australian Open and Wimbledon champion, who seems destined to rewrite the record books, is also the first player since Sweden's Mats Wilander in 1988 to win three Grand Slams in the same year.

"I still can't believe what I've done this year, to win three Grand Slams out of four is so great and to win the US Open is incredible," said Federer after collecting the $1 million prize.

"It's always very important to play really well in the finals, the matches that count the most. To win the first set 6-0 was a perfect start," he told reporters.

Federer, 23, was simply breathtaking as he lost only five points on his way to the opener against a player who had cruised through to the final without dropping a set.

One-Way Traffic

The match seemed to be running away from the Australian fourth seed in record time as he lost his opening serve of the second set, but he finally registered on the scoreboard after 30 minutes of one-way traffic.

• Factbox - Roger Federer

Suddenly, sensing the match might not be a lost cause, the 2001 champion reached 30-40 on Federer's serve in the sixth game, but could only shake his head as his opponent produced three aces.

Hewitt was hanging on by his fingernails in the next game when he saved three break points, battling back from 0-40 down to stay in the set.

Federer showed he was human after all with a few misplaced groundstrokes and a drop in his first serve accuracy midway through the second set.

He was lucky to survive a break point at 3-2 when Hewitt ran him all over the court only to see his attempted backhand winner flick the tape and land in the tramlines.

But the Australian's efforts were rewarded in a 13-minute 10th game when he saved three set points before snatching back a break to level at 5-5 when Federer missed a backhand.

Pivotal Moment

With Federer showing signs of pressure for the first time in the match, the tiebreak became the pivotal moment of a glorious afternoon at Flushing Meadows.

Like a true champion he raised his game at the right moment, easing into a 6-3 lead before Hewitt dumped a sliced backhand into the bottom of the net.

From that moment on the final was little more than an exhibition as Hewitt, for once, ran out of fight.

Federer produced his full repertoire of shots as he accelerated into a 5-0 lead and collapsed to the court in joy when another forehand winner completed the fourth Grand Slam title of his career.

"It's disappointing but in the first set I didn't have any real opportunities to get my teeth into the match," said Hewitt, who had won his two previous Grand Slam finals.

"But I'd like to congratulate Roger. It's an incredible effort what he's done this year, to win three Grand Slams with the depth there is in the men's game.

"I don't think people probably realise how hard it is. When he plays like he did today he is in a different league, he's taken it to another level."