It took only 57 minutes for 16-year-old Bhambri to make his official mark in the tennis world, overpowering his opponent with his trademark forehand and volley tactics.
He joins a long list of former Australian Open junior champions including Andy Roddick, Marcos Baghdatis and Gael Monfils.
The win also means the No.1 seed has made amends for his semifinal exit at Australian Open 2008, where he lost to eventual junior champion Bernard Tomic of Australia.
Speaking after the match, Bhambri confessed to not knowing much about his opponent.
“I hadn't seen or heard of him before. I had seen him play yesterday in the semis, so I knew a bit about him.
“I just wanted to focus on my game. I knew it was a big match, so whoever probably put more balls in the court would probably win the match. That was my aim, and to try and cut down unforced errors,” he said.
Georgoudas, affectionately known as ‘Freddie’, had dropped only two sets en route to the final, and after ousting the No.2 seed Julen Uriguen in the semifinals, was expected to give the No.1 a good run.
But from the outset, Bhambri was quick to control play, using his court speed to force Georgoudas into a pace the German was clearly uncomfortable with.
Unable to get his racquet to co-operate, the 17-year-old found Bhambri pressing at every opportunity, and couldn’t muster a single break point opportunity in the opening set, while his opponent had five.
Georgoudas found it next to impossible to win a point off the No.1 seed’s serve, and was clearly relieved when he was able to hold onto his own.
Unfortunately, the plan to approach the second set with more tenacity didn’t work as the German would have liked.
With an opening service game littered with shots into the net, Georgoudas quickly found himself 0-2 down
He kept his head up and was able to press on Bhambri’s next service game, discovering that if he kept the Indian pinned to the baseline he had a good chance of overpowering him with his two-handed backhand.
Bhambri, though, showed tennis smarts well beyond his years, utilising his skill at the net and whipping forehands into every corner to quickly work his way back on top.
The rising star broke Georgoudas again in the sixth game, and other than a double fault in his final service game, he had no problems finishing the championship off.
Speaking after the match, Georgoudas said he enjoyed playing at Melbourne Park and hoped to be back.
“It is a very nice tournament here; well done to Yuki, and I hope to play here in the future,” he said.
Bhambri congratulated his opponent, and inevitably was asked about whether he would make the transition into the main draws of Grand Slam tournaments.
“Even if I wouldn't have won it, I had already planned to focus more on men's tournaments, playing more in the men's circuit. I might still just play the Grand Slams (as a junior),” he said.
Bhambri is the first Indian to pick up a major title at the Australian Open this year, with the country having a couple more opportunities to add to its Melbourne Park silverware, in the men’s doubles final tonight (Mahesh Bhupathi) and the mixed doubles final tomorrow (Bhupathi and Sania Mirza).
Bhambri admitted to not knowing he was the first Indian to earn an Australian Open singles championship but said it was always his goal to win it.
“Winning the Australian Open is obviously a very big achievement, regardless of being the first Indian. I mean, that's actually news to me. But I dreamed of winning it, and it's come true.”
