Roger Federer has defeated world number one Novak Djokovic to win his seventh Cincinnati Masters title.
Federer secured a convincing 7-6 (7/1) 6-3 victory to ensure Djokovic must wait at least another year to become the first player to win all nine Masters 1000 events.
The Serbian , who for all of his many successes is still to win in Cincinnati, lost the first set on a tie-break and was decisively broken in the first game of the second set after a double fault, with Federer holding serve thereafter to triumph in 90 minutes.
After conquering Djokovic, Federer will move above Andy Murray, whom he defeated in the semi-final, to second in the world rankings, securing the number two seed spot at the US Open.
The 34-year-old Swiss had again used the same entertaining, aggressive tactics which had inspired him to the tournament's final.
During the tie-break, Federer sent an exceptional looping backhand onto the baseline to earn a 3-1 lead en route to winning 10 of the final 11 points to win the opening set in 52 minutes.
Federer continued to pressure Djokovic's serve and, in doing so, won the first three games of the second set, and he never looked back from there.
Federer, who now leads Djokovic 21-20 in their head-to-head meetings, told ESPN: "He had that one bad game at the beginning of the second set, which made the difference in the match.
"I've seen Novak adapt to my play over the years and he's also improved a lot. His movement and his backhand and forehand are always so solid.
"There aren't many errors coming out of his forehand wing now. Our rivalry has definitely evolved."
Source: PA
