Federer wins record 5th Cincinnati crown by beating Djokovic

World No. 1 Roger Federer became the first player in the Open Era to win five Cincinnati trophies, defeating second-ranked Novak Djokovic 6-0, 7-6(7) in Sunday’s Western and Southern Open final.

He becomes the first man ever to win a masters tournament without being broken his serve once.

The Swiss top seed got through a perfect week without losing serve to capture his 76th career trophy. He will go into the US Open as the clear favourite having become the first man to win five titles at the Cincinnati event.

"I've had a magical summer (seventh Wimbledon title, London Olympic silver medal). I feel good about New York - but I'm going to savour this one for a bit," said Federer.

"Even with how well I'm playing you never expect yourself to win these big matches. It's been a great week for me."

Federer's success on Sunday marked his 21st Masters 1000 trophy, pulling him level with Rafael Nadal on the all-time list.

“I'm obviously very happy. If I remember correctly, this was the first win here I had also after I had twins, right? So it's great coming back here,” said Federer. “I've been able to win five. It's obviously incredible because I remember the first few here I struggled. Now looking back it's just unbelievable. Plus this was probably the best week ever here in Cincinnati for me never dropping my serve and all that stuff and beating Novak in the final. This was very sweet. No doubt about it.”

Federer had already won Masters events this year at Indian Wells and Madrid and is 6-2 in finals in 2012, a year highlighted by a seventh Wimbledon title, his 17th career major.

Neither player had dropped serve entering the match, but Federer broke Djokovic in the opening game and stormed to a one-set lead in just 20 minutes. Federer converted three of his four break points, while Djokovic tossed in four double faults to lose the first bagel set in 28 meetings with Federer.

The 25-year-old Djokovic settled into the second set to force a tie-break and held set point at 7/6. But Federer wiped it away with an aggressive tactic at the net and cracked back-to-back forehand winners to claim victory in 80 minutes. Federer was not broken en route to his title run and improved to 16-12 against Djokovic.

"He started very solid from serve," assessed Djokovic. "He was using it very efficiently and putting a lot pressure on my serve. Made a lot of double faults and didn't find my rhythm. Set was over in 20 minutes. I played better in the second. I thought it was very even, and then when I had the chances I didn't use them. He deserved to win."

Date: 19th August 2012, Source: AFP