Tennis world No.3 Roger Federer avenged his Wimbledon final loss to Novak Djokovic by beating the top-seeded Serb 7-6 6-3 to capture his second consecutive Cincinnati Open title.
Roger Federer Photo: PHOTOSPORT
The Swiss second seed, playing Djokovic for the first time since losing to him in the Wimbledon final for a second straight year last month, brought his record number of Cincinnati titles to seven with the win.
Federer easily handled his service games throughout the match and employed an attacking style that gave Djokovic plenty of trouble.
After cruising through the first-set tiebreak, Federer earned the only break of the match in the second game of the second set en route to sealing the win in 90 minutes.
With the victory, Federer denied longtime rival Djokovic from completing the set of all nine ATP Masters titles, and took a 21-20 edge in career head-to-head meetings.
The win will also give Federer a jolt of confidence going into the US Open, which starts at the end of the month, where he will be seeking a sixth title at Flushing Meadows, and his first since 2008.
Federer will now climb to second in the world rankings when they're released on Tuesday, which means the two rivals could meet again in the final at Flushing Meadows.
