MASON, Ohio: Top-ranked Roger Federer won a record fifth Cincinnati title yesterday, dominating second-ranked Novak Djokovic from the outset of a 6-0, 7-6 (7) win for the Western & Southern Open championship.

It was the first time in the tournament's history that the top two played for the title. From the start, it was no match.

Federer improved to 5-0 in Cincinnati finals and tied Rafael Nadal for the most Masters titles with 21. Nadal dropped out of the tournament with a sore knee that has sidelined him indefinitely.

"A record break - always something special when that happens," Federer said.

Djokovic won the Rogers Cup in Toronto last Sunday and was trying for his first win in Cincinnati, where he reached the finals last year but had to quit the title match against Andy Murray because of a sore shoulder. He seemed to be running on fumes in his second final in two weeks.

"I had a fantastic week in Toronto," Djokovic said. "I came in here and didn't really expect to get this far, get all the way to the title."

By contrast, the 31-year-old Swiss star skipped the Rogers Cup, leaving him fresher Sunday.

Federer and Djokovic rarely have such lopsided days together. The Swiss star won the first set in only 20 minutes, allowing Djokovic just 10 points. It was the first time in their 28 career matches that one of them took a set 6-0.

The Serb never fully recovered, snapping his streak of 15 straight wins on hard courts.