World number three Roger Federer has dominated Novak Djokovic in straight sets to win his seventh Cincinnati Masters title.

His two-set victory 7-6 (7/1) 6-3 in 90 minutes on Sunday meant the Swiss will be seeded second behind Djokovic at Flushing Meadows.

Federer claimed his 87th career ATP title and his 24th trophy in a Masters 1000 event.

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Djokovic, meanwhile, was thwarted in his bid to become the first man to win all nine of the elite Masters 1000 titles as he endured his fifth final defeat at Cincinnati – the lone Masters missing from his resume.

“I really hope Novak can win here one day,” said Federer, who has beaten Djokovic in three Cincinnati finals.

“Come on, he’s been close so many years, he deserves it.”

The 17-time grand slam winner returns to second in the world after ceding the position for a week to Andy Murray, who beat Djokovic in the final at Montreal last week.

Sunday’s defeat means the Serbian world No.1 has now failed in finals at both of his tune-up events for the final grand slam of the year, which starts on August 31.

Federer – who wasn’t broken all week – nudged ahead of Djokovic 21-20 in their head-to-head series.

“I think we really get the best out of each other, we’ve improved a lot over the years playing each other,” the 34-year-old Swiss said.

After struggling all week, Djokovic said he knew Federer would be a tough nut to crack.

“I knew coming in that he was going to be aggressive, no question about it. So I tried to handle it,” he said.

“I did well until the tiebreak in the first set. After that, he was just the better player. I had some double-faults, dropped my service game.

“The way I played this week, it’s great I managed to reach the finals.”