Switzerland's Roger Federer retained his Hamburg Masters title with a comprehensive 6-3, 7-5, 7-6 victory over French teenager Richard Gasquet in Hamburg on Sunday.
The world number one avenged his defeat by the 18-year-old Gasquet in the quarter-finals of the Monte Carlo Masters last month, one of only two losses Federer has suffered in his last 59 matches.
The top seed was never at his best but Gasquet, ranked 56, failed to convert any of the five break points he earned as Federer secured his 19th consecutive victory in an ATP final.
The win, wrapped up 7-4 in the third-set tiebreak, completed a highly satisfactory warm-up for Federer a week before he bids to win the French Open claycourt Grand Slam for the first time.
"He won our last match so I couldn't expect an easy match but in the end straight sets is always convincing in my eyes," Federer told reporters.
"It was tough to break him, he's very confident. The key moment was that second set when I saved all those tough moments and came back to break and then to serve it out."
The 23-year-old Swiss has never gone beyond the quarter-finals at Roland Garros, the only Grand Slam he has yet to win.
"It gives me great belief that I can do better at the French," added the Wimbledon and US Open champion. "I came here to win the tournament so I'm very happy I achieved that."
Federer did not drop a set all week and earned 340,000 euros ($436,800) for winning his third Hamburg title in four years.
He has made a habit of starting his matches slowly this week but was quickly 3-0 up at the Rothenbaum against Gasquet, albeit with the help of a forehand smash net-cord on break point.
Errors flowed as freely as winners from his racket after that and he saved three break points at 4-2 before serving out the first set.
HEAVY PRICE
Gasquet, playing in his second ATP tour final, was on top for much of the second set but squandered two more break point chances and paid a heavy price.
Federer broke to love to lead 6-5 after an untimely stream of Gasquet mis-hits and in the next game the Swiss classily wrong-footed the teenager with an ace to go two sets up.
Federer missed last week's Rome Masters with strained foot ligaments and he needed to adjust the strapping on his left foot before the start of set three.
Gasquet lost the initiative in the third set tiebreak with a double fault.
The teenager had saved three match points before winning their quarter-final in Monte Carlo but this time Federer took his first opportunity when Gasquet overhit a return to hand victory to the Swiss, who raised his arms in triumph.
"I was nervous, I felt a lot of pressure playing in my first Masters final against Federer," said Gasquet. "I didn't return well throughout and that was the key to the match. He won all his service games easily.
"I don't think I played worse than in Monte Carlo, though, he just played better than me."
Gasquet's consolation was that he will break into the top 50 for the first time in Monday's rankings.
The last time Federer lost an ATP final was to Czech Jiri Novak at Gstaad in 2003. Russian Marat Safin, who knocked Federer out of the Australian Open semi-finals in January, is the only other player to have beaten him since the start of the US Open last year.
