Western and Southern Open 2018: Novak Djokovic Beats Roger Federer in Final

Novak Djokovic has finally won in Cincinnati, and he made history in the process.

Djokovic beat Roger Federer in straight sets, 6-4, 6-4, in Sunday's high-profile championship match at the 2018 Western and Southern Open in Cincinnati with the U.S. Open looming later this month. According to the BBC, Djokovic became the first men's tennis player in history to win all nine Masters 1,000 tournaments after finishing as the runner-up in Cincinnati five different times.

The win gave Djokovic his second title of the year after capturing Wimbledon, while Federer remained at three titles after winning the Australian Open, Mercedes Cup and ABN Amro World Tennis Tournament.

Showdowns between two legends often come down to a few moments, and Djokovic was able to take advantage of those moments against the 20-time Grand Slam champion. Djokovic, who is a 13-time Grand Slam winner himself, broke in the first set to go up 4-3 and remained on serve to seize early momentum.

Even though Federer then broke Djokovic's first service game in the second set, the Serbian star broke right back and again broke to go up 4-3 before finishing the match on serve.

Federer finished with 11 aces to Djokovic's four, but the latter won 78 percent of his second-serve points compared to just 47 percent from the former, per the ATP World Tour's official website. That, along with the six break points he created to Federer's mere one, proved to be a critical difference in the match.

Djokovic held a 23-22 lead in head-to-head matches with the Swiss legend before Sunday, although they last played in the 2016 Australian Open. Djokovic is now 7-2 in his last nine matches against Federer after dropping seven of their first nine.

Even with recent success, he had to overcome Federer's historical precedent of achievement in Cincinnati. Federer is a seven-time champion at the Western and Southern Open and beat Djokovic all three previous times they played there.

"Obviously this time I'm hoping that I can get my hands on the trophy," Djokovic said before the match, per the BBC. "History is also on the line and I'm aware of that and that motivates me even more."

Fatigue figured to play a role considering Djokovic needed all three sets in the second round, third round, quarterfinals and semifinals, while Federer advanced to the final when David Goffin retired in the second set of their semifinal match and needed all three sets just once—a quarterfinals clash with Stan Wawrinka.

Djokovic fought through any lingering issues, though, and broke Federer enough times to create narrow separation in both sets and avoid a decisive third set for the first time since the initial round.

Next up on the ATP Tour is the Winston-Salem Open, which is the final tune-up before the U.S. Open.

Both Federer and Djokovic won Grand Slams earlier this season, but they were the best players in the Cincinnati field and will take momentum into their final opportunity to add to their Grand Slam legacies this year.