World number one Roger Federer racked up his 10th title of the season with a ruthless 7-5 6-1 6-0 win over Chile's Fernando Gonzalez in the final of the two-million-euro Madrid Masters on Sunday.

The 25-year-old Swiss weathered an early storm from the 10th seed but found his rhythm in the second set and then powered his way to victory as Gonzalez folded under the pressure.

It was Federer's fourth Masters title of the year and the 12th of his career, taking him one clear of Pete Sampras into second place behind Andre Agassi who heads the all-time list with 17.

The victory, Federer's first in Madrid, extended his winning streak to 19 matches and took his tally of victories for the year to 82. He is the first player since Ivan Lendl in 1982 to win 80 matches two years in a row.

"I played well, I didn't drop a set all week and I really turned it on from the semis on," said Federer after becoming the first player in the Open era to win 10 titles or more in three successive seasons.

Asked if he was on course to become the best player in history, he replied with a smile: "I am the best right now but I don't know about the best in history. We will never know unless I break all the records before I finish.

"I'm five years away from that though. There's a long way to go but I'm in the fast lane. I feel I'm a more steady player and physically I've improved too and (am) not scared of any five setters."

The Swiss had won all seven of his previous encounters with Gonzalez but he looked a little rusty at the start of the opening set and made some uncharacteristic unforced errors.

FIRST FINAL

Gonzalez, in his first Masters final, still appeared to be on a high after his emphatic victory over Tomas Berdych on Saturday as he put Federer under pressure with some pounding forehands but it was not enough to break the Federer serve.

Federer, who had crushed fourth seed David Nalbandian in his semi-final, then began his customary push at the business end of the set, breaking at 6-5 up to take the opener despite a scare when he turned his ankle.

Having drawn the sting from Gonzalez, Federer stepped up another gear in the second set, breaking in the fourth game to go 3-1 up.

The Swiss hit the lines and gave the Chilean no chance as he rattled through the next three games to take the set in just 26 minutes.

He picked up where he had left off at the start of the third, breaking in the first and third games to turn the screw on the world number 10.

Federer raced to a 5-0 lead and although Gonzalez mounted a brief rearguard action in the final game the Chilean could do nothing to prevent a whitewash in the final set.

Gonzalez's only consolation is that his performance in Madrid has pushed him up into contention for a spot in next month's Masters Cup in Shanghai and he is now just 30 points behind Tommy Robredo in ninth place.

"The first set was really close but after that it was different and he passed over me," said Gonzalez. "Maybe I wasn't at my best but I couldn't do anything. When Federer plays well it is very difficult to play against him."

(Reuters October 23, 2006)