Roger Federer [Images] emphasised the gulf at the top of men's tennis on Sunday when he beat Andy Roddick [Images] 6-3, 7-5 to win the Cincinnati Masters, his ninth title of the year.

Though teenage Spaniard Rafael Nadal [Images] has also collected nine titles this year, Federer's victories have come on all surfaces.

Having won 22 straight finals and taken his record for the season to 64-3, the Swiss proved yet again that he is head and shoulders clear at the top of the sport.

"He's the guy that all of us are chasing," said Roddick, who will climb to world number four on Monday.

"He's the main guy and then there's probably four or five of us (just behind). Maybe we need to do just a tag-team effort or something, join forces, like Power Rangers or something."

Federer's victory gave him a record-equalling fourth Masters Series title of the year and Roddick said he hoped the Swiss's brilliance would force him and the chasing pack to improve.

"I think it's similar to what happened with golf, two or three years ago when Tiger Woods [Images] won seven out of eight, or eight out of nine majors," he said.

"That made the other guys better. It made them elevate their games. I think that's what Roger is doing right now with tennis.

"I'm a better player than I was two years ago basically because I have to be."

The 2003 U.S. Open champion also said that Federer does not receive the accolades he deserves, particularly in the U.S.

"I don't think he gets his fair shake because he's not American, especially with the media over here," he said.

"It's almost like people want more of a story and the guy just wins and goes about his business. He's a class act. For some reason, that's not a good story."

For his part, Federer said he enjoyed the challenge of being at the top of the pile.

"The players, I know them all, I've beaten them all," he said.

"But I think it's also nice to see the guys challenging me. You've got nice youngsters coming along, (Andre) Agassi is still playing, and, you know, the bunch of guys right behind me.

"(Rafael) Nadal has definitely made his move to number two player in the world.

"Now it's an interesting end to the season. It's not for sure I'm going to finish number one in the world. I've still got to play well and defend my titles and make sure I play well."

Photograph: Getty Images

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