Perhaps it was a case of wanting this just a little too much, as once more Novak Djokovic fell short to Roger Federer in Cincinnati, and that career Masters boxed set has to wait for at least one more year.

It had been an up and down tournament for Djokovic, whose first two matches were not up to his usual high standards, before a surprisingly solid performance against another Swiss star in Stan Wawrinka. Today was one Swiss too far as Federer was clinically aggressive, shutting Djokovic down in straight sets and claiming a record seventh Cincinnati title.

Djokovic had no choice but to admit he had been outclassed, saying “I think he's more aggressive here than in any other tournament because the surface and conditions allow him to play very fast. He generally copes well with the fast balls, fast game. He likes this rhythm; I don't too much. It was the right tactics for him. I knew coming into the match he was going to be aggressive. No question about it. I did well until the tiebreak in the first set; after that, he was just the better player. I'm going to keep fighting to make history.  Obviously it's a great incentive and inspired me to come back and play my best tennis.”

Federer’s decision to skip Montreal paid dividends. “I just realized over all the years that I've played,” he explained, “that it's just really difficult to win back‑to‑back Montréal and Cincinnati, or Toronto and Cincinnati for that matter. So I just chose to roll the dice a little bit and see how things were going to go.  If they went great here, it was a great plan. If not, I was going to go back and practice and be really motivated for the US Open to start.

“Now I've got the confidence, I've got the matches, and I'm actually still feeling really fresh even after this week because the matches have been rather short. And because I didn't play both tournaments, I can really pace myself next week and see how much practice I really need.  It's more about getting used to the different surface speed, and then switching to different balls, which I think is usually going to be the biggest change to us, the players.”

The women’s final looked as though it could spring a surprise as Simona Halep raced out to a 3-1 lead over Serena Williams. But Serena clawed her way back into the first set, with the volume ever increasing. After securing it, though, she was led on a merry dance in the second set through the tiebreak, which could have easily gone the other way.

Williams finally edged the Romanian 6-3 7-6(5), and suddenly the smiles broke out, pleasingly for both players. Halep has regained some form after a pretty mediocre European campaign, and with this final she regains the world No. 2 spot and more importantly the No. 2 seeding for the US Open.

Williams had been a little up and down both on and off the court this week, and ahead of all this increasing pressure she could be honest about what needs to happen.

“I definitely feel there is room for improvement. I think that playing Simona really tested me, and I felt like I was up for the challenge and up for the test. Final grade, I'm not sure yet. But I do know that there is room for improvement for me, and I can do better. At least I'm on the right track of going up and not back.”

All this year, we have been looking for a real challenger to Serena. No disrespect at all to the recently deposed No. 2 Maria Sharapova, but injuries have made her an outsider at best to push Williams to the limit. Has Halep turned the corner for her year?

“I have a lot of confidence because I played tough matches and I won difficult matches,” Halep observed. “So I'm pretty sure that I have a good game now. I can win matches. I feel good on court. I'm a little bit tired, but it's normal after many matches. I'm okay and I'm looking forward to the next match.”

One thing is for sure:  with the No. 2 seeding sewn up, the scene is set for a new challenger to Serena’s throne in the Big Apple.