HOUSTON — Top-seeded Roger Federer won a record 13th straight final Sunday, beating Lleyton Hewitt 6-3, 6-2 in the title match of the ATP Masters Cup.
Federer, who beat his 23rd straight top-10 opponent, dominated the final tournament of the season just as he dominated most of 2004. He won his second straight Masters Cup and broke the record of 12 straight finals victories shared by Bjorn Borg and John McEnroe.
Federer, who earned $1,520,000, became the first player since Ivan Lendl in 1986-87 to win consecutive Masters Cup titles without losing a match. Federer also won his 22nd tournament since 2000, the most of any player in that time. Hewitt has 21.
Federer won his 74th match of the year, tying Andy Roddick for the tour lead.
Rain delayed the tournament through the week and it happened again Sunday. The start was delayed almost three hours and the first set lasted only 27 minutes, before rain stopped play with Federer leading 5-2.
Federer served flawlessly in the early going, missing only nine serves in the first set and hitting seven aces.
Federer broke in the second game at the second break point with a passing shot. Leading 4-1, Federer allowed Hewitt to escape another break point in the sixth game but Federer hit three straight errors and Hewitt held.
After the rain delay, Federer closed out the first set and broke Hewitt in the fifth game of the second set for a 3-2 lead. Hewitt won only four points after that, popping a service return beyond the baseline on match point.
The final was less memorable than Federer's semifinal victory over Marat Safin on Saturday when Federer won a record-tying 20-18 tiebreaker in the second set.
It was the third tiebreaker to reach 20-18 since the system started in 1970. It equaled tiebreaker victories by Bjorn Borg in a 1973 first round over Premjit Lall at Wimbledon and by Goran Ivanisevic against Daniel Nestor in the 1993 U.S. Open.
DAVIS CUP CAPTAIN: Patrick McEnroe will remain the U.S. Davis Cup captain through 2006. McEnroe is preparing his team for the Davis Cup final against Spain in Seville on Dec. 3-5. The team, which features Andy Roddick, Mardy Fish and twins Bob and Mike Bryan, is in the final for the first time since 1997.
"Patrick's unique style as a leader and as a person has attracted and connected with a special group of young American players," U.S. Tennis Association chief executive Arlen Kantarian said Sunday. "We're thrilled to have him continue as captain."
McEnroe debuted as Davis Cup captain in 2001, succeeding brother John, and has a 7-3 record entering next month's title matches. McEnroe competed in Davis Cup in 1993, 1994 and 1996 and coached the U.S. men's team at the Athens Olympics.