World No 1 Roger Federer heads to the US Open with a sixth tournament win of the year under his belt, no evident fitness problems and little sign that his Olympic defeat to Andy Murray had any adverse effect on his confidence.
The Wimbledon champion went to Cincinnati aiming to fine-tune his game ahead of Flushing Meadows, and showed with his classy performances that there is not much to adjust as he looks for a record-extending 18th grand slam.
The Swiss ace did not concede a break of serve in winning the Cincinnati tournament, securing his record fifth title at this event against world No 2 Novak Djokovic 6-0, 7-6 (9-7).
"There is no doubt about it, beating Novak in a final makes it extra special, but then also [it was about] the reaction after losing in the Wimbledon [Olympic] final - to play a great final after playing a not very good one at the Olympics where I went on to lose nine games in a row," he said. "I came here and never dropped my serve. That's the kind of reaction I want to see from myself."
Among his rivals, world No3 Rafa Nadal misses the US Open due to a persistent knee injury, and Murray pulled out of last week's Toronto Masters event with his own knee problem and was then knocked out in the third round in Cincinnati.
Djokovic won in Toronto and reached his second final in a fortnight, but his 6-0 hammering in the first set by Federer will have left something of a scar.