Roger Federer of Switzerland defeated French qualifier Richard Gasquet 6-3 7-5 7-6 (7-4) to extend his record ATP title streak to 19 consecutive finals at the Masters Series Hamburg on Sunday.

The title on the red clay here was the third in the last four years for Federer, who last lost in a final to Jiri Novak in Gstaad in July 2003.

Improving his 2005 record to 41-2, Federer captured his sixth title of the year, the most by any player heading into the French Open since 1994 when Pete Sampras came into Paris with seven.

At Roland Garros, Federer will attempt to become just the sixth man in history to win all four Grand Slam titles.

Despite adding to his impressive resume, Federer also exacted an amount of revenge against the 18-year-old Gasquet, who snapped his 25-match winning streak in the quarter-finals of a Masters Series event in Monte Carlo last month.

Unlike Monte Carlo, Federer swiftly captured the first set after winning the opening three games.

In the second, Gasquet battled back to take a 5-4 lead but Federer went on to win the next three games.

Gasquet threatened again in the third, moving ahead 6-5 but Federer held before taking the tie-breaker.

The loss denied Gasquet, who was attempting to become just the third qualifier to win here since 1996, his first career title.