Roger Federer defeated France's Gilles Simon 7-6 (6), 7-6 (2) to capture his fourth title of the year at the Shanghai Masters on Sunday.

The Swiss star nearly exited the tournament in his opening match when he had to save five match points against Leonardo Mayer. But he rebounded from that poor start to beat No 1 Novak Djokovic in the semifinals before slamming the door on Simon for his first title in Shanghai.

It has been a banner year for Federer despite the fact he has fallen just short at the majors. He leads the tour in match wins (61), top-10 wins (13) and final appearances (nine).

Sunday's win will leapfrog Federer over Rafael Nadal to No 2 in the rankings for the first time in more than a year.

Djokovic conceded age was not slowing down Federer after his straight sets humbling on Saturday.

The Serbian world No 1, 27, could only marvel as 17-time Grand Slam champion Federer downed him 6-4, 6-4 in the semifinals.

Federer's win against the two-time defending champion, who was on a 28-match winning streak in China, also helped atone for his five-set loss to Djokovic in this year's Wimbledon final.

"I think he's playing as good as ever. I think age does not really matter in his case," Djo-kovic said.

"This tonight is definitely one of the best matches he has played against me, that's for sure ... You know, every time I had a chance he just stepped in and made a winner," he said on Saturday.

Federer is six years older than Djokovic and also has four children. The Serb said his priority now was to welcome his first child with his wife, Jelena.

"My plan is now to go back home and hopefully become a father," he said.