MASON, Ohio -- Gustavo Kuerten looked invigorated rather than fatigued by an extra 50 minutes of tennis.

Kuerten, playing on 20 minutes rest after finishing his rain-delayed semifinal match, beat Patrick Rafter 6-1, 6-3 Sunday to win the Tennis Masters Series-Cincinnati.

Kuerten said that finishing the win over seventh-seeded Tim Henman 6-2, 1-6, 7-6 (4) gave him an edge.

"I could go out and play so much more relaxed," Kuerten said. "I had myself 100 percent ready for the second match.

"The first set (against Rafter) was maybe the best set I played all week long."

While the eighth-seeded Rafter had trouble finding his most effective serve, Kuerten was sharp with his placement and served eight aces to two by Rafter.

"I've never seen him serve that well before," Rafter said. "Everything he did was just phenomenal."

Rafter failed to hold serve three times in the first set. Kuerten beat him the first time with a passing shot, Rafter double-faulted on break point in the second and was out of rhythm throughout the third.

There was just one break in the second set, when Rafter tried a drop shot. But Kuerten was able to reach it and flick it out of Rafter's reach.

"Guga shut the gate on me early on and never let me in," Rafter said. "I couldn't get myself into a situation where I could put him under pressure. The whole rhythm of the match I had no control over."

Rafter has appeared in the finals of his past three tournaments, but has lost all three, including Wimbledon in July and last week at Montreal.

However, he has always played well in Cincinnati. He beat Pete Sampras for the championship in 1998 and was runner-up to Sampras in 1999. He did not play last year because of a shoulder injury.

Kuerten, who overtook Andre Agassi for the lead in the ATP Champions Race this week, has won 16 career titles, 13 of them on clay. However, he has won 23 of 25 matches since beginning his campaign for his third French Open title, and said he has worked hard to become a better player on hardcourt.

"It's just a matter of experience, and I always practice different things," Kuerten said. "Now things are much clearer. But it took a little bit longer; I had to lose a lot of matches."

Both players had large cheering section Sunday.

A band of Kuerten's supporters wore yellow shirts, waved Brazilian flags and chanted during switchovers.

Rafter's fans held inflated kangaroos, and a woman lofted an orange sign that read, "Patrick, please don't go, mate."

Rafter has said he may take a break of several months from tennis. But although he keeps saying he may leave -- even retire -- it will be hard to do if he keeps playing for titles.

"If I continue to play well, I'll keep it going," he said.

The Kuerten-Henman match included two rain delays and spanned nearly six hours Saturday night and Sunday morning.

With Henman serving, Kuerten scored the first two points of the match before play was suspended because of rain. Following a 2-hour, 21-minute delay, play resumed and Kuerten went on to win the set.

Then Henman began to assert himself, and by the time it started to rain again, Henman was leading the second set 5-1.

Officials waited more than an hour and a half before deciding shortly after midnight to finish the match Sunday morning.

When play resumed, Henman held his serve and took the second set.

The third set went to a tiebreaker, following one break apiece. With Henman serving, he hit a return long for match point.

"I think overall I played a pretty good match," Henman said. "But when it comes down to a third-set tiebreaker, it's obviously a pretty close run thing. Last year, it went my way; this year, it didn't."