Tiafoe had pushed Federer close in their two previous meetings in Miami and the US Open.
But the rising American had no answer to Federer’s brilliance in Basel.
Prior to the match Federer had spoken of feeling under pressure heading into the tournament but he showed little nerves in the opening set.
Federer broke Tiafoe in the opening game of the match and then earned a double break to lead 3-0.
Tiafoe finally got on the scoreboard in the set but he was unable to stop his 36-year-old opponent from eventually winning it 6-1.
Tiafoe was unable to make much of a dent on Federer’s serve but he kept up with the Swiss star early in the second set.
The teenager had to save a break point at 3-2 and won the point of the match after a hard-hitting rally.
But Tiafoe’s resurgence was short-lived as Federer earned two more break points at 4-3 and the 19-year-old eventually went long on the forehand to lose serve.
Serving for the match, Federer raced into a 30-0 lead and got the job done in comprehensive fashion.