Novak Djokovic successfully defends his Dubai title

NOVAK Djokovic won the Barclays Dubai Championships final yesterday, defeating Mikhail Youzhny 7-5, 5-7, 6-3.

The defending champion, who led 7-5 2-0 on Saturday when rain forced the players off the court for a second time, was taken to a third set before seeing off his Russian opponent.

World No3 Djokovic was far from his best but the Serbian – winner of the 2008 Australian Open – prevailed on a day when there were seven breaks of serve in 19 games.

Djokovic started in the right manner, going three games up against the player who beat him in the semi-finals at Rotterdam two weeks ago.

However, Youzhny won the next three games to level the contest.

The players then exchanged further breaks, with Djokovic showing signs of frustration when he double-faulted to trail 5-4 – smashing his racket until it buckled.

However, Djokovic proved the stronger in the deciding set. The Serbian took a 3-0 lead and although he was pegged back to 3-3, the second seed raised his game again to make sure of victory and a 17th career title.

He becomes only the second player in the history of the tournament history to win it in successive years – with Roger Federer managing three successes from 2003-05.

The triumph brought Djokovic nearly 252,000 and 500 ranking points, while Youzhny picked up nearly 120,000 and 300 points.

Djokovic said afterwards: "It means the whole world to me (to defend this title].

"Of course there are always people who are saying he can't do it, he can't do it. But I'm playing for myself, and this is another success in my career that I wasn't able to make in the last two years. But now, finally, I did it, and it's a big relief.

"Today was another good example of how much I believe in myself and how much I fight till the end."

Youzhny said: "Before the tournament if you say you'll play the final, you say good result. But now straight after the final, when you have some chances I am disappointed."