Djokovic beats Federer in Dubai final

Novak Djokovic defeated Roger Federer just a month after beating him at the Australian Open to win his third consecutive Dubai Championships title on Saturday.

The No. 3-ranked Djokovic won 6-3, 6-3 to extend his unbeaten record in 2011 to 12 matches and earn his 20th career title. He beat Federer in the semifinals on his way to winning the Australian Open last month, his second Grand Slam.

''I was aware of the challenge that is expected of me on the court, and I was aware of the fact that I need to be on top of my game in order to beat Roger,'' said Djokovic, who was taken to three sets earlier in the tournament by both Tomas Berdych and Feliciano Lopez.

''So, the focus was there. I was serving really well, especially the first set. Just the perfect performance overall.''

Federer let slip a 3-1 lead in the second set, losing the last five games to hand Djokovic victory in one hour, 11 minutes.

''Well, missed match for me, really,'' Federer said. ''Started bad and then kind of got into the match, but things are over in a hurry sometimes in best of three set tennis.''

Federer's dominated his rivalry with Djokovic in the past and still leads the head-to-head 13-8, but he's lost to the Serb at the last two Grand Slam tournaments, and now in Dubai.

''We've had it kind of come and go in spells a bit against each other,'' Federer said. ''I definitely feel he's playing well. I thought he was already playing well at the end of last year. We had a couple real close ones. This one has been one of the rather disappointing matches for me against him.''

Despite the defeat, Federer will keep his No. 2 ranking ahead of Djokovic, who had a simple explanation for his improved play this year.

''I'm a different player in the last year. I have a serve,'' he said with a smile. ''Last year, the serve was not there and I was struggling a lot. I was using a lot of energy. Now I get to have some free points, which is important.''

Djokovic set the tone early, breaking Federer for only the third time in the tournament to go up 2-1 and then using his serve to take control of the set as he went up 5-3, then broke Federer again to win it.

Federer made an uncharacteristically high number of unforced errors, especially off his backhand, but he came alive at the start of the second set and broke Djokovic to go up 2-1.

But Djokovic recovered from 3-1 down, clinching the match when Federer hit a forehand wide.

Federer, who didn't lose a set in the four matches before he faced Djokovic, and had a 14-1 record this year, played by far his worst match of the tournament. He compared it to the thrashing he gave Nikolay Davydenko to win the Qatar Open in January.

''I must have felt like Davydenko felt in Doha,'' he said. ''You never really get into the match. If you do, you have no cushion. You just feel like even though you might be in the lead or get yourself together, it's still never safe.''