Novak Djokovic successfully defended his Dubai Championships title on Sunday, beating Mikhail Youzhny of Russia 7-5, 5-7, 6-3 in a rain-delayed final. Leading 7-5, 2-0 before rain suspended play on Saturday, the second-seeded Serb won his 17th career title in a match lasting 3 hours, 21 minutes at the Aviation Club.

Latvian Ernests Gulbis put a damper on Ivo Karlovic’s 31st birthday celebration, defeating the second-seeded Croat 6-2, 6-3 on Sunday at the Delray Beach International Tennis Championships to claim his first ATP World Tour title.

[[More Tennis News on ATPWorldTour.com]]

Top-seeded Americans Bob Bryan and Mike Bryan took sole possession of the No. 2 spot on the list of Open Era doubles titles champions, after defending their title at the Delray Beach International Tennis Championships with a 6-3, 7-6(3) win over German Philipp Marx and Slovakian Igor Zelenay on Sunday.

[[More Tennis News on ATPWorldTour.com]]

Defending champion Novak Djokovic let slip his commanding lead when the rain-delayed Dubai final resumed Sunday but steadied to beat Mikhail Youzhny 7-5, 5-7, 6-3.

[[More Tennis News on ATPWorldTour.com]]

A week after being criticized by the Marseille tournament director for withdrawing from the event at the last minute, Andy Murray has been under fire again after his second-round exit against Janko Tipsarevic in Dubai.

“The stuff that I was doing in the matches here are similar to what I’d be doing if I was training this week. I’d be playing practice sets and working on serve‑and‑volley and coming forward, you know and taking more risks,” said Murray after the match. ”I would have liked to have won, but it’s not the end of the world

“If it was a Slam or something, my tactics and my game style would have been a bit different.”

Tournament director Colm McLoughlin remarked afterwards, “We are not disputing Andy’s effort but the comment he made after the match have caused concern. Many fans have come up to us and said that he seemed to have indicated Dubai was simply a warm up tournament.”

After speaking to Murray’s management, however, McLoughlin added, “We’ve all read the after-match comments Andy made to the media and Andy’s management company is saying these were taken out of context.

“He has always been very direct with the press and there is no question [being asked] that he did not give all his efforts in the match against Janko Tipsarevic… Andy tried his best and anyone who watched the match can vouch for that.

“We look forward to welcoming Andy back at the Championships next year.”