Novak Djokovic has declared that his season has got off to "a dream start" after he defeated Sir Andy Murray to retain his Qatar Open title.
The Serb ended the world number one's 28-match winning streak on the tour with a 6-3 5-7 6-4 victory on centre court at the Khalifa International Tennis and Squash Complex in Doha.
Murray made Djokovic work for the victory, however, serving three match points in the second set to send the contest into a decider.
"Definitely one of the best ways to start a year. When he turned it around, wow, I thought I hope this is not payback time for yesterday," Djokovic told Eurosport afterwards.
"All the way, to the last shot, you never know with Andy. It's no strange occurrence for both of us to play three sets for three hours. It's a very physical battle. We're both going to need a little time to recover.
"To win here, against the biggest rival, is a dream start."
Djokovic will now turn his attentions to retaining his crown at the Australian Open in Melbourne.
Neil Wilkes
