DUBAI: Top seed Novak Djokovic sealed his 12th ATP tour title with a 7-5, 6-3 victory over Spaniard David Ferrer in the final of the Dubai Championships on Saturday.

It was the Serb's first title since winning the Tennis Masters Cup in November and came after he was stopped in the Marseille semifinals last week by eventual champion Jo-Wilfried Tsonga.

"It's a very important title," Djokovic told reporters. "I had not started the year the way I maybe wanted to and the way maybe people were expecting me to. I made some major changes - my racket, which was quite risky at this time.