Novak Djokovic was pleased to prove the doubters wrong after beating Mikhail Youzhny to take the Dubai Open on Sunday.
The 22-year-old looked to be in total command of the final on Saturday as he raced to a 7-5 2-0 lead, before heavy rain meant the match had to be delayed until Sunday.
However, the Russian star had other ideas and hit back to take the second set when play resumed.
Djokovic won the title 12 months ago but had never successfully defended an ATP title in his career to date, and it appeared that he might slip up once again as his 27-year-old opponent had a chance to break in the seventh game of the deciding set.
However the Serb managed to hold his serve and then secured the vital break to take the match, and he was clearly pleased to silence the critics who felt he was incapable of defending his crown.
"It means the whole world to me to defend this title," he said. "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."