Abu Dhabi, Dec 30 (IANS): Serbia's Novak Djokovic defeated defending champion Kevin Anderson of South Africa 4-6, 7-5, 7-5 to win the Mubadala World Tennis Championship for the fourth time.

It took World No.1 Djokovic two hours and 14 minutes to prevail over sixth-ranked Anderson in the exhibition tourney here on Saturday, where the Serbian strung together three straight titles in 2011-2013, reports Efe.

Anderson, who reached the final by defeating Spaniard Rafael Nadal in the semis, had the more reliable serve at the start and did not lose serve until the 11th game of the second set.

The South African managed to save two match points in the final set before succumbing.

Djokovic extended his dominance over Anderson, whose only victory in 10 matches against the Serb came a decade ago in Miami.

Earlier in the day, Russia's Karen Khachanov won the third-place match 6-3, 4-6, 10-3 over Austrian Dominik Thiem, who stepped in for Nadal after the Spaniard decided to skip the contest to avoid aggravating an injury.