Djokovic beats Kubot in Serbia Open final

Belgrade, Serbia:

Top-seeded Novak Djokovic beat unheralded Lukasz Kubot of Poland 6-3, 7-6 (0) in the Serbia Open final on Sunday to win the first ATP Tour tournament held in his home country.

Djokovic played in his fourth straight final after being runner-up in Miami, Monte Carlo and Rome. It was his 13th career title.

"Although this is not one of the biggest tournament I had won, it means the most to me," Djokovic told some 7,000 spectators that packed a makeshift tennis stadium on the banks of the Danube River.

Kubot, who was in the draw as a lucky loser from qualifying after Steve Darcis of Belgium withdrew with a shoulder injury, was the first Pole to reach an ATP final since Wojtek Fibak in 1983 at Basel.

"I have one of my best memories here in Serbia, and hope to be back next year," Kubot said.

The 179th-ranked Kubot served for the second set, but Djokovic managed to return two difficult drop shots to force the tiebreaker, where he won all three points on Kubot's serve.

Djokovic's family brought the first ATP event to Serbia this year after buying the license from the former ABM Amro Open in the Netherlands.

Despite the victory, Djokovic will drop to the fourth in the next week's ATP rankings, losing his spot to Britain's Andy Murray, who beat him in the Miami final.