( CNN ) -- Novak Djokovic began his Abu Dhabi title defense talking about donkey cheese , but he ended it with the perfect start to his preseason preparations . The world No . 1 retained his title in the Middle East exhibition event on Saturday , beating 11th-ranked Nicolas Almagro in a three-set final that should have blown away any remaining rustiness following his demolition of another Spaniard , David Ferrer , in the semis . Djokovic will now head to Australia for another warmup event , the mixed teams Hopman Cup , where he will line up with glamor girl Ana Ivanovic in Serbia 's opening rubber against Italy 's Andreas Seppi and Francesca Schiavone on Monday . The 25-year-old on Thursday denied claims that he has bought the world 's entire supply of donkey cheese for his restaurant business back home . `` I did not expect this story was going to get so much attention , and everywhere in the world too , '' he told the Gulf News ahead of his first match at the Mubadala World Tennis Championship . `` There is a certain farm in Serbia that produces it and , as I understand it , it is the only farm in the world to do so , which is very interesting . `` They came to our restaurant and offered co-operation , so that is all . We are now thinking and seeing what we can do with that , but it is not true that I already bought the whole supply . '' Australian Open champion Djokovic had to fight hard against Almagro -- who was a late replacement for the ill Rafael Nadal . He finally triumphed 6-7 ( 4-7 ) 6-3 6-4 in two hours and 35 minutes against the 27-year-old , who beat Serbian Janko Tipsarevic in another three-set match on Friday . `` Nico played an amazing game . He was hitting strong from the baseline and he was n't giving me much time , '' Djokovic said . `` It was a close match and I am very satisfied with how I played . This is a top-level event and we all want to see where we are in readiness for the season . Hopefully I 'll be back to defend my title . '' World No . 9 Tipsarevic finished the six-man tournament in fourth place after losing 7-6 ( 7-4 ) 6-2 to fifth-ranked Ferrer in Saturday 's playoff . The Hopman Cup began in Perth on Saturday , with Australia beating Germany 3-0 in Group A and Spain defeating South Africa 2-1 in Group B. Australia 's win was helped by a knee injury suffered by Germany 's former world No . 9 Andrea Petkovic , who has slipped out of the top 100 after suffering a series of physical problems in 2012 . She led Australian 16-year-old Ashleigh Barty 6-4 in their singles match before retiring , and was then unable to play in the mixed doubles -- and is a major doubt for the season 's opening grand slam in Melbourne next month . In the opening men 's match , Bernard Tomic beat veteran Tommy Haas 7-6 ( 8-6 ) 3-6 7-5 . Haas , ranked 31 places higher at 21st in the world , blew a 6-1 lead in the tiebreak and failed to serve out for victory at 5-4 ahead in the decider . Kevin Anderson gave South Africa an early lead when he beat Fernando Verdasco in straight sets , but Anabel Medina Garrigues leveled the tie with victory over Chanelle Scheepers and the Spaniards then won the doubles 6-4 6-7 ( 3-7 ) 10-8 .
World No . 1 Novak Djokovic beats Nicolas Almagro in final of Abu Dhabi exhibition . He will now head to Perth to play in Hopman Cup with fellow Serbian Ana Ivanovic . Mixed teams event began on Saturday , with Australia and South Africa winning . TL;DR Tennis star Roger Federer wins the Dubai Desert Classic title for a record eighth time.