( CNN ) -- World No . 2 Novak Djokovic was on track to defend his Dubai Tennis Championship title when torrential rain , thunder and lightning halted play in Saturday 's final against Mikhail Youzhny . The Serbian led 7-5 2-0 when the heavens opened on the desert emirate and flooded the court , and after a long delay it was decided to resume play on Sunday afternoon . Top seed Djokovic won a topsy-turvy first set in 63 minutes as there were five breaks in serve overall , then rain forced a half-hour delay . He was 30-15 up in the third game against the Russian seventh seed when the weather intervened again , and umpire Mohamed Lahyani ruled that the court was too wet for further play . Workers tried to clear the water , but to no avail . Djokovic is seeking to avenge his semifinal defeat by Youzhny at the World Tennis Tournament in Rotterdam a fortnight ago and claim his 17th ATP Tour title . Youzhny lost to Robin Soderling in the Dutch final after suffering a hamstring injury , leaving him with five career titles . Meanwhile , world No . 7 Elena Dementieva will face fellow Russian Alisa Kleybanova in Sunday 's final of the inaugural Malaysian Open as she seeks to win a third title this year . Top seed Dementieva defeated Austria 's Sybille Bammer 6-3 6-1 in her semifinal on Saturday , while Kleybanova beat Japan 's Ayumi Morita 6-4 6-1 .
Novak Djokovic leads Mikhail Youzhny 7-5 2-0 in Dubai Tennis Championship final . World No . 2 must wait until Sunday to complete successful defense of his title . Russian seventh seed Youzhny beat Serbian in Rotterdam semifinals two weeks ago . Elena Dementieva will face fellow Russian Alisa Kleybanova in Sunday 's Malaysian Open final .