DUBAI (AP) ― Roger Federer won a record sixth Dubai Championships ― and 78th career title ― by beating Tomas Berdych 3-6, 6-4, 6-3 in the final on Saturday.

Federer, who maintains a home in Dubai, delighted a packed stadium of fans who seemed biased for the Swiss in back-to-back wins over Novak Djokovic in the semifinals and Berdych.

“Things definitely went my way out here tonight,” Federer said. “I’ve had a lot of tough matches in the last year and a half so it was nice to get a lucky break again.”

The victory was hard fought as Federer lost the first serve and his serve in the second to trail 3-2.

Federer’s win, his sixth here in the last 12 years, extends his record of winning at least one title a year to 14 consecutive years.

This is Federer’s first tournament victory since winning in Halle, his only title of 2013, last spring. Federer improved his record over Berdych to 12-6 with the win. The last time they played, however, Berdych beat Federer in the Dubai semifinals last year.

“He’s the greatest player of all time and he’ll never give up and give you anything for free,” Berdych said. “I knew that and thought I was ready for it, but my execution wasn’t good enough to hold it to the end.”