Novak Djokovic congratulated Dusan Lajovic on winning the Banja Luka title. Lajovic, who stunned Djokovic in the Banja Luka quarterfinal, also upset Andrey Rublev in the final 6-3 4-6 6-4. Djokovic wasn’t happy at all about his performance against Lajovic but he definitely has no hard feelings toward his fellow compatriot.
Novak Djokovic congratulates Dusan Lajovic ðð¼
ð¸ IG stories pic.twitter.com/ALBHZEnucJ — Mario Boccardi (@marioboc17) April 23, 2023
After beating Djokovic, Lajovic was able to also beat Miomir Kecmanovic and Rublev.
In Banja Luka, 32-year-old Lajovic captured his second ATP title.
Djokovic congratulated Lajovic
Lajovic became an ATP champion after winning the 2019 Umag title. After many ups and downs, Lajovic collected his second ATP title four years later.
“Honestly it was probably the toughest match I have had in the past six months. I felt drained. From 5-1 in the third I could not feel my legs and felt a bit dizzy. I knew he was going to fight but somehow I managed to pull it out in the last game.
I wasn’t even thinking in the last game. I was just playing automatically and I tried to take the ball early on the forehand. I am thrilled and overwhelmed that I did it this week, that I won an ATP [Tour] title. The last time I was in a final was four years ago and I have been through a lot since then, lots of ups and downs.
This was probably the most unexpected thing for me for this week. But on the other side I still believed in myself, even though I did not have the best last year. This victory means a lot,” Lajovic said. Meanwhile, Djokovic pulled out of the Madrid Masters after losing to Lajovic.
Now that Djokovic is out of Madrid, we won’t be seeing the Serb in action until the Rome Masters. So far, Djokovic hasn’t been impressive during the clay season. In Banja Luka, Djokovic underlined that his top priority remains being at his best when the time comes for the French Open.
