Lajovic Defeats Rublev, Wins Banja Luka Trophy

Dusan Lajovic capped a dream week at the Srpska Open on Sunday when he clinched his second tour-level title in Banja Luka. The Serbian overcame Andrey Rublev 6-3, 4-6, 6-4 in two hours and 32 minutes to snap the second seed’s eight-match winning streak.

Lajovic, who clawed past Miomir Kecmanovic in three sets in the semi-finals, came out firing in his first tour-level title match of the season. He struck the ball aggressively to pull Rublev around and held his nerve in the third set, serving out the match at the second time of asking to earn his eighth Top 10 win.

“Honestly it was probably the toughest match I have had in the past six months. I felt drained,” Lajovic said. “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.”

The 32-year-old now leads Rublev 2-0 in their ATP Head2Head series, having also beaten the 25-year-old en route to his maiden tour-level crown in Umag in 2019. He is up 30 spots to No. 40 in the Pepperstone ATP Live Rankings following his impressive week at the clay-court ATP 250.

Lajovic upset World No. 1 Novak Djokovic in the quarter-finals. With his victory against World No. 6 Andrey Rublev, the Serbian has defeated two Top 10 opponents at the same event for the first time in his career.

Rublev was aiming to win his second title of the season after clinching his maiden ATP Masters 1000 trophy in Monte-Carlo last week. The 25-year-old is currently sixth in the Pepperstone ATP Live Race To Turin.

In an entertaining final, Lajovic played well under pressure, saving all three break points he faced in the first set to lead. After a dip at the start of the second set, the Serbian produced his best level in the third set, limiting errors from the baseline to earn his 14th win of the year on his third championship point.