Lajovic: I enjoyed the match but I was exceptionally tired

Dusan Lajovic is the winner of the Srpska Open tournament. Over the course of only a couple of
days, the Serbian tennis player defeated two Top 10 players, something he can be really proud of.
Lajovic played wisely every point at the tournament and clinched a well-deserved title.
“The match was really demanding. From start to finish. I don’t know where I found the energy in the
second and the third set. I played many long matches this week. Somehow, after 5:1, I managed to
finish the match. All matches I played this week were against very good friends, including Andrey,
and, unfortunately, one of us had to lose. Sometimes it’s not easy at all to play against a friend. It’s
much easier to play against some other fellow at the tournament you are not close with”, said Dusan
Lajovic.
Lajovic admitted that at one moment he was doubting whether he would be able to finish the match
because he was ‘running out of fuel’.
“I’m tired but in a good rhythm. I hope I can continue, physically, I mean. I really enjoyed my time here
this week. My tennis was good and I fought really well. I expect the same from every match but I’m
aware that’s not always possible. I hope, at least, to recover before Madrid, although there isn’t much
time.”
After he lost the second set, Lajovic said he felt drained and kept thinking how Rublev was getting
back into the match.
“If I had broken his serve only once, I don’t think I would have won the match but I did break his serve
twice and I used that to my advantage when I was serving”.
In his answer to the question what was running through his mind when the result was 5:4 in the third
set, Lajovic did not hide that he was considering a defeat.

“I was not playing well so I told myself ‘come on, play a good forehand shot and then we’ll see’. I
realised that I was not going to win if I was only going for the winners. I had to focus on the fight
because the fight was required. Honestly, at 5:1, I lost my strength. I felt dizzy and I thought I would
faint. Then I said to myself ‘hang in there” and the crowds really lifted me up. If it weren’t for them,
who knows how it would end.”