WATCH: Dusan Lajovic claims another huge upset win to snatch Banja Luka title
In a week where he notched an incredible and historic victory over World No 1 and compatriot Novak Djokovic, Dusan Lajovic overcame dizzy spells to down Andrey Rublev to win the Srpska Open on Sunday.
The Banja Luka title is the second career championship for the 32-year-old Lajovic. He has now claimed both of his tournament wins at events hosted in the Balkans.
Lajovic overcame Monte Carlo Masters champion Rublev 6-3, 4-6, 6-4 in two hours and 32 minutes, snapping the second seed’s eight-match winning streak in the process.
Taking an aggressive stance from the off, Lajovic struck the ball well to shunt Rublev around the Banja Luka court.
Dusan Lajovic revealed that he felt like he was running on empty at points during the match.
“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.”
Lajovic now holds a 2-0 lead over Rublev in their head-to-head series, having also defeated the 25-year-old on the way to claiming his first tour-level title in Umag in 2019. Following this excellent week at the ATP 250 on clay, Lajovic has risen 30 places in the rankings to break back into the top 50 and settle at world No 40.
In the quarterfinals, Lajovic defeated Djokovic, and with his victory over World No. 6 Andrey Rublev, the Serbian has overcome two Top 10 opponents in the same event for the first time in his career.
Rublev was hoping for his second victory of the season, having won his first Masters crown at Monte-Carlo last week.
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Dusan Lajovic performed brilliantly under duress in an intriguing final, saving all three break points he faced in the first set and ultimately taking the lead. Following a downturn at the start of the second set, the Serbian delivered another fine performance in the third set, as he minimised mistakes from the baseline to secure his 14th win of the season.