Lajović: I hope to regain good form

Domestic representative at Belgrade Open, Dušan Lajović, will take on Lithuania’s Ricardas Berankis as the fifth seed of the first round.

“To be honest, every draw lately is tough for me because I have a five-match losing streak going on. It is just one of those periods, discipline is hard to maintain and continuing to work is tough when I am recording loss after loss, on my favourite surface no less. This is my worst start to a season played on clay. I hope to regain good form. I am going into this match without any expectations, I want a good fight and not to think about losses. I have trained well, everything looks good on that front, but the actual match is a whole other kind of beast. I have had a rather good attitude during my training sessions these past few days, and I hope that that will instil some confidence in me. To be honest, in normal circumstances, this would have been a great draw, but, right now, that is not the case,” explains Lajović.

He emphasizes that the physical and psychological states of a player are linked.

“Drops in physical performance happen, but they are sometimes influenced by psyche. It is important to find balance, and to be aware that the bad feelings experienced on the court are just a temporary crisis. On the other hand, sometimes, you just lose yourself entirely mentally. I believe it is important for me to be prepared for bad events during matches, and I should learn to deal with them.”

He also speaks about his plans for the coming period.

“I am set to play one grass court tournament before Wimbledon, after which I will play clay court tournaments again. I will skip the Olympic Games, as I think that, due to the current situation, playing in Europe is a better plan.”

He says he does not feel particularly pressured when playing in tournaments organized in Serbia.

“When I compare my performances from the previous weeks, I believe I played my best game in Belgrade during Serbia Open. I do not see that as an obstacle though. I came close to winning against Delbonis in the third set, I could have won, too. I did not even have a chance in other tournaments.”