Lajović: I need to keep this pace

The domestic representative at the Belgrade Open, Dušan Lajović, did not manage to place in the semi-finals of the Belgrade Open and thus get a chance to face off against Novak Đoković.

The fifth seed of the tournament lost to Slovakia’s Andrej Martin in three sets (6:3, 3:6, 4:6).

“I started well, but I lost focus in the second set. I could not match his game until the end. He likes to play a game of cat and mouse, and I did not manage to do things like in the first set. I am sorry this happened when I have finally started to play well. I believe I could have won, but this happens sometimes. I made too many mistakes. All in all, I had a good week, I played good sets, but today I was not successful,” said Lajović after the match.

He also spoke about press conferences players do, and how they feel about them.

“It depends on the defeat. Not every defeat is the same, just as not every victory is the same. When it comes to bad play, I certainly do not like talking about it, but that is part of the job. I am aware of the situation and sometimes I feel that we have more pressure in tennis than other athletes because we play almost every day. We have conferences before and after the matches. That is a thing you have to do, it comes with the sport. You have to express yourself and accept, even though it may not be easy to do so, but there is a reason.”

In Belgrade, he achieved two consecutive victories after a long time.

“I have played three matches and won two. In a way, that is a good thing right before Paris, and on the other hand, that is a normal result for me. Looking at the last few weeks, it was an unfamiliar thing to me, but I managed to get back on track. I need to keep this pace. In some of today’s situations, I did not have self-confidence. The good thing is that I have played three consecutive matches in one tournament since Australia. I hope that I will continue to play the same in Paris,” concluded Lajović.