Dušan Lajović


Dušan Lajović is a Serbian professional tennis player.
Lajović has won one doubles title on the ATP Tour in his career. On 29 April 2019, Lajović reached his best singles ranking of world No. 23. On 8 June 2015, he peaked at No. 104 in the doubles rankings. He is best known for his clay court craft and strong flowing groundstrokes, especially his one-handed backhand. In recent years, he has proven to be a reliable and consistent player for the Serbian Davis Cup team contributing to their achieving one final, one semifinal, and three quarterfinals. He won his first tournament at the 2019 Croatia Open.

Tennis career

For a long time, Lajović primarily played on the Futures circuit and the Challenger circuit. In 2011 he qualified for the Kremlin Cup, and lost in the first round of the main draw. In the 2011 St. Petersburg Open, he reached the quarterfinals for the first time in his career. In 2012, he began working with a new coach, Boris Bošnjaković, played in the Davis Cup for the first time, reached the finals of 2012 Orbetello Challenger and won the 2012 Samarkand Challenger. Replacing an injured Janko Tipsarevic, he played two live rubbers in the 2013 Davis Cup final, including the deciding rubber against Radek Stepanek of the Czech Republic. He was defeated comfortably in both but was praised by team-mate Novak Djokovic for how he coped with the big occasion.

2014: French Open round of 16

His first appearance in main draw of grand slam was at Australian Open and he reached second round where he lost to Kei Nishikori. He bettered this at the French Open by reaching the fourth round where he was beaten in straight sets by then-world number one and eventual champion Rafael Nadal.

2015: First ATP doubles title & second Davis Cup quarterfinal

Partnered with Radu Albot, they won the Istanbul doubles title, marking the first ATP doubles title for the Serb. At the French Open he lost to eventual champion Stan Wawrinka in the second round in four sets.

2016: Third Davis Cup quarterfinal

At the Argentina Open, Lajović reached quarterfinals defeating world No. 12 John Isner en route. He reached semifinals of the Brasil Open after beating top seed and world No. 20 Benoît Paire in the second round, that was his first tour-level semifinal appearance after losing all eight prior quarterfinals matches before in his career. This was followed by semifinal appearances at the Generali Open & Los Cabos Open.

2017: Masters round of 16 & Davis Cup semifinal

In Indian wells, the Serbian defeated five opponents to reach the fourth round eventually losing to Pablo Carreno Busta. His contributions in successful Davis Cup ties against Russia & Spain, resulted in Serbia making the semifinal where he defeated Lucas Pouille but lost to Jo-Wilfried Tsonga.

2018: Masters quarterfinal

At the Australian Open Lajović lost in five sets to US Open quarterfinalist Diego Schwartzman in his opening match. His next match was a five set loss to Miami Masters champion John Isner in a Davis Cup tie. A temporary return to the Challenger Tour resulted in winning the Open Region Guadeloupe.
After qualifying for the Monte-Carlo Masters, he faced 12 time Grand Slam champion Novak Djokovic, losing in straight sets. At the Madrid Masters, he defeated former top ten player Richard Gasquet in the second round, followed by a victory over world No. 6 Juan Martín del Potro, before falling to world No. 8 Kevin Anderson in the quarterfinals. This clay-court season was topped off with a semifinal appearance at the Lyon Open and a five-set loss at the French Open to world No. 3 Alexander Zverev.
Lajović's first-round match at Wimbledon was against defending champion & world No. 2 Roger Federer, he would lose in three quick sets. At the China Open he was able to secure his second victory over a top 10 player, defeating world No. 7 Grigor Dimitrov. On 15 October, Lajović reached the top 50 ranking for the first time in his career.

2019: Top 25; Masters final, maiden title

In January 2019, Lajović scored his 100th career victory and reached a new career high ranking of world No. 45. Lajović secured his third top ten victory in Miami defeating world No. 6 Kei Nishikori. At the Monte-Carlo Masters, he reached his maiden ATP Tour final without dropping a set. En route to the final, Lajović defeated former top 10 player David Goffin, reigning French Open finalist, world No. 5 Dominic Thiem, and world No. 14 Daniil Medvedev. His run ended in the final against Fabio Fognini in straight sets. Lajović climbed to a new career high ranking of No. 24 at the conclusion of the tournament. Lajović won his first ATP Tour singles title at the Croatian Open in Umag, defeating Hungarian Attila Balázs in the final.

2020: ATP Cup title

At the inaugural ATP Cup, Lajović assisted Serbia in making history as the first nation to win Davis, World Team and ATP Cups. Scoring four victories of six individual matches. At the Australian Open he defeated 2018 semifinalist Kyle Edmund in straight sets.

Style of playing

Lajović plays his best games on clay courts, with a strong baseline game capable of creating decent pace on both wings. He can create heavy kick on his serve, especially effective on clay.

Personal life

Lajović was born 30 June 1990 in Belgrade, Serbia to parents Marina and Dragiša Lajović. He started playing tennis when he was eight years old in T.K. Stara Pazova and later continued in T.K. Partizan Belgrade. He lives in Stara Pazova, Serbia where he owns a cafe-restaurant.

Performance timelines

Singles

This table is current through 2020 Abierto Mexicano Telcel.

Doubles

Significant finals

ATP Masters 1000 finals

Singles: 1 (1 runner-up)

ResultYearTournamentSurfaceOpponentScore
Loss2019Monte-Carlo MastersClay Fabio Fognini3–6, 4–6

ATP career finals

Singles: 2 (1 title, 1 runner-up)

ResultW–LDateTournamentTierSurfaceOpponentScore
Loss0–12019 Monte-Carlo Masters – Singles|Monte-Carlo Masters, MonacoMasters 1000Clay Fabio Fognini3–6, 4–6
Win1–12019 Croatia Open Umag – Singles|Croatia Open Umag, Croatia250 SeriesClay Attila Balázs7–5, 7–5

Doubles: 3 (2 titles, 1 runner-up)

Team competition

Finals: 2 (1 title, 1 runner–up)

ATP Challenger Tour and ITF Futures finals

Singles: 17 (12 titles, 5 runner–ups)

ResultW–LDateTournamentTierSurfaceOpponentScore
Win1–0ITF Sombor, SerbiaFuturesClay Aleksandar Slović6–3, 6–4
Loss1–1ITF Belgrade, SerbiaFuturesClay Oleksandr Nedovyesov4–6, 2–6
Win2–1ITF Novi Sad, SerbiaFuturesClay Aldin Šetkić6–0, 4–6, 6–3
Loss2–2ITF Este Padova, ItalyFuturesClay Matteo Viola5–7, 1–6
Loss2–3ITF Cairo, EgyptFuturesClay Miljan Zekić1–6, 6–3, 4–6
Win3–3ITF Antalya, TurkeyFuturesHard Artem SmirnovWEA
Win4–3ITF Cividino, ItalyFuturesHard Andrea Stoppini3–6, 6–4, 6–3
Win5–3ITF Foggia, ItalyFuturesClay Walter Trusendi6–2, 6–7, 6–2
Win6–3ITF Umag, CroatiaFuturesClay Andrey Kuznetsov6–4, 0–6, 7–5
Loss6–4Jul 2012Orbetello Challenger, ItalyChallengerClay Roberto Bautista Agut3–6, 1–6
Win7–4Aug 2012Samarkand Challenger, UzbekistanChallengerClay Farrukh Dustov6–3, 6–2
Win8–4Jun 2013Caltanissetta Challenger, ItalyChallengerClay Robin Haase7–6, 6–3
Loss8–5Jun 2013Blois International, FranceChallengerClay Julian Reister1–6, 7–6, 6–7
Win9–5Nov 2013Seoul Cup, South KoreaChallengerHard Julian Reisterw/o
Win10–5Sep 2015Banja Luka Challenger, BiHChallengerHard Victor Hănescu7–6, 7–6
Win11–5Jul 2017Båstad Challenger, SwedenChallengerClay Leonardo Mayer6–2, 7–6
Win12–5Apr 2018Guadeloupe Open, GuadeloupeChallengerHard Denis Kudla6–4, 6–0

Doubles: 6 (4 titles, 2 runner–ups)

ResultW–LDateTournamentTierSurfacePartnerOpponentsScore
Win1–0ITF Belgrade, SerbiaFuturesClay Nikola Čačić David Savić
Miljan Zekić		7–6, 3–6,
Loss1–1ITF Cairo, EgyptFuturesClay Nikola Ćirić Oscar Burrieza-Lopez
Javier Marti		4–6, 6–1,
Win2–1ITF Sarajevo, BiHFuturesClay Miljan Zekić Mirza Bašić
Zlatan Kadrić		6–3, 6–4
Win3–1ITF Novi Sad, SerbiaFuturesClay Ilija Vučić Javier Herrera-Eguiluz
Brendan Moore		7–5, 5–7,
Win4–1ITF Cairo, EgyptFuturesClay Miljan Zekić Alexander Lobkov
Alexander Rumyantsev		7–6, 7–6
Loss4–2Sep 2015Sibiu Open, RomaniaChallengerClay Ilija Bozoljac Victor Crivoi
Petru-Alexandru Luncanu		4–6, 3–6

Top 10 wins

Lajovic has a 4–14 record against players who were, at the time the match was played, ranked in the top 10.
Season20182019Total
Wins224