Lajovic eliminates Djokovic in straight sets in Banja Luka

Dusan Lajovic, world number 70, beat the world number 1 Novak Djokovic 6-4, 7-6 (6) in a match from the 1/4 finals in Banja Luka.

The World No. 1 is upset by countryman Dusan Lajovic 👀 pic.twitter.com/rc6Fj6RArd

— US Open Tennis (@usopen) April 21, 2023

Djokovic had 16 chances to break his opponent’s serve in the game but converted only one. The most concerning thing for Nole, however, was that he used medical timeout twice. After 2 hours and 25 minutes on the court, Djokovic was beaten by Dusan without even winning a set.

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Djokovic will miss the ATP Finals for ‘ongoing injury’

Lajovic will play in the 1/2 finals of the clay tournament where his opponent will be Kecmanovic or Lehecka.

Dušan Lajović on crowd support towards Novak and chants ‘Nole, Nole’: “I ended up catching myself chanting it [Nole, Nole].”
Novak is a lifelong friend and childhood idol. #SrpskaOpen pic.twitter.com/c58KmoslSe

— Marko Milenković 🇷🇸 (@theMilenkovic) April 21, 2023

That was the 1st victory of the younger Serbian against Nole as in their previous two games Djokovic beat him in straight sets – 2018 in Monte Carlo on clay and 2015 in Doha.