Rublev Can't Complete Comeback In Banja Luka As Lajovic Wins First Title in 4 Years

Andrey Rublev was shockingly beaten in Banja Luka at the Srpska Open. The Russian lost to Dusan Lajovic in the final of the ATP 250 tournament.

With Novak Djokovic in attendance, compatriot Dusan Lajovic, who beat him earlier at the event, played superbly well to down the highly favored Rublev. Lajovic is known as a clay specialist, as most of his great results have come on that surface.

The Srpska Open final was the third career final he played and the second time that he won. All three of his finals came on clay, including the first one, which remains the biggest one—the Monte-Carlo Masters.

Rublev himself is a fine clay player, having beaten Rafael Nadal on the surface in Monte-Carlo a few years ago. He was also heavily favored in this one as well but ultimately couldn't win this match. So what happened?

Well, Rublev played good but not great. He was also seemingly tired, having just played in Monte-Carlo the week before. It was a long week and a very tough week as he made the final and won the final despite being very close to losing it.

Fatigue was a factor in the final, and it proved to be a decisive factor. Lajovic was just on top of the Russian player, and he had the backing of the crowd, being a player from around those parts of the world.

The second set was much better by Rublev as he won it to force a decider, but in the third set, he once again didn’t play as well. The Russian just committed a bit too many errors in the end, as Lajovic was able to take a double break and lead 5-1.

Rublev pulled back one of those to soften the blow, but in the end, it was enough for Lajovic to win the title, beating the Russian player 6-3, 3-6, 6-4.