Novak Djokovic Suffers His First Loss Against Fellow Serb Dusan Lajovic; Crashes Out of Srpska Open 2023
World no 1 Novak Djokovic suffers defeat against Dusan Lajovic in the quarterfinal of Srpska Open 2023. This was Djokovic's first defeat to a Serb countryman in 11 years
Banja Luka (Bosnia and Herzegovina), Apr 22 (AP): Novak Djokovic lost to a Serb countryman for the first time in 11 years in the quarterfinals of the Srpska Open on Friday. Dusan Lajovic won 6-4 7-6 (6) to down a world No. 1-ranked player for the first time. "It is the biggest win of my career," Lajovic said on court. Novak Djokovic Gets Into Heated Argument with Umpire, Breaks His Racket During Shocking Loss against Lorenzo Musetti in Monte Carlo Masters 2023.
"The emotions are very mixed because I'm playing here in front of the home town and I'm also playing against Nole, who is a good friend and he's a hero of our country.
"Beating him, it's something that I didn't even think is going to be possible, but it happened."
Djokovic converted only one of 16 break chances and missed three set points in the tiebreaker.
His previous loss to a fellow Serb was in 2012 to Janko Tipsarevic in Madrid.
"Dusan is a fantastic person, great guy," Djokovic said.
"Someone I've known for a very long time, since he started playing professional tennis. So many times on the Davis Cup team together, trained together. I'm happy for him, to be honest. He deserved to win today." Rafael Nadal, Five-Time Champion, Withdraws From Madrid Open 2023 Due to Injury.
Following his third loss of the year, Djokovic moves on to the Madrid Open next week. AP
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