Dušan Lajović talked quite cheerfully about the upcoming duel with Novak Djokovic and jokes with Serbian tennis players.
Dušan Lajović and Novak Đoković will play in the quarterfinals of the new Serbian derby at the Serbian Open in Banja Luka on Friday.
It will be their third mutual duel, and Lajović reveals that there are no secrets between them and that they know each other well, so there won’t be any special tactical ideas.
“We’ve all known each other for so long that there are no secrets. The last match won me quite smoothly, it was a challenge because I’m playing against the best in the world and that’s always the icing on the cake, that’s how you play tennis. On the other hand, it’s important not to give in. It’s easy to say, but I hope to be in the same rhythm as before when I played”said Lajović, who is aware that despite the support of every Serbian tennis player in Banja Luka, this time many more will cheer for Djokovic.
“So far the audience has been fair and correct. It is certain that many more people will cheer for Nolet, but that will not be new. I hope that I will be able to enjoy the atmosphere. I am glad that there are a lot of our players who make it to the final because here the people support us and I hope it will remain so during the tournament”.
He added that friendship prevails among Serbian tennis players on the ATP tour and there is a lot of joking around.
Yes. Here, Filip and I took a picture before our match,” said Lajović, showing his phone.
“There’s always a joke. Although, I think the people around us joke more than we do, they sting, but it’s always in a sporting spirit”.
When asked if there is still a WhatsApp group of Serbian tennis players in which they followed the results and the worst player of the season paid for dinner, he said:
“That bet has not been relevant for several years now. We created groups for padel, we no longer talk about tennis, now we call each other for padel. The best is Mare Đoković. Đoković again.”Lajović concluded with a smile.