Dušan Lajović

Lajović has won two singles and two doubles titles on the ATP Tour. On 29 April 2019, Lajović reached his career-high singles ranking of world No. 23. On 21 September 2020, he peaked at No. 82 in the doubles rankings. He is best known for his clay-court game, kick serve and strong flowing groundstrokes, especially his one-handed backhand. Lajović regularly represents Serbia in team competitions, after playing in the now defunct World Team Cup in 2010 and 2011, he is a member of the Serbian Davis Cup team since 2012 and he contributed greatly to Serbia winning the inaugural ATP Cup in 2020, as he won four of six matches. He won his first singles tournament at the 2019 Croatia Open and reached his first Masters 1000 final at the 2019 Monte-Carlo Masters.

Dušan Lajović

Lajovic at the 2022 Monte-Carlo Masters
Country (sports)	Serbia
Residence	Stara Pazova, Serbia
Born	(1990-06-30) 30 June 1990 (age 33) Belgrade, SR Serbia, SFR Yugoslavia
Height	1.83 m (6 ft 0 in)
Turned pro	2007
Plays	Right-handed (one-handed backhand)
Coach	José Perlas (2016–)
Prize money	US$ 8,893,980
Singles
Career record	198–249 (44.3% in ATP World Tour and Grand Slam main draw matches, and in Davis Cup)
Career titles	2
Highest ranking	No. 23 (29 April 2019)
Current ranking	No. 65 (22 April 2024)
Grand Slam singles results
Australian Open	4R (2021)
French Open	4R (2014)
Wimbledon	2R (2014, 2017, 2021, 2022)
US Open	3R (2018)
Doubles
Career record	44–85 (34.1% in ATP World Tour and Grand Slam main draw matches, and in Davis Cup)
Career titles	2
Highest ranking	No. 82 (21 September 2020)
Current ranking	No. 879 (29 January 2024)
Grand Slam doubles results
Australian Open	2R (2017)
French Open	QF (2019)
Wimbledon	2R (2018)
US Open	2R (2014, 2018)
Team competitions
Davis Cup	F (2013)
Last updated on: 29 January 2024.

2007–2011

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.

2012: Davis Cup debut

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.

2013: Davis Cup finalist

Replacing an injured Janko Tipsarević, he played two live rubbers in the 2013 Davis Cup final, including the deciding rubber against Radek Štěpánek 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: Major debut at Australian Open, French Open fourth round

His first appearance in the main draw of a 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 the 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 2016 Generali Open in Kitzbühel and the 2016 Los Cabos Open.

2017: Masters fourth round & Davis Cup semifinal

In Indian wells, the Serbian defeated five opponents to reach the fourth round eventually losing to Pablo Carreño 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 straight sets in the final.

2020: ATP Cup champion

At the inaugural ATP Cup, Lajović assisted Serbia in making history as the first nation to win Davis, World Team and ATP Cups, winning four of six matches. At the Australian Open he defeated 2018 semifinalist Kyle Edmund in straight sets before losing to world no. 14 Diego Schwartzman in the third round.

2021: Australian Open fourth round

Lajović started his 2021 season representing Serbia at the ATP Cup. He lost to Milos Raonic of Canada and Jan-Lennard Struff of Germany. Despite winning last year, Serbia failed to defend the title. Seeded 23rd at the Australian Open, he reached the fourth round of a Grand Slam for a second time in his career. He ended up getting defeated by 6th seed Alexander Zverev.

Seeded third at the Open Sud de France in Montpellier, Lajović was eliminated in the second round by Dennis Novak. At the Rotterdam Open, he stunned World No. 3 and top seed, Daniil Medvedev, in the first round. With this win, Lajović was able to stop Medvedev from reaching number two in the ATP rankings. He was beaten in the second round by Borna Ćorić.

2022: Third consecutive ATP Cup, Out of top 100

Lajović started his 2022 season by representing Serbia at the ATP Cup as the No. 1 player after the withdrawal of Novak Djokovic. Serbia was in Group A alongside Norway, Chile, and Spain. He ended up losing to Casper Ruud, Cristian Garín via retirement, and Roberto Bautista Agut. Serbia ended up third in Group A. Seeded sixth at the Sydney Classic, he was defeated in the second round by American Maxime Cressy. At the Australian Open, he was eliminated in the second round by world No. 31 Carlos Alcaraz.

Seeded fifth at the Argentina Open, Lajović was beaten in the second round by Argentinian Federico Coria. In Rio, he lost in the first round to Fernando Verdasco. At the Mexican Open, he was defeated in the second round by Tommy Paul. Playing at the Indian Wells Masters, he lost in the first round to Filip Krajinović. In Miami, he lost in the first round to Juan Manuel Cerúndolo.

Lajović kicked off his clay-court season at the Monte-Carlo Masters. He lost his second-round match to Grigor Dimitrov. Competing at the Serbia Open in his country, he was defeated in the first round by qualifier Taro Daniel. At the Estoril Open, he lost in the first round to fifth seed and eventual finalist, Frances Tiafoe. In May, Lajović played at the Madrid Open. He stunned World No. 7 and fifth seed, Casper Ruud, in the second round. He fell in the third round to World No. 14 and twelfth seed, Hubert Hurkacz. Getting past qualifying at the Italian Open, he lost in the first round to Alex de Minaur. Ranked No. 64 at the French Open, he was defeated in the first round by Sebastián Báez.

Seeded second at the Emilia-Romagna Open, an ATP Challenger event in Italy, Lajović reached the semifinals where he lost to Borna Ćorić.

Lajović played only one tournament to prepare for Wimbledon. At the Mallorca Championships, he was ousted from the tournament in the first round by Daniel Altmaier. Ranked also No. 64 at Wimbledon, he lost in the second round to Alexander Bublik.

Seeded second at the Salzburg Open, an ATP Challenger event in Austria, Lajović made it to the quarterfinals where he lost to sixth seed and eventual champion, Thiago Monteiro.

He left the top 100 at No. 102 on 21 November 2022, his lowest year-end ranking in 10 years.

In December he won the 2022 Maia Challenger, his seventh at this level.

He finished the year ranked No. 80 on 5 December 2023.

2023: Win over world No. 1 and second title, back to top 50, 100th clay win

In January, Lajovic lost in three tight sets in the qualifying of ASB Classic to Christopher Eubanks. At the Australian Open, he lost in the first round in four sets against 20th seed Denis Shapovalov.

In February, during the Golden Swing in South America, he reached as a qualifier the quarterfinals of the Argentina Open after defeating reigning Córdoba Open champion Sebastián Báez in the first round. In the second round, he defeated Camilo Ugo Carabelli in straight sets to reach his first quarterfinal of the season. In the quarterfinals, he was defeated by the top seed, Carlos Alcaraz.

At the Rio Open, Lajovic reached his second quarterfinal after defeating fifth seed Diego Schwartzman in the first round and compatriot Laslo Djere in the second, both in straight sets. In the quarterfinals, he was defeated again by the top seed Carlos Alcaraz. For the second time, he reached back-to-back quarterfinals at the Chile Open by defeating again Camilo Ugo Carabelli in the first round and Juan Manuel Cerundolo in the round of 16. In the quarterfinals, he lost to Tomás Martín Etcheverry.

At the 2023 Miami Open he won his first hard court match of the season against Andy Murray. Next he defeated 30th seed Maxime Cressy to reach the third round, where he lost to Carlos Alcaraz in straight sets.

In April, he won his second career ATP title in Banja Luka. In the first round he defeated compatriot Filip Krajinović in three tight sets and in the second, eight seed Grégoire Barrère in straight sets. In the quarterfinals, he defeated top seed and world No. 1 Novak Djokovic in straight sets for the biggest win of his career. In the semifinals, he won over fourth seed and compatriot Miomir Kecmanović in three sets, after three hours of play. In the final, he defeated defending champion and second seed Andrey Rublev and returned to the top-40 in rankings.

At the 2023 Mutua Madrid Open he recorded his 100th clay match win defeating Jason Kubler in the first round becoming only the second Serbian in the Open Era after Djokovic to reach this milestone. In the second round Lajović scored his third Top 10 win in the space of nine days by taking out seventh seed Félix Auger-Aliassime.

In September, during the Davis Cup Finals in Valencia, Lajovic, playing singles, won in straight sets against Hong Seong-chan from South Korea and gave the all important first point to his Serbian Davis Cup team.

In October, Lajovic advanced to the third round of the Shanghai Masters, after beating Stanislas Wawrinka in the first round and Tallon Griekspoor in the second, both matches winning in straight sets. In the third round, he lost to Hungarian Fabian Marozsan. in the same month, he also made the second round at the next Masters in Paris as a lucky loser, defeating wildcard Benjamin Bonzi.

2024: Two Golden swing quarterfinals

At the 2024 Argentina Open he reached back-to-back quarterfinals at this tournament defeating eight seed Arthur Fils and Alejandro Tabilo before losing to eventual champion, wildcard Facundo Diaz Acosta. At the 2024 Rio Open he reached back-to-back quarterfinals in two consecutive weeks.

He reached his second career semifinal above the ATP 250 level, at the 2024 Barcelona Open Banc Sabadell with wins over qualifier Diego Schwartzman, sixth seed Ugo Humbert, 11th seed Alejandro Davidovich Fokina and 16th seed Arthur Fils.

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.

Lajović was born 30 June 1990 in Belgrade, Serbia to parents Marina and Dragiša Lajović. He started playing tennis when he was seven years old in T.K. Stara Pazova and later continued in T.K. Partizan Belgrade. He is in a long-term relationship with Serbian medical doctor Lidija Mikic. He lives in Stara Pazova, Serbia where he owns a coffee shop.

Singles

Current through the 2024 Monte-Carlo Masters.

Doubles

ATP Masters 1000 finals

Singles: 1 (1 runner-up)

Result	Year	Tournament	Surface	Opponent	Score
Loss	2019	Monte-Carlo Masters	Clay	Fabio Fognini	3–6, 4–6

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

Result	W–L	Date	Tournament	Tier	Surface	Opponent	Score
Loss	0–1	Apr 2019	Monte-Carlo Masters, Monaco	Masters 1000	Clay	Fabio Fognini	3–6, 4–6
Win	1–1	Jul 2019	Croatia Open Umag, Croatia	250 Series	Clay	Attila Balázs	7–5, 7–5
Win	2–1	Apr 2023	Banja Luka Open, Bosnia and Herzegovina	250 Series	Clay	Andrey Rublev	6–3, 4–6, 6–4

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

Result	W–L	Date	Tournament	Tier	Surface	Partner	Opponents	Score
Loss	0–1	Jul 2014	Croatia Open Umag, Croatia	250 Series	Clay	Franko Škugor	František Čermák   Lukáš Rosol	4–6, 6–7(5–7)
Win	1–1	May 2015	Istanbul Open, Turkey	250 Series	Clay	Radu Albot	Robert Lindstedt   Jürgen Melzer	6–4, 7–6(7–2)
Win	2–1	Sep 2019	Chengdu Open, China	250 Series	Hard	Nikola Ćaćić	Jonathan Erlich   Fabrice Martin	7–6(11–9), 3–6, [10–3]

Finals: 2 (1 title, 1 runner–up)

Result	W–L	Date	Team competition	Surface	Partner/Team	Opponents	Score
Loss	0–1	Nov 2013	Davis Cup, Belgrade, Serbia	Hard (i)	Novak Djokovic   Nenad Zimonjić   Ilija Bozoljac	Tomáš Berdych   Radek Štěpánek   Lukáš Rosol   Jan Hájek	2–3
Win	1–1	Jan 2020	ATP Cup, Sydney, Australia	Hard	Novak Djokovic   Nikola Milojević   Viktor Troicki   Nikola Ćaćić	Rafael Nadal   Roberto Bautista Agut   Pablo Carreño Busta   Albert Ramos Viñolas   Feliciano López	2–1

Singles: 17 (12 titles, 5 runner–ups)

Result	W–L	Date	Tournament	Tier	Surface	Opponent	Score
Win	1–0	Aug 2009	Serbia F5, Sombor	Futures	Clay	Aleksandar Slović	6–3, 6–4
Loss	1–1	Jun 2010	Serbia F1, Belgrade	Futures	Clay	Oleksandr Nedovyesov	4–6, 2–6
Win	2–1	Aug 2010	Serbia F4, Novi Sad	Futures	Clay	Aldin Šetkić	6–0, 4–6, 6–3
Loss	2–2	Aug 2010	Italy F22, Este	Futures	Clay	Matteo Viola	5–7, 1–6
Loss	2–3	Oct 2010	Egypt F5, Cairo	Futures	Clay	Miljan Zekić	1–6, 6–3, 4–6
Win	3–3	Mar 2011	Italy F2, Cividino	Futures	Hard	Andrea Stoppini	3–6, 6–4, 6–3
Win	4–3	Mar 2011	Italy F3, Foggia	Futures	Clay	Walter Trusendi	6–2, 6–7(7–9), 6–2
Win	5–3	Oct 2011	Croatia F10, Umag	Futures	Clay	Andrey Kuznetsov	6–4, 0–6, 7–5
Loss	5–4	Jul 2012	Orbetello, Italy	Challenger	Clay	Roberto Bautista Agut	3–6, 1–6
Win	6–4	Aug 2012	Samarkand, Uzbekistan	Challenger	Clay	Farrukh Dustov	6–3, 6–2
Win	7–4	Jun 2013	Caltanissetta, Italy	Challenger	Clay	Robin Haase	7–6(7–4), 6–3
Loss	7–5	Jun 2013	Blois, France	Challenger	Clay	Julian Reister	1–6, 7–6(7–3), 6–7(2–7)
Win	8–5	Nov 2013	Seoul, South Korea	Challenger	Hard	Julian Reister	w/o
Win	9–5	Sep 2015	Banja Luka, BiH	Challenger	Hard	Victor Hănescu	7–6(7–5), 7–6(7–5)
Win	10–5	Jul 2017	Båstad, Sweden	Challenger	Clay	Leonardo Mayer	6–2, 7–6(7–4)
Win	11–5	Apr 2018	Guadeloupe, Guadeloupe	Challenger	Hard	Denis Kudla	6–4, 6–0
Win	12–5	Dec 2022	Maspalomas, Spain	Challenger	Clay	Steven Diez	6–1, 6–4

Doubles: 6 (4 titles, 2 runner–ups)

Result	W–L	Date	Tournament	Tier	Surface	Partner	Opponents	Score
Win	1–0	Jun 2008	ITF Belgrade, Serbia	Futures	Clay	Nikola Ćaćić	David Savić   Miljan Zekić	7–6(8–6), 3–6, [10–8]
Loss	1–1	Oct 2009	ITF Cairo, Egypt	Futures	Clay	Nikola Ćirić	Óscar Burrieza López   Javier Martí	4–6, 6–1, [9–11]
Win	2–1	May 2010	ITF Sarajevo, BiH	Futures	Clay	Miljan Zekić	Mirza Bašić   Zlatan Kadrić	6–3, 6–4
Win	3–1	Aug 2010	ITF Novi Sad, Serbia	Futures	Clay	Ilija Vučić	Javier Herrera-Eguiluz   Brendan Moore	7–5, 5–7, [10–8]
Win	4–1	Oct 2010	ITF Cairo, Egypt	Futures	Clay	Miljan Zekić	Aleksandr Lobkov   Alexander Rumyantsev	7–6(7–5), 7–6(10–8)
Loss	4–2	Sep 2015	Sibiu, Romania	Challenger	Clay	Ilija Bozoljac	Victor Crivoi   Petru-Alexandru Luncanu	4–6, 3–6

• He has a 10–26 (27.8%) record against players who were, at the time the match was played, ranked in the top 10.

#	Player	Rank	Event	Surface	Rd	Score	DLR
2018
1.	Juan Martín del Potro	6	Madrid Open, Spain	Clay	3R	3–6, 6–4, 7–6(8–6)	95
2.	Grigor Dimitrov	8	China Open, China	Hard	2R	6–4, 2–6, 6–4	55
2019
3.	Kei Nishikori	6	Miami Open, United States	Hard	2R	2–6, 6–2, 6–3	44
4.	Dominic Thiem	5	Monte-Carlo Masters, Monaco	Clay	3R	6–3, 6–3	48
2021
5.	Daniil Medvedev	3	Rotterdam Open, Netherlands	Hard (i)	1R	7–6(7–4), 6–4	27
2022
6.	Casper Ruud	7	Madrid Open, Spain	Clay	2R	7–6(9–7), 2–6, 6–4	77
2023
7.	Novak Djokovic	1	Banja Luka Open, Bosnia and Herzegovina	Clay	QF	6–4, 7–6(8–6)	70
8.	Andrey Rublev	6	Banja Luka Open, Bosnia and Herzegovina	Clay	F	6–3, 4–6, 6–4	70
9.	Félix Auger-Aliassime	9	Madrid Open, Spain	Clay	2R	6–2, 3–6, 7–6(7–5)	40
10.	Jannik Sinner	6	Cincinnati Open, United States	Hard	2R	6–4, 7–6(7–4)	66

* As of 7 April 2024^[update]

Singles

Result	Date	Tournament	Surface	Opponent	Score
Win	Jun 2023	Boodles Challenge, United Kingdom	Grass	Stefanos Tsitsipas	6–7(3–7), 6–4, [10–7]
Win	Jul 2023	Boodles Challenge, United Kingdom	Grass	Diego Schwartzman	6–4, 3–6, [10–8]