By Chris Oddo | @TheFanChild | Sunday July 21, 2019
Serbia's Dusan Lajovic claimed his maiden ATP title with a victory over Hungarian qualifier Attila Balazs in the final at Umag.
Photo: Croatian Open
In a season that has seen him reach his first Masters 1000 final and claim his career-high ranking, Dusan Lajovic notched another milestone on Sunday at the Croatian Open in Umag when he claimed his maiden ATP title.
The 29-year-old Serb knocked off Hungarian qualifier Attila Balazs 7-5 7-5 in a spirited tussle to claim €90,390 and a giant hug from his team courtside.
It has been a long time coming for the talented Lajovic, and we saw signs of how good he can be this year at Monte-Carlo when he defeated No.5-ranked Dominic Thiem for his biggest career win en route to the final at Monte-Carlo.
Lajovic has also won three of his last four wins against the Top 10 after losing 12 of his first 13 tilts against such competition.
On Sunday he had to battle tooth and nail with Balazs, a quick baseliner with a knack for shaking up rallies with a gorgeous drop shot.
Balazs broke for 4-3 in the opening set but Lajovic broke back and took the stanza, 7-5.
In the second set Balazs fought back from 4-1 down to level but again Lajovic pulled away to complete the hard-fought win.
“It was a match that I’ll remember for the rest of my career,” said Lajovic, according to ATPTour.com. “I couldn’t be happier that I won. I had to work for every point, so I’m tired now, but also relieved to have to won my first title.”