Rublev Is On A Roll, Reaches Banja Luka Final Against Lajovic

by Staff | April 22nd, 2023, 4:37 pm
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Andrey Rublev is on a career run having now won his last eight matches after dispatching Alex Molcan of Slovakia in straights 6-2, 6-4 to make the Banja Luka final.

In this battle of 25-year-olds, Rublev dropped just seven points on first serve and broke Molcan five times. The Russian hasn’t dropped a set all week.

“In the beginning I played really well, and then second set I lost a bit of focus,” Rublev told the ATP. “Alex played a few good games and I started to get tight, I started to get nervous. But in the end I was able to win and that’s the most important thing.”


Rublev moves into his 20th career final. He is looking for his 14th career title after just winning his first Masters title in Monte Carlo last week.

Rublev will now face the man who ousted Novak Djokovic, another Serb in Dusan Lajovic. The 32-year-old Lajovic rallied to defeat No. 4 seed Miomir Kecmanovic 4-6, 7-6(7-5), 6-4. Kecmanovic served for the match at 6-4, 5-4 but failed to close the door.

“Honestly he had me by the ropes. I was done,” Lajovic told the crowd. “But somehow I managed to get back in the match and win the tie-break. I played pretty good in the tiebreak and then I felt pretty confident in the third set even though I was going down physically. I think we both were.”

Lajovic moves into his 3rd career final. He is seeking his 2nd career title, first title since 2019 at Umag (d Balazs).

Lajovic is also 1-0 against Rublev winning during that 2019 Umag title run.


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