Serb Dusan Lajovic defeats Igor Andreev to lead tie against Russia at Power Horse World Team Cup
Serbia finally entered the winners circle as Dusan Lajovic won his singles rubber against the Russian, Igor Andreev in the round robin stage of the Power Horse World Team Cup on Tuesday. Lajovic laboured for two hours and eleven
minutes before he got the first match victory for his squad at 1-6, 7-6(8), 6-4, in the ATP (Association of Tennis Professionals) World Tour 250 event.
Serbia suffered a humiliating 0-3 defeat in her first tie of the round robin at the hands of the home favourite, Germans. A brilliant display of determination and mental resilience was witnessed in the contest being played at the
Rochusclub in Dusseldorf, Germany as 20-year-old Lajovic showed nerves of steel to cruise through the intense pressure situations of the contest to come out as the winner.
The Russian veteran had a ballistic start to the game, totally blowing away the Serb in the opening set but dropped the second set in tie breaker round. Lajovic then turned the tables on the Russian, concluding victory by bagging
the decisive third set and getting Serbia her first match win in the tournament.
It was the first time these two men were playing against each other and they put up a great fight. There were not many differences in the overall match statistics of the two players but their performance in particular sets proved
to be the distinguishing factor in the match. The Russian cracked in three serve breaks in the contest, in contrast to the Serb’s two break points, but still ended on the losing side.
Andreev had a dream start in the opening set, breaking the Serbian in the second game to lead 3-0. His powerful forehand worked to perfection, as he fired a number of winners down the line in to get the upper hand in the opener.
The Russian faced no break point from his opponent and he struck his second serve break to close the first set at 6-1.
The Serb gradually gathered up his pace in the matchup and didn’t allow a single break opportunity to Andreev in the following set. A routine game took the scores to 6-6, as both men failed to register any serve break in the second
set. A tie breaker was enforced and Lajovic took the better of his opponent to seal the second set at 7-6(6), levelling the contest with one set a piece.
Once getting momentum by winning the second set, Lajovic never looked back and raced through the decisive third set. He stung two serve breaks, while suffering one from Andreev, to conclude a much needed victory for his team at
6-4.
Followed by Lajovic’s victory over Andreev, his fellow Serb Viktor Troicki also won his singles rubber against the Russian, Mikhail Youzhny, to enter the winners circle at the World Team Cup.
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