SANTIAGO, Chile – Dusan Lajovic endured a bitter day in Chile. The Serb crashed into a glass panel on his way to the locker rooms, suffering a cranial contusion, a cut to the oral mucosa and possible loosening of teeth.
He was taken by ambulance to Clínica Universidad de Los Andes in Santiago. He did not lose consciousness, but his condition was concerning.
Before the accident, Lajovic opened the Davis Cup Qualifiers first-round tie between Chile and Serbia at the Centro de Raquetas of the Estadio Nacional. The 35-year-old was beaten 7–5, 7–6(7) by Chilean Tomás Barrios.
The match featured tense moments: the Serb complained about crowd noise between his first and second serves, then became involved in an argument with a fan who was repeatedly insulting him.
“It was tough to play here, where we knew we wouldn’t receive fair play, but that’s the Davis Cup and I don’t think the match was decided by that,” Lajovic said in the press conference.
“Obviously, we were prepared for some provocation. Most people came to enjoy the tennis, but there were a few in the stands who were disrespectful…,” added the former world No. 23.
“One guy was telling me, ‘you’re bad, you’re bad’. There’s no need to talk to players. Obviously, it’s not something you want to hear while you’re competing on court,” he revealed.
After that episode, the Serb had a heated exchange with the chair umpire, whom he later criticised in his press conference for a lack of control over the home crowd.
“The umpire should have done a better job of keeping conditions similar for both players before the serve. In any case, my opponent was better and played better in the key moments,” he said.
“Dusan is a real gentleman, a good person. It bothers all of us when they try to distract you right before the second serve,” Barrios said after giving Chile a 1–0 lead in the tie.
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“The Chilean crowd gets very involved in matches when it’s Davis Cup; that’s something he may have felt. But I don’t think that, overall, the people were disrespectful,” added the world No. 112.
Lajovic arrived in Chile as the Serbian team’s top singles player. Novak Djokovic, along with captain Viktor Troicki, were unable to convince Serbia’s No. 2, Miomir Kecmanovic, or the young Hamad Medjedovic, to take part. They were also without Laslo Djere, the reigning Chile Open champion.
“I’m not always with them, I can’t control everything, but it was different when we were together with Viktor and that golden generation. Nothing was questioned: you went and you played. I understand everything, but the national team is always there, and playing in Chile will be very difficult, extremely difficult. Even with our best team, we would have problems,” confessed the 24-time Grand Slam champion during his appearance at the Australian Open.
With those absences, the 2010 Davis Cup champions included promising 18-year-old Ognjen Milić in their line-up. Despite taking the first set, Milić lost in three to Alejandro Tabilo. Serbia will now need to win the doubles and both remaining singles — without the injured Lajovic.
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