Dusan Lajovic has hung out in two particular locations this yr: Middle Earth and Planet Alcaraz. On Sunday, the Serbian will attempt to invoke the spirit of the previous to overcome the latter when he faces World No. 1 Carlos Alcaraz within the third spherical of the Miami Open offered by Itau.
Lord of the Rings fan Lajovic has misplaced all three of his earlier ATP Head2Headvert conferences with Alcaraz, however he’s excited to present it one other shot towards the defending champion inside Hard Rock Stadium.
“I think the unique thing is how much he loves the pressure points. He’s got a great forehand, great backhand, great drop shot. He feels the game really good. He’s got really good instincts,” Lajovic informed ATPTour.com. “But that is what I really feel like is separating him from the remainder of the opposite guys which are up and coming.
“I can’t compare him to Novak, Rafa and Roger obviously. But from the rest of the guys, he just plays his best tennis when it’s most needed.”
Lajovic has discovered that by means of firsthand expertise. At this yr’s Rio Open offered by Claro, the Serbian led the 19-year-old within the first and second units. He even earned a set level within the second set, however Alcaraz in the end prevailed 6-4, 7-6(0).
“Obviously he loves these kind of matches, he loves to play under the pressure and I think that’s when he thrives the most,” Lajovic stated. “I think he enjoys the atmosphere when he needs to produce his best tennis in these kind of situations.”
On Alcaraz’s maturity, Lajovic added: “You just don’t see it on his face. I think that he’s 19 in age only. How mature he is, it’s way more than 19.”
Two of Lajovic’s 5 tour-level losses this season have come to Alcaraz. The 32-year-old has loved a fast begin to the yr, with three consecutive quarter-final appearances on South American clay.
The yr acquired off to begin off courtroom, too. During his journey to New Zealand for the ASB Classic, Lajovic visited Hobbiton, a well-known film set used for The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit.
“That was an incredible experience. I’m a big fan. I’m a huge fan of epic fantasy, of science fiction, of anything literally that is out of this world. I felt like I was in heaven there,” Lajovic stated. “I learn a few of Tolkien’s books, I learn The Hobbit. I’ve seen the TV present, even when it didn’t have nice opinions. I’ve seen all the films. I simply loved that day a lot.
“I’m also a big Harry Potter fan. I read all the books like five times each book. That’s pretty geeky!”
Lajovic recalled studying the Harry Potter collection in his late teenagers, however he started Tolkien’s tales extra lately, inside the previous decade. He watches The Lord of the Rings motion pictures annually.
“These kind of books, they have an arc that generally can have a parallel with life. The main guy is sort of in trouble and then he finds a way. They always have people who are close to him who helps him when he’s in need. Eventually everything works out,” Lajovic stated. “In life, you’ll be able to’t actually hope that all the things works out, you’ve set to work for it. But I like that form of story that develops over the interval of 5, six books.
“You can relate to so many things even if it’s something that’s not real. But the feelings, the emotions are real and the situations that they provide are similar to what we experience in life without the magic.”
Lajovic, who visited Hobbiton with Croatians Nikola Mektic and Mate Pavic, can be a online game fan.
“I’m following the CounterStrike E-sports scene a lot. A good friend of mine is one of the best players in the world, so it’s something that is my hobby. Especially this trip to Hobbiton, to Middle Earth, was unreal,” Lajovic stated. “What Peter Jackson did, how he took care of every detail, is just fascinating. I spent like four hours I think. The tour is a little bit less with spending some time at the restaurant. But I can spend days there if they allowed me to.”
Although Miami is greater than 13,000 kilometres from New Zealand, he’ll deliver the spirit of Tolkien’s world with him to the courtroom inside Hard Rock Stadium when he tries to upset Alcaraz.
“I’ve had some tough draws because I’ve played him in South America and again here,” Lajovic stated. “So I’m just looking forward to that match, trying to enjoy and seeing if I can change some things from the past two matches.”
Source web site: www.atptour.com
