ATP Monte Carlo: Dusan Lajovic overcomes slow start to beat Daniil Medvedev
World no. 48 Dusan Lajovic never had a chance to compete in the ATP final and he changed all that after a perfect week in Monte Carlo so far, ousting the 10th seed Daniil Medvedev 7-5 6-1 in an hour and 35 minutes. Dusan had only 14 Masters 1000 wins before this week but he is yet to lose a set in the Principality, delivering some impressive wins and getting the opportunity to fight for maiden trophy against Rafael Nadal or Fabio Fognini. There were two completely different parts of the match, the first where the Russian had a 5-1 lead, pumped after yesterday's triumph over the world no. 1 Novak Djokovic, and the second where Lajovic grabbed 12 of the last 13 games to cross the finish line.
Losing the previous four ATP semi-finals, Lajovic will fight for the first ATP crown and he is the second player in the last six years to advance into the first ATP final at Masters 1000 level, with his compatriot Filip Krajinovic doing the same in Paris 2017. Also, Dusan is the lowest-ranked Monte Carlo finalist since Hicham Arazi in 2001, outplaying the Russian in a significant encounter for both, competing in their first Masters 1000 semi-final. We will not remember the clash for too long, though, with just 20 winners and almost 70 errors overall as the importance of the match got too high for both.
Lajovic forged the win in the shortest rallies up to four strokes, taking 31 out of 49 and dominating on the return to race towards the finish line. Everything looked great for Daniil in the opening six games, securing breaks in the second and sixth games to create the gap and almost wrap up the opener. Instead of that, Lajovic started to hit with depth and precision, working steadily for every point and delivering three straight breaks for a complete turnaround and 7-5 after 61 minutes. Wasting such a huge lead and the momentum, Daniil faded from the court and never looked back, dropping ten straight games to let Dusan 7-5, 4-0 in front, suffering another break in game seven after a backhand error to propel the Serb into the first ATP final.
from Tennis World USA http://bit.ly/2KOAEpz
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