Novak Djokovic doesn’t seem to be enjoying the clay this season (at least so far), with the ATP leader suffering his second surprise defeat on the red surface.

Novak Djokovic says it was tough and he didn’t time his shots

In the ATP quarterfinals in Banja Luka, Joker was beaten by compatriot Dusan Lajovic, and at the end of the match he spoke about the reasons for this unexpected defeat.

After a match that lasted two hours and 25 minutes, Nole lost in straight sets 6-4, 7-6(6).

The Serbian, who tops the world rankings, said he cannot win matches on a surface like clay with his level of play.

Nole felt that it was slow, heavy and lacked time for execution.

“I had chances, but I couldn’t use them. We played quite passively with a lot of mistakes and that obviously led to the loss.

I was way below my desired level. I can’t win on this surface (no clay) against such solid opponents (not with such a bad game).

I didn’t even feel good physically on the field: I felt slow, heavy and lazy, I missed too many balls and didn’t have the necessary time to execute.

In places I played well, but much below my level” – Novak Djokovic,quoted by The Tennis Letter.

We will remind, at the Monte Carlo Masters, the ATP leader was defeated in the 1/8 finals by Lorenzo Musetti.

The result of the match Novak Djokovic – Dusan Lajovic

ATP Banja Luka, semi-final schedule

Alex Molkan (73 ATP) – Andriy Rublev (favorite 2) / Saturday from 15:00

Following

Dushan Lajovich (70 ATP) – Miomir Ketsmanovich (favorite 4)

The tournament in Banja Luka (Srpska Open) was replaced by the Novak Tennis Center in Belgrade this year. The competition is part of the “ATP 250” category, takes place on clay and offers prize money of €562,815.