It’s semifinal day at the ATP Srpska Open in Banja Luka on Saturday. Dusan Lajovic sent shockwaves through the draw by knocking out top seed Novak Djokovic on Friday. He’ll now attempt to reach his first ATP final since 2019 when he plays Miomir Kecmanovic. Who do you think will prevail?
ATP Banja Luka Semifinal Predictions
Andrey Rublev vs Alex Molcan
Head-to-head: first meeting
Andrey Rublev overcame a lackluster start in the first set en route to a 7-5 6-3 win over home wild card Damir Dzumhur on Friday. Having trailed 2-5 against the spirited Bosnian, Rublev steadied himself and won five straight games to turn the set on its head. He then saved four break points in the second set to close the match in straight sets. The second seed has now won seven straight matches this clay swing and is the outright favorite to win the tournament after Novak Djokovic’s surprise exit.
Alex Molcan, meanwhile, overcame Laslo Djere in a seesaw match that ebbed and flowed for the most part. Djere led 5-4, 30-0 in the third set, but still failed to serve it out. The Slovak lefty just kept pinging the ball back and extracted the errors out of the Serbian’s racket to advance into his first semifinal in a year. Molcan is coming off a great win over Djere who is no slouch on this surface, but playing counterpuncher against Rublev in his current form is unlikely to yield any reward.
Prediction: Rublev in 2
Miomir Kecmanovic vs Dusan Lajovic
Head-to-head: first meeting
Dusan Lajovic authored the shock of the tournament by upsetting top seed Novak Djokovic in straight sets. Lajovic had never beaten his countryman in each of their previous two matches. And of concern, he had not won more than two games in a set against the world #1. By the time he planted the final forehand winner on match point, he was utterly astonished at the magnitude of his achievement that he barely even celebrated. Defeat raises more questions regarding Djokovic’s form in the clay swing. For Lajovic, it was his 10th main draw win on the dirt this season. Next up is another countryman.
Miomir Kecmanovic cruised past Jiri Lehecka 7-5 6-0 in the last quarterfinal of the day. The first set was a tug of war featuring seven breaks of serve, with Kecmanovic a tad accurate from the baseline to edge out the Czech 7-5. Lehecka’s game severely malfunctioned soon after and was broken three times in the second set. Lajovic surfs into this match on a wave of confidence after earning the biggest win of his career. The 32-year-old has greater pedigree on this surface than Kecmanovic and has played from the front foot all week. On paper, Kecmanovic looks nailed on to win again, but don’t sleep on Lajovic who is showcasing the form that made him a top-30 mainstay not long ago.
Prediction: Lajovic in 3
Main Photo Credit: Dan Hamilton-USA TODAY Sports
