Banja Luka Friday 21.04.2023.
First of all, let me say that I really shouldn't have been in Banja Luka, because the tickets for the central court for Friday, Saturday and Sunday were sold out in just two hours! The interest was really huge because of the opportunity to see Novak, and not only him but also other tennis players from the top for little money. So I was about 3 days late in buying the tickets and remained somewhat confused as to how this was even possible. I gave up at that moment. Then my wife casually asked the neighbor if she could get the tickets, knowing that the neighbor knew the wife of a former tennis player (I don't want to name him) and it turned out after a few days that I would still get the tickets for the ATP 250. One would think it's the Grand Slam, not some tournament that is being held in Bosnia for the first time. So yesterday I got a phone number from a guy who should give me tickets and I don't know that guy at all. We are in front of a hotel (interestingly called Bosnia), the man hands me a ticket, but actually gives me an accreditation for a VIP box that accommodates 6 people, all for free. I felt strange, I'm an ordinary guy, I'm not for the VIP box, but when there's no other choice, I take the VIP box then. My wife actually kept me a secret about what kind of ticket was waiting for me and our son.
We got to watch two matches. Dzumhur offered solid resistance to Rublev. The Bosnian, whose career went downhill, showed how defensively he can play, in fact he is the ultimate example of a grinder. At times, Rublev was really annoyed that Dzumhur was bringing everything back to the court. Rublev hits extremely hard when he gets into the rhythm of stronger rally and Dzumhur is incredibly fast, and taking into account this slow court, it takes time to break through the opponent. All in all, a fun match.
Then we come to Djokovic Lajovic. It was clear from the beginning that Novak is not at the required level of play and Lajović hits the ball very well and moves beautifully on the court. He is a real clay player, builds points well, knows how to go to the net, and his serve is not bad at all. Of course, the audience was practically 99 percent on Novak's side, but Lajović did not allow himself to be swayed. In fact, he made quite a surprise and upset all the organizers' plans for the final to be Novak Rublev. Something is wrong with Novak too (elbow??), I think he got some painkillers at 4:3 in the second set, he made a lot of mistakes, was breathing hard, he is far from the real Djokovic, and honestly if he comes to Madrid and lets say he goes against Alcaraz, the kid will kick him off the field. It's facinating how fast these tennis players move.
Tomorrow is the semi-final, we will watch both matches. Today we didn't make it to the first match, and when the last match of the day started we went to eat something and by the time we finished the match was coming to an end. We didn't miss much, Kecmanovic defeated Lehecka 6:0 in the second set.
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). Djokovic on the other hand looks to be winding down and has lost recently to 2 players he usually beats with his eyes closed.
