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Laslo Djere revealed his grandmother passed away just before the start of the Australian Open and he was battling "negative thoughts" throughout his second-round match against Grigor Dimitrov. On Thursday, Djere exited the Australian Open after Dimitrov handed him a 6-3 6-2 6-0.
"I'm sorry that the Australian Open ended like this. Unfortunately, some things happened in the previous days that I didn't talk about with my team or my girlfriend. On Sunday morning I received the news that my grandmother had passed away.
And honestly, if this wasn't a Grand Slam and I wasn't on the other side of the world, I wouldn't even be here right now. I would go home," Djere told Sport Klub.
Djere after losing to Dimitrov: I was battling negative thoughts
Two days earlier, Djere defeated Zizou Bergs in the Australian Open first round.
But beating Dimitrov in these circumstances was just impossible for Djere. Djere, 27, lost both of his parents to cancer. "I already have experience with things like this, but I'm not immune to them. I had a great desire to achieve my first victory here.
On Sunday morning, my sister called me, I already went to training after an hour and a half. I stayed because I had a good draw, I wanted to win. But, I tried to concentrate as much as I could, however, it was constantly in my head.
And now this match against Dimitrov. I don't like to lose, especially not without a fight, but negative thoughts kept coming to me. They were stronger than me. That's it," Djere added. Now, Djere owns a 4-3 record at the start of the 2023 season.
Djere kicked off his 2023 season in Pune, where he reached the round-of-16. In his next tournament at the ASB Classic in Auckland, Djere made the quarterfinal before losing to Constant Lestienne. At the Australian Open, Djere won his opener before losing to Dimitrov.