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Dusan Lajovic says there is "something unique" about Carlos Alcaraz as he finds it impressive how the 19-year-old reacts in the biggest moments. Lajovic, 32, exited the Miami Masters in the third round after Alcaraz handed him a 6-0 7-6 (5) defeat.
Lajovic, who has suffered three straight-set defeats to Alcaraz in early 2023, highlights that the 19-year-old Spaniard is not your usual teenager on the Tour. "I can't compare him to Roger, Novak and Rafa, but he has something unique: he likes to be in a high-pressure situation.
He has very good shots, intuition, and feels the ball in a spectacular way, but the most important thing and what differentiates him from other tennis players is that he is able to give the best of himself in difficult moments.
He's enjoying the atmosphere and he's growing (as a player), he's much more mature than his age suggests,” Lajovic said, per Eurosport Spain.
Lajovic loses to Alcaraz again
The first meeting between Lajovic and Alcaraz came at the 2022 Australian Open, when the Spaniard claimed a three-set win.
This past February, Lajovic and Alcaraz met again in Buenos Aires, with the Spaniard again clinching a straight-set win. The following week, Lajovic and Alcaraz clashed again in Rio de Janeiro - the Spaniard again won in two sets.
After two meetings on clay, Lajovic and Alcaraz also met on the hard courts of Miami. Unfortunately for Lajovic, the outcome was again the same. Lajovic was down by a set and a break but he refused to quit and managed to send the second set into a tie-break.
In the second-set tie-break, Lajovic saved Alcaraz's first three match points but couldn't save the fourth as the Spaniard won in two sets. Following the win over Lajovic, Alcaraz improved to 16-1 on the season. Considering that they have played three times in a span of one month, there will likely be more Alcaraz and Lajovic meetings. It remains to be seen if Lajovic will have more luck if he meets Alcaraz again.