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Dusan Lajovic reached his second ATP Masters 1000 quarter-final on Thursday, upsetting fourth seed Dominic Thiem 6-3, 6-3 at the Rolex Monte-Carlo Masters.
The 28-year-old saved seven of nine break points and broke last year's Roland Garros runner-up on five occasions to advance after one hour and 32 minutes. Lajovic entered the match winless in five FedEx ATP Head2Head record against Thiem, but reached his second quarter-final in the past three Masters 1000 events on clay.
"I'm very happy today. I didn't expect this, especially not in two sets against a player like Dominic," Lajovic said. "This was for sure my best match in my life, I think. I produced some great tennis from the beginning until the end of the match and I'm very happy to be in the quarter-finals in Monaco."
Thiem, the recent BNP Paribas Open champion, figured to be a strong threat in the Principality. But Lajovic took full advantage of Thiem's deep court-positioning, playing aggressive tennis and winning some of the best rallies of the tournament thus far. Lajovic did well to consistently battle into the Austrian's service games, winning 53 per cent of his return points in the two-setter. The Serbian was also impressive in his second-round victory against 16th seed David Goffin.
"It was very windy today and it was not easy to hit the ball cleanly. I had more success there and I was moving the ball through the court very well," Lajovic said. "I was able to dominate with my forehand today and this was the key in the match."
At last year's Mutua Madrid Open, Lajovic notched five victories from qualifying to reach the last eight. Lajovic edged Juan Martin del Potro in Madrid en route to the quarter-finals before suffering a three-set loss to Kevin Anderson.
Thiem was bidding to post his 10th tour-level win of the season (9-6) and reach his second straight quarter-final at the Monte-Carlo Country Club. Thiem had reached the quarter-finals or better at five of the past seven Masters 1000 events on clay, dating back to his appearance in the last eight at the 2016 Internazionali BNL d'Italia (l. to Nishikori).
Lajovic will meet Lorenzo Sonego of Italy for a place in the semi-finals. The 23-year-old qualifier advanced to his maiden Masters 1000 quarter-final after 84 minutes, dropping only four points behind his first serve (28/32) to overcome Cameron Norrie 6-2, 7-5. Sonego is yet to drop a set in the main draw, defeating Cameron Norrie in the third round for his best result at a Masters 1000 tournament.
"I know that [from what] I've seen, it's very good and he's going to be a very good player. He's already a very good player," Lajovic said. "He's young, he's playing one of the best tournaments of his career so it's not going to be easy. I'll need to keep my focus, to go on the court and hopefully play like today."

Serbian has yet to drop a set this week

Less than 24 hours after securing the biggest win of his career against World No. 5 Dominic Thiem, Dusan Lajovic defeated Lorenzo Sonego 6-4, 7-5 to reach his first ATP Masters 1000 semi-final on Friday.

"Right now it’s a relief and I showed to myself that I could do it. The tournament is still not over but I’m extremely happy and satisfied with the way I’ve played this week," Lajovic said. "To be in the semi-finals of a Masters [1000], such a strong tournament, it’s really a big boost of confidence and I hope that it’s not the only one for the future."

The Serbian was forced to save one set point at 4-5 (30/40) in the second set en route to his 10th tour-level victory of the season after one hour and 47 minutes. Lajovic was competing in his second Masters 1000 quarter-final, following his run to the Mutua Madrid Open quarter-finals last year (l. to Anderson). Both players faced four break points. While Lajovic saved three of them, Sonego was only able to fend off one.

"I was trying to keep my pattern in these [big] points," Lajovic said. "I knew that if I played good, if I didn’t mess it up, it would be tough for him to win the point and it worked today. I saved quite a lot."

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Yet to drop a set this week, Lajovic will meet 10th seed Daniil Medvedev, who stunned top seed Novak Djokovic, for a place in the championship match. The World No. 48 lost his only previous FedEx ATP Head2Head encounter against Medvedev at the VTB Kremlin Cup last year.

"This level of the game is something that I need to keep in my mind to keep it in the future," Lajovic said. "I hope that I could make it in a couple more tournaments like this."

Prior to his arrival at the Grand Prix Hassan II last week, Sonego had reached one tour-level quarter-final. But the Italian qualifier has produced the best tennis of his career to reach back-to-back quarter-finals in Marrakech and Monte-Carlo. Three days ago, Sonego claimed the biggest win of his career against Rolex Paris Masters champion Karen Khachanov.

Did You Know?
Lajovic is the lowest-ranked Rolex Monte-Carlo Masters semi-finalist since 2005 (No. 69 Ferrero and No. 101 Gasquet). If Lajovic defeats Medvedev on Saturday, he will become lowest-ranked Monte-Carlo finalist since 2001 (No. 53 Arazi).

Serbian wins 12 of the final 13 games
Dusan Lajovic defeated Daniil Medvedev 7-5, 6-1 on Saturday in a battle of first-time ATP Masters 1000 semi-finalists, winning 12 of the final 13 games to reach the Rolex Monte-Carlo Masters final.
The World No. 48 is the lowest-ranked Monte-Carlo finalist since No. 53 Hicham Arazi in 2001, advancing after one hour and 35 minutes. He converted six of 12 break points en route to victory. Lajovic is only the second player to reach his first tour-level final at an ATP Masters 1000 event since 2013. Lajovic's countryman, Filip Krajinovic, achieved the feat at the 2017 Rolex Paris Masters final (l. to Sock).
"It was an incredible match today," said Lajovic. "I had the worst nightmare, falling down 5-1. But I won 10 games in a row, so I was able to find my rhythm and my game. In windy conditions like today, it was impossible to play real tennis and in the end I was able to hit my forehands better than him. I'm still unaware of my achievement in Monte-Carlo."
Lajovic is yet to drop a set in the Principality this week. The Serbian has defeated Malek Jaziri, David Goffin, Dominic Thiem, Lorenzo Sonego and Medvedev en route to the championship match.

Lajovic had never won four consecutive tour-level matches before arriving at the Monte-Carlo Country Club this week. But with his fifth straight win, the 28-year-old is one win away from his first ATP Tour title.
"Today was the toughest match, for sure, so far from many aspects: mentally, physically, and I played a player who is playing very tough, tricky tennis," added Lajovic. "The conditions today with the wind were incredibly hard, so we were struggling a lot, both. But right now I'm really enjoying the moment."
Standing between Lajovic and the trophy will be Fabio Fognini. He has never met the Italian at the tour-level.
It was a windy day on Court Rainier III, with Medvedev playing consistently from the baseline and taking advantage of early Lajovic errors to storm to a 5-1 lead. When presented with an opportunity, the Russian transitioned to net well, appearing in good position to reach his maiden Masters 1000 final.
But his serving, typically a strength, became his undoing. Medvedev won just 42 per cent of his first serve points. By comparison, he earned 70 per cent of his first-serve points in his quarter-final win against World No. 1 Novak Djokovic.
"I think he started playing better and better gradually, and when we were at 5-3 and 5-4, he didn't miss a point," said Medvedev. "I think that was what happened. If I look back in hindsight, then when I was up 5-1 or 5-2, I could have taken advantage of some chances and finished it up then. Then we never know how the match could have ended. So I have nothing to say, because this is not what happened and I have to congratulate him.
"I kept on fighting. I saw Munar come back, I saw Fognini and Coric too, and we know that on clay at any time the match can turn around. The proof is that I was up 5-1 in the first set and things actually changed. So I was saying to myself that probably at any point I will be able to turn it around. But it didn't happen."
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Later in the first set and increasingly as the match wore on, Lajovic found his range, hitting with depth on his returns to earn opportunities to attack with his forehand. After Lajovic levelled the first set at 5-5, Medvedev had only managed to land 39 per cent of his first serves. Varying the pace on his backhand, the Serbian claimed his third consecutive break to serve for the set at 6-5 and converted his third set point with a deep cross-court forehand.
Lajovic rode the momentum into the second set, charging into a 4-0 lead with great court coverage and anticipation to claim his 10th straight game. The unseeded Serbian continued to find success on his forehand and, shortly after Medvedev held serve to end the run of 10 games against him, Lajovic claimed victory with a deep backhand slice as the 10th seed fired a backhand beyond the baseline.
Medvedev was bidding to reach his first Masters 1000 final following back-to-back wins against Top 10 opposition. The 23-year-old defeated sixth seed Stefanos Tsitsipas and World No. 1 Novak Djokovic to reach the last four, extending his tour-leading win total in 2019 to 21 (21-7).

It was a week Dusan Lajovic will never forget. Not even a toe blister could stop the Serbian from producing countless moments of magic, en route to his first ATP Tour final at the Rolex Monte-Carlo Masters.
On Saturday, Lajovic exclaimed, "I'm going to cut that toe off if it means I can play tomorrow."
Thankfully, the 28-year-old did not need to resort to extreme measures to face Fabio Fognini in the championship, and despite falling 6-3, 6-4, he believes it could be a career-altering experience. It's not often that a first ATP Masters 1000 final is also a first tour-level final, and Lajovic knows a week like that could change everything.
"It was my first time in a final, so a great experience for me," said Lajovic. "It's many more positives than negatives this week, so there is no reason to be sad even if I don't feel as happy as the whole week today. But I know that it's my best result, and I just hope that I can repeat this result in some other event, as well, in the future.
"Fabio is three years older than me, so he's playing his best tennis right now. That's also a good thing for me. I can see that it's never too late. I'm happy for him that he won the title. On the other hand, I'm also happy that I had this experience this week and played a final at a Masters."
The World No. 48 defeated Malek Jaziri, David Goffin, Dominic Thiem, Lorenzo Sonego and Daniil Medvedev to record five straight tour-level victories for the first time in his career. Not only did he secure his first win over a Top 5 opponent with a 6-3, 6-3 rout of Thiem, but he did not drop a set all week entering the final.
But, despite his great success, Lajovic's date with destiny was put on hold. He was bidding to become the first player to win his maiden ATP Tour title at a Masters 1000 event since Albert Portas in Hamburg in 2001 and just the second Serbian to ever raise a Masters 1000 shield, joining Novak Djokovic. He admits that while his performance on Sunday was not good enough to lift the trophy, all credit goes to Fognini.
"I was feeling on the court that I had to work much harder than him to win the points," added Lajovic. "I think this was the key. He was pretty stable and solid from both sides, moving well. And when I was on and when I was aggressive, I was able to make points and put him under pressure. But at times, my game was just off. I had a lot of unforced errors.
"I was under the pressure of the moment, and all together, I think he was much better player today. Congrats to him... He just knows how to play tennis on clay. And he beat Rafa yesterday in two sets, so he showed that he can produce top quality tennis. He deserved to win the title here.
"He was a couple times in a position where he was able to get some good results and break into the Top 10, so I think that this will be a huge boost, because he never won a Masters 1000 before. So I think if he keeps playing like this, for sure he's gonna break into the Top 10."
While Fognini is pushing towards the Top 10 breakthrough that Lajovic refers to, rising to a career-high No. 12 in the ATP Rankings, the Serbian is projected to enjoy a breakthrough of his own. He ascends 24 spots to a career-high No. 24 on Monday.
Lajovic is right back to work next week at the Hungarian Open in Budapest. He opens his campaign on Tuesday against wild card Mate Valkusz, with a potential second-round clash against countryman Laslo Djere in the cards.