Serbia's Dusan Lajovic today said that fatigue was the cause of his loss against Somdev Devvarman in the fourth match of the Davis Cup World Playoff tie here.
"I don't know what happened in the middle of the second set. Then he (Somdev) started to play better and the crowd was behind him, which helped him raise his game, while I could not raise mine," he told reporters at the post-match press conference at Karnataka State Lawn Tennis Association Stadium here.
A resilient Somdev won the battle of nerves and wits as he pulled off a stunning five-set victory over world number 61 Dusan to lock the Davis Cup World Group play-off tie against Serbia 2-2.
Somdev overcame a sluggish start to carve out a heroic 1-6 6-4 4-6 6-4 6-3 win after battling hard for three hours and 37 minutes as he dished out a memorable win.
"It (tiredness) does not happen all the time because I am very well physically prepared. But today, I don't know what happened," Dusan further said.
Asked the line calls against him affect his game, Dusan said the umpires make these mistakes but does not change the complexion of the match. "They (umpires) make these mistakes. But it didn't change the complexion of the match. That moment, I get frustrated. But we need to keep going on," he said.
How did you find Somdev compared to Yuki Bhambri whom you played in the first match of the tie, Dusan said the Indian started a bit tight but raised his game after seeing me struggling with his pain in the heel.
"Som started a bit tight and then he raised his game and stopped missing the shots while I could not find the points. I think that was the main difference," he said.
Asked whether it affected his game when Somdev stretched him for every point, Dusan said, "Of course, there were lot of rallies and not so many short points. So, it was tiring for both of us.
