Cilic returns to winning ways in Belgrade, Lajovic triumphs at home

pa href='https://www.atptour.com/en/players/marin-cilic/c977/overview'Marin Cilic/a returned to winning ways on the ATP Tour on Monday with an opening-round triumph at the a href='https://www.atptour.com/en/tournaments/belgrade/4787/overview'Belgrade Open/a./p

pThe 36-year-old saved each of the two break points he faced in a clinical second set, according to Infosys ATP Stats, en route to a 7-6(2), 6-3 victory over a href='https://www.atptour.com/en/players/alexandre-muller/mp20/overview'Alexandre Muller/a. It was Cilic's first tour-level win of 2024, outside of his run to the title in Hangzhou in September.nbsp;/p

pldquo;I felt good, but when you havenrsquo;t played for a while itrsquo;s [important] to find that intensity,rdquo; said Cilic, the former No. 3 in the PIF ATP Rankings. ldquo;I needed to find that balance today, and it took me a while to get used to the conditions and the balls./p

pldquo;After 30 minutes, I started to feel great on the court, hitting, moving, serving. From there until the end of the match was fantastic, I felt really nice on the court.rdquo;/p

pAfter powering past Muller, the World No. 68, and snapping his four-match losing streak, Cilic will face fourth seed a href='https://www.atptour.com/en/players/jiri-lehecka/l0bv/overview'Jiri Lehecka/a in the second round./p

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pElsewhere, a href='https://www.atptour.com/en/players/dusan-lajovic/l987/overview'Dusan Lajovic/a recorded his first tour-level win since reaching the quarter-finals in Umag in July. The 34-year-old, who has been recovering from an injury sustained at the Davis Cup, surged to a 6-0, 7-6(3) win to upset ninth seed a href='https://www.atptour.com/en/players/mariano-navone/n0bs/overview'Mariano Navone/a./p

pldquo;I didnrsquo;t expect this kind of first set,rdquo; said Lajovic. ldquo;I didnrsquo;t think I was going to play until the end of the season. Irsquo;m not 100% yet, but Irsquo;m good enough to compete. Irsquo;m getting my groove back so I am happy to win the match.rdquo;/p

pIn the second round of his home tournament, the Serbian will take on a href='https://www.atptour.com/en/players/fabian-marozsan/m0ci/overview'Fabian Marozsan/a, who came from behind to defeat #NextGenATP star Shang Juncheng on Sunday./p

pIn a battle of two qualifiers, a href='https://www.atptour.com/en/players/denis-shapovalov/su55/overview'Denis Shapovalov/a rallied to move past a href='https://www.atptour.com/en/players/marton-fucsovics/f724/overview'Marton Fucsovics/a 6-7(6), 7-5, 6-1. After levelling the pairrsquo;s Lexus ATP Head2Head series at 2-2, the former World No. 10 has set up a second-round clash against fifth seed a href='https://www.atptour.com/en/players/nuno-borges/bt72/overview'Nuno Borges/a./p

p[NEWSLETTER FORM]/p