Jump to content

Mark Lajal

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Mark Lajal
Lajal at the 2023 US Open
Country (sports) Estonia
Born (2003-05-12) 12 May 2003 (age 21)
Tallinn, Estonia
Height191 cm (6 ft 3 in)
PlaysRight-handed (two-handed backhand)
CoachWayne Black, Karl Kiur Saar
Prize money$148,301
Singles
Career record2–4
Career titles0
Highest rankingNo. 191 (20 November 2023)
Current rankingNo. 224 (9 September 2024)
Grand Slam singles results
Australian OpenQ1 (2024)
French OpenQ1 (2024)
Wimbledon1R (2024)
US OpenQ1 (2023)
Doubles
Career record0–0
Career titles0
Highest rankingNo. 710 (9 September 2024)
Current rankingNo. 710 (9 September 2024)
Team competitions
Davis Cup1–3
Last updated on: 9 September 2024.

Mark Lajal (born 12 May 2003) is an Estonian tennis player. He has a career high ATP singles ranking of world No. 191, achieved on 20 November 2023. He also has a career high ATP doubles ranking of No. 710, achieved on 9 September 2024. He is currently the No. 1 Estonian player.[1]

He has won three ITF singles titles and a Challenger title.[2]

On the junior tour, he had a career high ITF combined ranking of No. 13, achieved on 30 August 2021.

Lajal represents Estonia at the Davis Cup, where he has a W/L record of 1–2.[3]

Career

[edit]

2023: Maiden Challenger title, ATP debut and first win, top 200

[edit]

He won his first Challenger title in Little Rock, Arkansas. He became the first Estonian to win a Challenger title before his 21st birthday and Estonia’s second ever Challenger champion.[4][5][6]

Ranked No. 229 on his ATP debut, he received a wildcard for the main draw of the 2023 European Open and defeated Jaume Munar for his first ATP win.[7] He then lost to 4th seed and eventual finalist Arthur Fils in the second round.

As a lucky loser at the Bergamo Challenger, Lajal beat Jelle Sels, Ugo Blanchet and the opponent he lost to in qualifying, Pierre-Hugues Herbert to reach the semifinals, where he lost to David Goffin in 3 sets. As a result, he made his debut in the top 200.

2024: Grand Slam debut

[edit]

In July, ranked No. 262, Lajal made his Grand Slam debut at Wimbledon after a successful qualifying campaign in which he ousted 25th qualifying seed Francesco Passaro, Henrique Rocha and fourth seed James Duckworth. He became the first Estonian man to reach a Grand Slam main draw since Jürgen Zopp at the 2018 Roland Garros.[8][9] He lost in straight sets to eventual champion Carlos Alcaraz on his debut.[10][11]

In August, Lajal reached his second career Challenger final in Zhangjiagang, losing to Yasutaka Uchiyama in the final.[12]

Performance timeline

[edit]

Singles

[edit]

Current through the 2023 Rolex Paris Masters.

Tournament 2023 2024 SR W–L Win%
Grand Slam tournaments
Australian Open A Q1 0 / 0 0–0  – 
French Open A Q1 0 / 0 0–0 0%
Wimbledon A 1R 0 / 1 0–1 0%
US Open Q1 0 / 0 0–0 50%
Win–loss 0–0 0–1 0 / 1 0–1 0%
ATP Masters 1000
Indian Wells Masters A 0 / 0 0–0  – 
Miami Open A 0 / 0 0–0  – 
Monte-Carlo Masters A 0 / 0 0–0  – 
Madrid Open A 0 / 0 0–0  – 
Italian Open A 0 / 0 0–0  – 
Canadian Open A 0 / 0 0–0  – 
Cincinnati Masters A 0 / 0 0–0  – 
Shanghai Masters A 0 / 0 0–0  – 
Paris Masters A 0 / 0 0–0  – 
Win–loss 0–0 0–0 0 / 0 0–0  – 
Career statistics
2023 2024 Career
Tournaments 1 0 1
Titles 0 0 0
Finals 0 0 0
Overall win–loss 1–1 0–0 2–3
Year-end ranking 206 40%

ATP Challenger Tour finals

[edit]

Singles: 2 (1 title, 1 runner-up)

[edit]
Legend
ATP Challenger Tour (1–1)
Result W–L    Date    Tournament Tier Surface Opponent Score
Win 1–0 Jun 2023 Little Rock, USA Challenger Hard Kazakhstan Beibit Zhukayev 6–4, 7–5
Loss 1–1 Aug 2024 Zhangjiagang, China Challenger Hard Japan Yasutaka Uchiyama 7–6(7–4), 2–6, 2–6

ITF World Tennis Tour finals

[edit]

Singles: 5 (3 titles, 2 runner-ups)

[edit]
Legend
ITF WTT (3–2)
Result W–L    Date    Tournament Tier Surface Opponent Score
Win 1–0 May 2022 M15 Heraklion, Greece WTT Hard Czech Republic Dominik Palan 6–4, 6–3
Win 2–0 Aug 2022 M15 Monastir, Tunisia WTT Hard France Constantin Bittoun Kouzmine 6–2, 3–6, 6–3
Loss 2–1 Aug 2022 M15 Monastir, Tunisia WTT Hard China Te Rigele 3–6, 6–3, 5–7
Loss 2–2 Sep 2022 M25 Bagnères-de-Bigorre, France WTT Hard Belgium Joris De Loore 3–6, 0–6
Win 3–2 Dec 2022 M25 Monastir, Tunisia WTT Hard China Bu Yunchaokete 6–4, 6–1

References

[edit]
  1. ^ "ATP Rankings | PIF ATP Rankings (Singles) | ATP Tour | Tennis | ATP Tour | Tennis". ATP Tour. Retrieved 2024-05-15.
  2. ^ "Mark Lajal: 'I Wasn't Supposed To Be A Tennis Player' | ATP Tour | Tennis". ATP Tour. Retrieved 2024-02-20.
  3. ^ "Pacific Oceania loses to Estonia in return to Group 2". www.saipantribune.com.
  4. ^ "Lajal takes Little Rock Open title | Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette". www.nwaonline.com. 2023-06-05. Retrieved 2024-02-20.
  5. ^ Kust, Damian (2023-06-05). "Challenger Tour Weekly Recap: Mark Lajal Becomes Estonia's Second-Ever Challenger Champion". Last Word On Tennis. Retrieved 2024-02-20.
  6. ^ "Mark Lajal, 20, Wins Maiden Challenger Title In Just 6th Outing | ATP Tour | Tennis". ATP Tour. Retrieved 2024-02-20.
  7. ^ "European Open: 20-year-old Lajal makes dream debut, defeating Munar in first match". Tennis Majors. 2023-10-16. Retrieved 2024-02-20.
  8. ^ "Pouille headlines quartet of French qualifiers at Wimbledon". ATPtour.com. 27 June 2024. Retrieved 27 June 2024.
  9. ^ "Estonia's Mark Lajal to make first career Grand Slam appearance at Wimbledon". 28 June 2024. Retrieved 28 June 2024.
  10. ^ "Alcaraz, Wimbledon, Estonia: Everything you always wanted to know about Mark Lajal (but never had time to find out)". 28 June 2024. Retrieved 28 June 2024.
  11. ^ "Wimbledon results 2024: Carlos Alcaraz opens Wimbledon defence with win over Mark Lajal". BBC Sport. July 1, 2024.
  12. ^ "#NextGenATP Debru joins Gasquet, Monfils in French Challenger history | ATP Tour | Tennis". 2 September 2024.
[edit]
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Mark_Lajal&oldid=1251272619"