Wimbledon: Who Is Carlos Alcaraz’s R1 Opponent, Mark Lajal? Everything to Know About the Estonian ATP Star

Aiming for a second consecutive Wimbledon title, Carlos Alcaraz is soon going to step into the flushing meadows in London. However, currently, the trophy is far away from his reach. At first, the Spaniard has to showcase his finesse against his first-round opponent, Mark Lajal. As he continues his preparation against Lajal, curiosity among fans about the Estonian player has taken center stage. The question on everyone’s mind is – Who is this young tennis pro?

Born in 2003, Mark Lajal, who is the same age as Carlos Alcaraz, is all ready to hit the balls in his biggest career match at Wimbledon. Nevertheless, the right-handed player is not too far behind in terms of his records in tennis. After all, at such a young age, the ATP player has already claimed his position as the number one player in his country. His journey in tennis began in his childhood. Born into a family where his father’s interests lie in motocross riding, ‘Kiki’ held his first racquet when his mother, Merilyn Lajal, encouraged him to play tennis.

The reason behind her mother’s decision was simple. She did not want his son to follow in his father’s footsteps and start racing motorcycles. Therefore, when Mart (his father) was away for a 3-month-long trip, Merilyn saw it as an opportunity to put Lajal, who idolized Roger Federer, into tennis. At the age of 15, Lajal left home and pursued his training in tennis at Mouratglou Tennis Academy, and Carlos Alcaraz’s opponent’s journey in tennis began. However, outside of tennis, Mark Lajal also takes an interest in racing series and golf as well. In sports, his hero is Max Verstappen, and his sports team is Red Bull Racing. Other than sports, he likes the iconic superhero Spider-Man!

While he likes to read Flowers for Algernon in his free time, watching movies and series is also one of his hobbies. Among them, the one that has a special place in his heart are the Shawshank Redemption and the TV series, The Office. In school, he liked to learn about his favorite subjects were psychology and history. After coming back home, he liked to listen to his favorite musician, Logic, and also watch his favorite hero, Brad Pitt, on-screen. However, when he is on-court, Mark Lajal has his goals straight. Currently ranked 262, last year, the Estonian player graced the position of 191 in the ATP rankings.

With 3 ITF singles titles, Carlos Alcaraz’s R1 opponent at Wimbledon enjoyed his No. 13 ranking as a junior. However, that’s not all. A single challenger title winner’s W/L records at the Davis Cup (1-2) also speak volumes about his talent on-court. Even before he won his first ATP match at the European Open last year, Lajal had already become the first player from his country to win a Challenger title before turning 21. After a semifinal appearance at the Bergamo Challenger last year, he debuted in the top 200 and won the hearts of his fans. However, there’s more. After successfully overcoming three of his opponents in the qualifying round at Wimbledon, Lajal has made history! How? Well, he achieved this feat as the first Estonian male player, and he is excited to play his best!

Mark Lajal shares his ‘wow’ moment after qualifying for the main draw at Wimbledon

Soon after the draw was made public (June 28), Mark Lajal’s excitement regarding his debut draw match at Wimbledon skyrocketed. He shared an Instagram story, sharing a snap of the green fields at Wimbledon, captioning it, “Catch me here on Monday.”

Not only that, he also mentioned his heartfelt gratitude to his fans and his coach. “Wow, Wimbledon’s main draw 🤩😛🌴. What a week this has been so far, thank you for all the support and everyone who helped me this week, especially coach, Karl Kiur. Catch me at SW19, let’s keep this going!,” he said on his Instagram. Although this would be the first time that Carlos Alcaraz meets Mark Lajal on-court, it will be interesting to see how both navigate around each other at Wimbledon!