Coming through the qualifiers, Lajal first beat American Ryan Seggerman in three sets and then Hiroki Moriya of Japan in straight sets.

In his round one clash with Sekulic, ranked 27 spots above Lajal in the ATP listings, the Estonian took an early lead after breaking, but he was unable to maintain his advantage in the first set and in the decider, allowing Sekulic to win overall on the fourth match point presented to him.

While Lajal hit as many as 10 aces throughout the match, his first service success rate was only 55 percent, and he allowed his opponent 18 break points, which the opponent converted in four cases.

Something of a journeyman player until recently, Lajal saw his international profile raised significantly by being drawn against reigning Wimbledon men's singles champion and world number three Carlos Alcaraz (Spain), in round one of the Wimbledon Championships last week.

Though he went out, Lajal, 21, gave a good account of himself, taking Alcaraz to a tie-break in the first set and only losing the second set 7:5.

This makes him Estonia's most prominent tennis player now, following Anett Kontaveit's retirement from the game last year, while veteran player Kaia Kanepi did not qualify for Wimbledon this year.

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