Mark Lajal (ATP 224) beat Uzbekistan's Sergei Fomin (ATP 537) in three sets.

In addition to Lajal, the Estonian team comprises: Kristjan Tamm (ATP 978), Markus Mölder (ATP 1214), Siim Troost (doubles ATP 1238), and Johannes Seeman (doubles ATP 611), with Vladimir Ivanov serving as team captain.

Estonia's second-ranked singles player Daniil Glinka (ATP 444) and third-ranked Oliver Ojakäär (ATP 904) were unable to participate.

Vladimir Ivanov said ahead of the matches: "Glinka is absent for personal reasons, and Ojakäär due to injury. Despite this, we have a good lineup and strong determination. Given Uzbekistan's roster, we expect a closely contested match."

If Estonia secures overall victory, they will play playoff matches next year for promotion to Group I, while they will otherwise play to remain in Group II.

The team got the campaign off to a good start as Mark Lajal beat Sergei Fomin 6:4, 4:6, 7:6 (6) in a match which lasted a total of two hours and 47 minutes.

In the third and decider set, Lajal broke Fomin's serve in the fourth game, taking a 4:1 and later a 5:2 lead. However, with things at 5:3, the Uzbek saved two match points and managed to push the match into a tiebreak.

In that tiebreak, Lajal initially fell 5:1 down after two mini-breaks from Fomin. However, he won the next four points to bring the scores level. Fomin earned a match point of his own, which Lajal saved before closing down the match with three consecutive points in his favor.

Lajal served 16 aces compared to Fomin's 14 and won 78 percent of his points on his first serve (cf. Fomin 63 percent). Lajal earned 16 break points during the match, converting three, while his opponent broke serve three times out of the four opportunities presented to him.

Next up is Kristjan Tamm, who faces Uzbekistan's top player Humoyun Sultanov (ATP 264).

--

Follow ERR News on Facebook and Twitter and never miss an update!