Mark Lajal makes it to Australian Open qualifiers
Estonia's top tennis player Mark Lajal is due to compete in a Grand Slam qualification tournament for the fifth time in his career, this time in Australia in the new year.
Lajal, 21, is ranked 229th in the world, making him one of the last players to qualify for the Australian Open, which starts on January 12 – with the qualifiers starting the best part of a week earlier.
Lajal has previously played in Grand Slam qualifiers, including the US Open in 2023, Australia at the start of this year, and most famously Wimbledon in the summer, where he made it to the main draw and faced Carlos Alcaraz in a round one clash in which he pushed the Spanish player quite hard, in front of a star-studded crowd.
Lajal's coach, Karl Kiur Saar, noted the plan is to compete in a tournament the week before the qualifiers begin, i.e. right at the start of 2025.
The Estonian faced off against veteran player Gael Monfils in a friendly exhibition game at the Unibet Arena in Tallinn last month, going down two sets to one in another close clash.
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Editor: Andrew Whyte, Kristjan Kallaste
