Who is Carlos Alcaraz's Wimbledon 2024 1R opponent Mark Lajal? All you need to know about the Estonian player

The draw for the 2024 Wimbledon Championships was revealed on Friday, offering fans plenty of enticing first-round encounters. One of those duels includes an enticing first-round clash between defending champion Carlos Alcaraz and Estonian youngster Mark Lajal, who's been touted to make it big very soon.

The 21-year-old Spaniard had a rather subdued start to his 2024 campaign, going down to Alexander Zverev in the quarterfinals of the Australian Open. He was forced to retire from his opener at the Rio Open against Thiago Monteiro a couple of weeks later due to an ankle injury that he suffered in the second point of the match.

He returned to action in Indian Wells and successfully defended his title against Daniil Medvedev in straight sets. He suffered another injury setback at the start of the claycourt swing, which forced him to withdraw from events in Monte-Carlo, Barcelona, and Rome. He did, however, cap the swing in exemplary fashion by becoming the youngest player in the open era to win men's singles Grand Slam titles on all three surfaces.

Alcaraz is well and truly on his way to cement his legacy as one of the biggest names on the circuit. His opponent, however, is relatively unknown to the general public. So, without further ado, here's a quick look into Lajal's career up until now.

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Who is Mark Lajal?

Mark Lajal at the 2024 French Open (Picture: @marklajal Instagram)

Mark Lajal was born on May 12, 2003, in Tallinn, Estonia, to parents Merilyn Lajal and Mart Lajal. He has two half-sisters Monika Lajal and Grete Lajal. His father was a motocross rider back and his grandfather was a rally driver.

Lajal grew up in Estonia and began playing tennis because of his mother. He raced motorcycles initially with the dream of turning professional, but his mother had other plans. He conceded that he once told his mother that he was going to win the US Open when he was seven or eight.

The tennis infrastructure in Estonia wasn't great so his parents took the tough decision of moving to France to aid his development. It was there he joined the Mouratoglou Tennis Academy at the age of fifteen. He has been there ever since.

Lajal is a regular feature on the ITF and Challenger tours and has seldom featured on the ATP circuit as of yet. He's played just five matches on tour and holds a 2-3 match record. He made his ATP main draw debut at the 2023 European Open as a wildcard. He defeated Jaume Munar in the opening round but lost to eventual finalist Arthur Fils in the second round. He made his debut in the top 200 after making the semifinals of the Bergamo Challenger last year.

Roger Federer was one of his early inspirations, but he's conceded in the past that doesn't have one huge inspiration. His favorite shot is the backspin volley and Wimbledon ranks as his top tournament. He enjoys spending his time gaming and reading books. He also likes watching golf and racing, and his favorite teams include Red Bull Racing and athlete Max Verstappen.

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Mark Lajal has one challenger tour title

Lajal created history at the 2023 Little Rock Challenger in Arkansas, becoming the second-ever Estonian Challenger champion and the first from his country to win a Challenger title before turning twenty-one.

Lajal beat Mitchell Krueger in the opening round in straight sets 6-2, 7-6. He then upset top seed Wu Tung-lin and seventh seed Aziz Dougaz in the subsequent rounds. Up against fourth seed Antoine Escoffier in the semi-final, Lajal came back from a set down to eventually seal an emphatic 4-6, 6-3, 6-2 win. A clinical display in the final against Beibit Zhukayev handed him his first-ever Challenger title.

Lajal has triumphed thrice on the ITF tour, once in Greece and twice in Tunisia.