Lajal goes from Wimbledon to Winnipeg

Wimbledon one week and Winnipeg the next?

That’s the story of Mark Lajal, a 21-year-old Estonian who’s competing in the Winnipeg National Bank Challenger, a stop on the Association of Professional Tennis (ATP) Tour.

The young tennis player got his first taste of Centre Court last Monday, competing in the first round against Carlos Alcaraz — the 2023 Wimbledon champion.

Lajal put up a strong performance, but Alcaraz ultimately won the match by a score of 7-6(3), 7-5, 6-2.

Still, Lajal, who is ranked 269 in the world rankings, was honoured to make it to the Wimbledon level.

“Unbelievable,” said Lajal on his experience. “I qualified, which first of all was my goal of the year, and then I found out that I was playing Alcaraz, which was even better. I was so excited and then I got super stressed, I’ve never been so stressed in my life. I mean, playing centre court was unbelievable, playing against him first of all and then centre court, crazy.

“I’ve played against all these guys in practice and stuff, and I’ve beat them in practice, but I’ve always had this little bit of, not struggle, but in matches, I don’t play as well. So to play against (Alcaraz) on the biggest stage of the world, and to show that I can play at that level gave me a lot of confidence and belief in myself,” he said.

Lajal has a career-high ranking of 191 in the ATP rankings. He won his first ATP Challenger 75 in Little Rock, Ark., last year. He is hoping to come out with a win at the Winnipeg Challenger which started Sunday and will run until July 14 at the Tennis Manitoba Hub in West St. Paul.

“I feel quite confident,” said Lajal. “Feeling ready, have a clear goal in mind. I want to make use of my (qualifying) since I’ve got some points. I’m feeling quite good on the courts, I mean I like the place.”

Lajal showed no signs of fatigue as he won both his qualifying rounds on Monday, playing near back-to-back matches after his original Sunday qualifying match was postponed thanks to the stormy Winnipeg weather.

Lajal beat United State’s Ryan Seggerman by a score of 6-3, 6-7, 6-0 and Japan’s Hiroki Moriya 6-3, 6-1.

“The town itself, it reminds me of New York actually,” said Lajal on Winnipeg. “Because it’s a lot of one-way roads. I like it, it’s nice.”

The Winnipeg National Bank Challenger attracts talent from all over the world, with 17 countries represented.

“This year’s edition of the Winnipeg National Bank Challenger is set to deliver a ton of exciting matches and unforgettable moments,” said Ryan Borczon, Director of the Professional Events at Tennis Canada in a press release. “With so many Top 150 players in the draw, along with Canadian players in the mix, this is the perfect way to kick off the 2024 Canadian Challenger season.”

In 2023, 28-year-old Ryan Peniston took home the Winnipeg championship and is back again this year — but the British player is not being too hard on himself if it doesn’t go his way this time after snapping two ligaments and tearing another in his ankle in February.

“It’s been a tough season so far,” said Peniston. “I had the ankle injury earlier this year, and coming back from that, it’s been tough, but I’m glad to be back out of the court.”

Peniston, who is ranked at 271 in the world rankings played in the Wimbledon qualifiers at the end of June but lost to France’s Benjamin Bonzi in the first round by a score of 7-6, 6-2.

“I’m happy to be playing, so not putting too much expectation of myself,” said Peniston. “Just try and take it point by point in the match and see how I can do.”

Many players competing throughout the week are hoping to get valuable points in order to qualify for the U.S. Open, which will be held in New York starting Aug. 26.

The highest-ranked player competing in the Winnipeg challenger is Australia’s Rinky Hijikata (77th in the world). On the Canadian side of things, Vasek Pospisil of B.C. is the player to watch.

Finals are set to go Sunday.

zoe.pierce@freepress.mb.ca