LITTLE ROCK/STARNBERG, June 5, 2023
Mark Lajal has captured his maiden title on the ATP Challenger Tour by lifting the trophy of the $80,000 UAMS Health Little Rock Open held at the Rebsamen Tennis Center in Little Rock, the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Arkansas.The 20-year-old Estonian defeated qualifier Beibit Zhukayev from Kakzakhstan 6-4, 7-5 in Sunday’s singles final.
Lajal battled his way to the championship match through the top half of the draw with wins over Mitchell Krueger from the United States, top seed Tung-Lin Wu of Chinese Taipei, seventh-seeded Tunisian Aziz Dougaz and fourth favourite Antoine Escoffier of France. Lajal hammered seven aces and won 73 per cent of his first-service points to secure victory in one hour and 44 minutes.
Welcome to the club, Mark Lajal 😉 🏆
The 🇪🇪 claims his maiden #ATPChallenger title, beating Zhukayev 6-4, 7-5 at the @littlerockopen! pic.twitter.com/79tolBqwCD
— ATP Challenger Tour (@ATPChallenger) June 4, 2023
“It was a great week. It’s been my first time in Arkansas,” Lajal said afterwards. “I really enjoyed it here. The whole organization was perfect. I felt really good here from the first day. I was feeling good the ball, I felt something that I haven’t felt before after winning my first two matches. If someone told me at the beginning of the week that I will win the tournament, I wouldn’t have believed it.”
Following three triumphs on the ITF World Tennis Tour last year, Lajal lifted his first trophy on the Challenger Circuit at the hard-court event. The World No. 311 pocketed $10,840 in prize money as well as 75 ATP Ranking points.
“It feels great to win my first Challenger and I am hungry for more. I will continue,” Lajal said. He will next compete in this week’s Tyler Tennis Championships in Texas.
