Mark Lajal gets drawn in tough US Open first qualifier match
Estonia's top tennis player Mark Lajal has been drawn against top seed Arthur Cazaux (France) in the US Open qualifiers, just days after losing to him in the Cincinnati ATP Masters 1000 tournament.
The 22-year-old has risen to 63rd place in the world rankings, and last year reached the Australian Open round four.
The winner will meet either Briton Jay Clarke (ATP 199) or 18-year-old U.S. player Jack Satterfield in round two.
The U.S. Open qualifiers start today, Monday, ahead of the main tournament which starts on August 24.
The Estonian recently won the second ATP Challenger trophy of his career in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan and is now ranked 147th in the world. He has also come from being a set down to win a match six times this season.
Against Cazaux in Cincinnati the week before last, however, that reverse was the case: Lajal won set one 6:4 but rain stopped play early in set two. When the pair resumed things on court the next day, Cazaux was the more on form, hitting 18 aces, and convincingly taking the second and third sets 6:1, 6:2.
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Editor: Anders Nõmm Andrew Whyte
