Mark Lajal through to Orléans round two after epic encounter
Top Estonian tennis player Mark Lajal is through to round two of the Challenger 125 tournament in Orléans, France, after beating Norway's Viktor Durasovic in three sets, 6:3, 6:7 (3), 7:6 (5), in an arduous match which involved two of the sets going to tie breaks.
Lajal, who recently reached the semifinals of the Challenger 125 tournament in Saint-Tropez, had to work for his win in Orléans in a match which lasted two-and-half hours.
The Estonian is tournament ninth seed and ranked 156th in the world by the ATP, 89 spots ahead of Durasovic.
The first set went fairly straightforwardly for Lajal, who took it 6:3 in half an hour.
The second set began evenly, then Lajal broke at 2:2 and then went ahead 4:2 and 5:3. Durasovic, however, showed grit and determination in taking three games in a row. Lajal did not give up either, managing to force the set into a tiebreak. However, the Norwegian took a 4:1 lead which he never gave up, pushing the match into a deciding set.
In that decider, both players traded game wins until things were 5:4 in Lajal's favor. The Estonian got two match points, but failed to convert either, and Durasovic managed to level.
The Estonian then won the next game and went 6:5 up, but this ongoing duel between two equally-matched opponents again ultimately had to go to a tiebreak.
This time around, however, it was Lajal's turn to prevail, surging to a 5:1 lead and then earning three match points. He converted the last of these to take victory.
Lajal hit 13 aces and committed six double faults across the match to Durasovic's nine aces and six double faults.
Lajal earned six break chances and converted two of these, while fending off as many as 12 out of 13 from his opponent. He will face either Frenchman Arthur Bouquier (ATP 221) or Luxembourger Chris Rodesch (ATP 181) in round two.
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Editor: Andrew Whyte, Kristjan Kallaste
