Lajal had beaten Aleksei Vatutin (neutral flag) in an epic two and a half hour encounter in round one of the tournament, an ATP Challenger 100-level event, coming back from behind to win 5:7, 7:5, 6:3. The pair already met last month in the first round of the Brest Challenger, where Lajal likewise earned a grueling three-set win.

However in round two in Bergamo, the Estonian, ranked 146th in the world, had to hand 18-year-old rising German star Justin Engel after dropping out due to a niggling back issue.

"Unfortunately, I had to pull out of the Bergamo tournament because of the [back] nerve pain that began last week in Lyon. I hoped it would get better, but I made a bad movement in yesterday's match and the situation got even worse," Lajal said on social media. "I'll do everything I can to be back at 100 percent as soon as possible and start my pre-season preparations," he added, implying that this season has come to an end for him.

Lajal, along with Daniil Glinka, will be entering qualifying for the Australian Open come January, the first time two Estonian men have both made qualifying for a grand slam event.

Engel meanwhile must be hoping the Bergamo tournament continues in a similar vein, as he had already received a walkover after Britain's Hamish Stewart forfeited early on in their round one encounter. This means the German is through to round three after only a few minutes' play.

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