Estonian tennis player Mark Lajal beats Matteo Berrettini's brother in France
Estonia's top tennis player Mark Lajal is through to round two of the Open Saint-Brieuc in France after dispatching Jacopo Berrettini, the big-serving younger brother of former top 10 player Matteo, in straight sets.
Lajal, 22, had had to forfeit an all-Estonian encounter, also in France, in Pau two weeks ago, handing the match to second-highest-ranking Estonian men's player Daniil Glinka. Lajal had had to travel all the way from Namibia, where he played in a Davis Cup clash for Estonia, to make the Pau match.
He is seeded fifth at the Saint-Brieuc tournament, an ATP Challenger-level tournament, and ranked 160th in the world, compared with Berrettini's 301st ranking by the ATP.
On the day, Lajal won the first three games on the indoor hard courts, and while Berrettini caught up to remain two or three games behind thereafter, the Estonian secured a confident 6:3 win.
Lajal began set two by having his serve broken. That was the last game win for Berrettini, however, as Lajal won four games in a row to take the second set 6:1 and with it the match. The entire encounter lasted a little over an hour.
Lajal served solidly, hitting five aces and committing no double faults. Berrettini served up as many as seven aces, but also committed four double faults.
Lajal won 95 percent of points on his first serve to Berrettini's 61 percent. The Estonian won 63 percent on his second serve, compared with 31 percent for the Italian.
Lajal will face France's Pierre-Hugues Herbert (ATP No. 182) in round two. Herbert defeated compatriot Raphael Perot (ATP No. 368) 6:4, 6:4 in the opening round. Lajal and Herbert have played each other three times, all of them in 2023. The head-to-head is 2:1 in the Estonian's favor.
--
Editor: Andrew Whyte, Kristjan Kallaste
