Mark Lajal comes from behind to beat US player in Yorkshire

Estonia's number one tennis player, Mark Lajal, fought back from a set deficit to win his first-round match at the ATP Challenger 125 event in Ilkley, Yorkshire, on Sunday, June 16. He defeated American Michael Zheng 4-6, 6-4, 7-6(5).

Lajal, 23 and ranked 147th in the world, entered the tournament through qualifying. After winning his first qualifier, he lost the second to Briton Paul Jubb but received a spot in the main draw when South African Lloyd Harris withdrew.

In the opening set, Lajal lost his serve immediately but broke back in the next game. He later fell behind another break and lost the set 4-6. The second set saw Lajal take a 4-1 lead thanks to a break of serve and he won it 6-4 to level the match.

The deciding set featured no breaks of serve, leading to a tiebreak. Lajal moved ahead 4-1 and earned his first match point at 6-3, but Zheng saved two points. At 6-5, Lajal converted his third match point to seal the victory.

In the second round, Lajal will face French player Arthur Gea, ranked 137th. Gea defeated sixth seed Italian Francesco Maestrelli (ATP 126) in three sets in his first-round match.

The top seed at the tournament is Portugal's Henrique Rocha, ranked 121st in the world.