Lajal’s emotional day: Saving 5 MPs & dedicating Challenger title to late grandfather

Challenger

Lajal’s emotional day: Saving 5 MPs & dedicating Challenger title to late grandfather

The 22-year-old is a two-time ATP Challenger Tour champion

Cranbrook Tennis Classic/Kristiina Männik Mark Lajal dedicated his title at the Bloomfield Hills Challenger to his late grandfather, Tõnu Lajal. By Grant Thompson

Mark Lajal delivered a courageous performance to dramatically fend off five championship points to win the Bloomfield Hills Challenger and capture his second title at ATP Challenger Tour level. That same day, thousands of miles away in Estonia, Lajal’s grandfather, Tõnu, was laid to rest.

Lajal wrote an Instagram post, dedicating his biggest career trophy to his grandfather, who was closely following the 22-year-old’s career. The Estonian received the difficult news while in Los Cabos, where he was in the qualifying draw for the ATP 250.

“Definitely the first couple of days, you think about him, you think about the fact that you’re never going to talk to him again,” Lajal told ATPTour.com, speaking about the loss of his grandfather. “It’s a bizarre feeling. It’s something you’re not really used to and you gotta learn to live with it I guess.”

One of Lajal’s fondest memories with his grandfather came earlier this season, when Tõnu was able to watch Estonia win a Davis Cup tie against Venezuela. It was the final time Tõnu saw his beloved grandson compete in person, a moment now even more meaningful following Tõnu’s passing.

"He came to watch that match I played in Estonia and he really enjoyed it,” Lajal said. “That was definitely a nice memory, that he was there for the win.”

As Tõnu’s health declined, Lajal continued to make his grandfather — and entire family — proud by his progress on the ATP Challenger Tour. But the quick, yet inevitable, timing of his Tõnu’s passing presented a challenge while on the road.

“I think I handled it quite well because we all kind of knew that it was going to happen sooner or later. He was getting old and it was unfortunate, his health was getting worse,” Lajal said. “I didn’t expect it to happen this soon, but I had already accepted that the timing was coming.”

After leaving Los Cabos, Lajal travelled to the ATP Challenger Tour 100 event in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan, where he eventually saved five championship points — four behind his own serve — to dispatch Andres Martin 6-7(7), 7-5, 7-6(9) after a three-hour, 22-minute battle. Lajal lifted the trophy in the air and looked up to the sky.

“It was very nice to do it because they had a ‘sending away’ with our family in Estonia on the day of the final,” said Lajal, now at a career-high No. 147 in the PIF ATP Rankings. “I think everything was perfect timing.”

Mark Lajal wins the Bloomfield Hills Challenger. Credit: Cranbook Tennis Classic

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