“The goal is to be number 1 in the world” – Mark Lajal

Lajal will be up against a player just seven days older than him, but the difference in experience between the two couldn’t be more stark. Three-time Grand Slam champion Carlos Alcaraz will be Lajal’s opponent as the Estonian makes his first Grand Slam main draw.

It will be a seismic event for Lajal, but this talented youngster has never been one to shy away from the spotlight.

“The goal is to become No. 1 in the world,” Lajal told Tennis Majors when interviewed at the Patrick Mouratoglou Academy in London last December and last Sunday.

There was no trace of irony or a playful grin on the young man’s face as he said these words confidently – almost as if he were simply stating a fact.

For Lajal, not much has changed in the last six months, except for the haircut. It is true that his ranking has dropped from number 191 in his career, to number 262. But the outlook and the long-term vision remain pretty much the same.

“I would have said the same,” Lajal said with a faint smile when asked what he would have thought of his current ambitions as a 14-year-old.

“But I would say I had a different belief in myself,” he quickly added.

“I think I believe in myself a lot more now than I did when I was 14.

“A few wins in 2023 (that was what made things fall into place), proved to myself that I have the level, that I have the potential to do something big.

“There were a few key moments. One key moment was in 2019, when I injured my shoulder quite badly, which put me out of action for three months. And something changed during that period, because before that it had taken me a while to win a tournament.

“I haven’t played for three months, I won the first tournament back. After that period I showed myself that I really love tennis, I did it for fun, not just because I had to. After that moment I exploded.”

practicing with big names at the Mouratoglou Academy

Lajal is currently training at the Patrick Mouratoglou Academy in France, where he has the unique opportunity to practice with other top players he would otherwise not have contact with, something which was a big factor in his decision to travel to the academy.

One of the names he has worked with is 24-time Grand Slam champion Novak Djokovic.

“I have the opportunity to play with a lot of really, really top players. That really helped me too, because I can see how they play, learn from them, play points with them. The opportunity to play with all the top players is incredible and has really given me a lot.

“I played with a lot of top players (at the Patrick Mouratoglou Academy). Djokovic, Medvedev, Norrie, Ugo Humbert, Popyrin. There are many more, but I learned a lot from them.

“I think I learned the most from Daniil because I practiced the most with him. I learned that it doesn’t matter how you play, but how you win. All these kinds of lessons have shaped me.”

When asked about his future goals in December, it was telling that Lajal had already defined clear targets for 2024.

“I would say a good season would be if I qualified for the main draw of a Slam, broke the top 100 and caused some problems for the top guys.”

Now that we’re halfway through the year, the ambitious Lajal has already checked one of those milestones off his list by qualifying for Wimbledon.

The top 100 may still be a long way off at the moment, but if he can achieve the third goal on his list and pose questions for Alcaraz when they perform on Wimbledon 2024 Centre Court, it may not be long before this talented youngster is climbing the rankings to his target destination.

If the ultimate goal is to become world number 1, then there is no better place to start than by testing yourself against the youngest ATP number 1 in history.