WIMBLEDON fans joked Mark Lajal has come dressed as the trophy for his Grand Slam debut.
The 21-year-old star made the main draw of a Major for the first time by booking his place at this year’s tournament.
And he got drawn again defending champion and world No3 Carlos Alcaraz in round one.
But it was his flamboyant hairstyle – not just his swashbuckling style – that caught the eye for plenty of viewers watching him in action.
That is because Lajal has a unique set of blond locks.
And a whole host of tennis lovers made comparisons to the pineapple on the top of the iconic men’s singles gold trophy at Wimbledon.
One fan said: “No other plausible explanation for this, other than a tribute to the trophy.”
Another wrote: “In order to win the trophy, one must become the trophy.”
A third added: “Lajal honouring the Wimbledon trophy by wearing a pineapple on his head.”
A fourth commented: “This Lajal kid looks like he has a tree is growing out of his head.”
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A fifth typed: “Loving Mark Lajal’s hair on Centre Court.”
A sixth user posted: “Wanting Alcaraz to win, though it’d be a shame to lose Lajal’s hair so early in the tournament.”
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And a final user typed: “Mark Lajal is going to gain a lot of fans today – between the hair and holding his own in the first set against Alcaraz he’s really fun to watch.”
Lajal is ranked No269 in the world and came through three rounds of qualifying to book his Centre Court date with Alcaraz in front of an all-star crowd.
The likes of David Beckham and Sir David Attenborough were among the esteemed guests in the Royal Box on the opening day of the 2024 Championships.
Despite his lowly ranking, though, Lajal produced some scintillating tennis in a thrilling opening set.
And the Estonian was clearly enjoying himself on the court, frequently smiling and laughing with his opponent.
Lajal comes from a family of sportsmen – his father Mart was a motocross rider while his grandfather Hardi competed as a rally driver.
PRIZE MONEY for the 2024 Wimbledon Championships is a new record – and puts the grass-court Slam at the top of the tree.
The All England Club will dish out £50million across all the events – an increase of £5.3m and 11.9 per cent on last year, where singles champions Carlos Alcaraz and Marketa Vondrousova picked up £2.35m each.
However, the king and queen of grass this July will collect an extra £350,000 – taking the winner’s earnings to £2.7m.
Here is the breakdown for the 2024 Wimbledon singles prize money:
