It is a welcoming return to form for de Minaur who missed the chance to return to the top five, just behind the Stuttgart winner Ben Shelton. He fell behind after losing the first set but rallied with an eye-catching end to the second set. Majchrzak had the advantage wrestled off him in the third set which ended with a tiebreak. Majchrzak kept his cool and narrowly edged de Minaur for the biggest win and title of his tennis career.
Majchrzak downs de Minaur in tight tussle
Majchrzak begun the match much brighter than his higher
ranked opponent. He defeated Felix Auger-Aliassime and Daniil Medvedev enroute
to this final and was not going to let de Minaur faze him. After holding, he broke
the Aussie’s serve on the way into a 3-0 lead. It did take five break points to
get that advantage, but eventually the Polish number one got over the line.
De Minaur has already won a title on Dutch soil this year in
the form of the ABN AMRO Open in Rotterdam. He was hoping to switch the indoor
hardcourt success to outdoor grass triumph. He was at a disadvantage being a
break behind and could not create any break chances. Majchrzak saw out the
first set with his third set point.
The fortunes would change very briefly in the second set when
de Minaur broke the serve, finally creating a chance and converting in
brilliant fashion. Almost instantly, the match was back on serve with Majchrzak
breaking straight back.
Kamil Majchrzak in action
Majchrzak had only reached one final on grass which was at a
Challenger event in 2021. Also against an Aussie, he would lose against Alex Bolt.
He was hopeful of reversing the results but fell behind in the second set when
de Minaur again broke the serve before backing it up on this occasion with a
hold. He made it four games in a row with another break of serve right at the
end to force a deciding set.
The deadlock was broken by Majchrzak with a fourth break point. Eventually getting that all-important break, he threw that advantage away almost immediately as the number two seed quickly got back on level terms.
It would go the distance with a tiebreak set to decide who gets to take home the ultimate prize in ‘S-Hertogenbosch. Majchrzak seized the initiative after taking 3-0 and 5-2 leads. De Minaur attempted to mount a comeback and got proceedings level at 5-5. Nevertheless, the first championship winning point went to the Pole who converted it to break new ground.