Alex de Minaur’s bid for a confidence-boosting title heading into his Wimbledon campaign ended in heartbreak after he lost to Kamil Majchrzak in the final of the ATP’s Dutch grass-court event in s-Hertogenbosch.
The Australian No.1 had chosen to compete at the Rosmalen Championships to rebuild his confidence after a third-round exit at the French Open last month. Despite a gritty fightback to level the match, De Minaur ultimately fell in a final-set tie-break, losing 6-3 2-6 7-6 (7-5) on Sunday.
The 27-year-old had looked in strong form on his return to grass, culminating in a straight-sets victory over Frenchman Adrian Mannarino in Saturday’s semi-finals. However, De Minaur, who won the event in 2024, could not stop world No.76 Majchrzak’s remarkable run. The Polish player also defeated world No.4 Felix Auger-Aliassime in the quarter-finals and No.8 Daniil Medvedev in the semi-finals.
With this victory, the 30-year-old Majchrzak became just the third Polish man to win a tour-level trophy in the Open era, after Wojtek Fibak and Hubert Hurkacz, and entered the top 50 for the first time in his career.
“I don’t know what to say. This is an incredible moment for me and an incredible run to make this happen,” Majchrzak said. “Alex is one of the toughest opponents you can face, so I knew I had to play my best to win and I think I did for the most part of the match.”
Majchrzak missed a break opportunity in the third set but stepped up in the decisive tie-break, forcing De Minaur to scramble before sealing the win in two hours and 25 minutes.
“I am really grateful for this moment and will really enjoy it so much. Thanks to everyone who came here,” he added. “It has been unbelievable.”
De Minaur won the ATP 500 trophy in Rotterdam in February, and Sunday’s loss meant he missed out on emulating local hero Richard Krajicek as the only player to win both Dutch ATP Tour titles in the same season, a feat last achieved in 1997.
Despite the defeat, the Sydney-born Australian No.1 has made a strong start to the grass season. He will now head to Queen’s Club in London next week as the top seed, aiming to improve further before Wimbledon.
In a magnanimous gesture, De Minaur praised Majchrzak for his achievements. “I’d like to congratulate Kamil and his team. Not just for today but for an unbelievable week. You deserved it today,” De Minaur said in a courtside interview. “You were the better player. It was a great battle. I just want to say too good. Congrats, mate.”
“As for me, obviously would’ve loved to be able to get the job done today. But a great start to the grass-court season. A good week. To my team and everyone around, we’re gonna keep on building. Hopefully this is the first of many great weeks on the grass.”
