Kamil Majchrzak saved a match point and came through a three-tiebreak fight with Otto Virtanen to reach the second round at the Libema Open, avenging a Birmingham loss from days earlier. Second seed and 2024 champion Alex de Minaur was the most notable name to advance, easing past qualifier Martin Damm, while 17-year-old home wild card Thijs Boogaard won the first ATP match of his career and drew a meeting with Daniil Medvedev. Australian qualifier James McCabe also saved two match points to remove eighth seed Zizou Bergs, and home sixth seed Tallon Griekspoor finished off a match held over from Tuesday.
Majchrzak survives Virtanen and turns the tables from Birmingham
Kamil Majchrzak edged Otto Virtanen 6-7(7), 6-4, 7-6(4) in a match decided by a handful of points, days after the two played out the Birmingham challenger final across three tiebreaks, a match Virtanen won despite Majchrzak holding a match point in the decider. This time the margin fell the other way. Virtanen held a match point with Majchrzak serving at 4-5 in the deciding set, but the Pole steadied, forced the tiebreak, and won three straight points from 4-4 to take it. Majchrzak won 15 of 22 serve pressure points and struck nine aces, his serve holding firm in the breakers where the match turned. The win avenges the Birmingham final and keeps a productive grass stretch going for a player whose best run on the surface was a Wimbledon fourth round last year.
De Minaur holds off Damm in two tight sets
Alex de Minaur reached the second round with a 7-6(8), 7-5 win over qualifier Martin Damm that was closer on the scoreboard than in control. The Australian led 4-0 in the opening set before Damm clawed back to force a tiebreak, which de Minaur edged 10-8, then settled the second on a single break in the twelfth game. Damm hung on by saving 11 of 14 break points, a sign of how often de Minaur was in his service games even without converting. The second seed served cleanly throughout, six aces to one double fault against four from Damm, and took 6 of 11 serve pressure points. De Minaur, the champion here in 2024, came in off a third-round run at Roland Garros and remains comfortable on a surface where his game travels well.
Boogaard, 17, wins his first ATP match and lands a meeting with Medvedev
Home wild card Thijs Boogaard won his first ATP Tour match at 17, beating Wu Yibing 6-3, 2-6, 6-4 to become the second-youngest match winner in the tournament's history at 17 years and 11 months, behind only Sjeng Schalken in 1994. Ranked 779 at the start of the week and projected to climb close to 150 places, Boogaard struck eleven aces and punished a Wu serve that held up on the first delivery but collapsed on the second: the Chinese player won 40 of 46 first-serve points but only 39% behind his second. Boogaard hit more winners and made fewer errors, 26 to 22 and 29 unforced to 33, and created more pressure on serve, 26 serve pressure points to Wu's 17. It was only his second ATP main-draw match, after a loss to Stan Wawrinka in Rotterdam earlier this year. He meets former world No. 1 Daniil Medvedev next, a player he has shared a practice court with.
McCabe saves two match points to topple Bergs
James McCabe produced the result of the day, beating eighth seed Zizou Bergs 6-7(2), 6-2, 7-6(4) from the brink. The Australian qualifier, who plays most of his tennis at the lower levels, trailed 1-3 in the deciding set and then saved two match points while serving at 4-5 before forcing a tiebreak and closing it out. His serve carried him through the tight moments, winning 18 of 25 serve pressure points, and his break-point defense, seven saved from eight, decided the match. It is only the second main-tour win of his career, after a first-round win at the 2025 Australian Open.
Fucsovics keeps his perfect record over Hurkacz
Marton Fucsovics completed a 3-6, 7-6(5), 7-6(4) win over Hubert Hurkacz, finishing a match suspended overnight at a set and a break down. Once level, Fucsovics was close to untouchable in the deciding moments: he lost no points on serve across either tiebreak, and Hurkacz, struggling on return throughout, could not break the pattern. Fucsovics struck six aces and held a first-serve win rate above 80%, taking 12 of 16 serve pressure points. For Hurkacz, still working back toward his level and now on the fringe of the top 100, it is another step in the wrong direction.
Griekspoor finishes off van de Zandschulp at home
Sixth seed Tallon Griekspoor completed a 6-2, 6-7(2), 6-4 win over Botic van de Zandschulp in an all-Dutch first round held over from Tuesday, where he had led 2-0 in the deciding set when rain stopped play. He picked up where he left off, winning 15 of 22 serve pressure points and saving four of six break points as van de Zandschulp pushed him. Griekspoor, the 2023 champion here, improves to 10-3 at his home event and meets Zhizhen Zhang next.
Round of 16 fills out on Thursday, with de Minaur already through
Thursday completes the round of 16, though only on one side of the draw is it still the round of 16: de Minaur, having played his second-round match a day early, is already into the quarterfinals, and the other seven matches decide who joins him. Top seed Felix Auger-Aliassime opens his week against Marton Fucsovics, fresh off finishing his win over Hurkacz, while third seed Daniil Medvedev makes his first appearance against 17-year-old wild card Thijs Boogaard, the local teenager a day removed from the first ATP win of his career.
The most loaded tie pairs Adrian Mannarino, who ended Diallo's title defense and handles grass as well as anyone left in the draw, with fourth seed and fellow Frenchman Arthur Rinderknech. One more all-French match sits alongside it, Ugo Humbert against Benjamin Bonzi and one of them goes through to face de Minaur. Home sixth seed Tallon Griekspoor faces Zhizhen Zhang after both came through held-over matches. The last of them is a meeting of survivors: Kamil Majchrzak and James McCabe each saved a match point to reach this stage on Wednesday.
