Last year, Canada reigned supreme at the Libema Open. In 2026, the three Canadian men in the singles main draw only managed one match win combined. Félix Auger-Aliassime was the last Canuck standing at the ATP 250 event in s-Hertogenbosch but saw his tournament end in the quarter-finals on Friday at the hands of Poland’s Kamil Majchrzak.
Auger-Aliassime was the top seed at the Libema Open but a couple of sloppy games cost him against his hyper-consistent opponent. Poorly-timed errors handed a break in each set to Majchrzak, who never let up on serve in the 6-4, 6-3 upset in just 69 minutes.
Majchrzak was clinical on serve, winning 85 per cent of his service points, losing just seven overall, and never dropping more than one point in a service game. Auger-Aliassime did not do himself any favours, committing 25 unforced errors and only saved one of the three break points he faced.
Through the first nine games, the servers cruised. It was not until the sixth game that either returner managed even two points in a game. When Auger-Aliassime served to stay in the set at 4-5, the Canadian’s level suddenly dropped.
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Having been pushed to deuce for the first time in the match, twice he missed forehands to give his opponent a break/set point. On the first, Majchrzak missed long. But on the second, Auger-Aliassime gifted the set to his opponent with a double fault.
Self-inflicted wounds were a problem for the top seed. Majchrzak was clipping along on his own serve, giving Auger-Aliassime no opportunities, and remained consistent on return, opening the door for the Canadian to make mistakes. At 2-3, Auger-Aliassime fell into the Pole’s trap. He netted a forehand at 30-all to set up a break point and then sailed a backhand to hand a break to his opponent.
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Even just a single break deficit looked like an insurmountable lead, given that Majchrzak had yet to lose more than one point on serve in a game. Needing just two holds to secure his first Top 5 win, Majchrzak did not blink, losing just two points on serve the rest of the way.
Defending champion Gabriel Diallo and Denis Shapovalov both lost in the first round of singles at the Libema Open. Auger-Aliassime and Shapovalov teamed up in doubles, winning their opening match before pulling out, while Diallo lost in the doubles quarter-finals with Hubert Hurkacz on Friday.
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It was a tough first week of the grass season overall for Canada. Auger-Aliassime’s opening-round win over Marton Fucsovics was the only singles win by any of the seven Canadians, male and female, competing in singles this week.
Those losses included Victoria Mboko’s retirement at the Queen’s Club in London after a fall where she suffered an MCL injury, which forced her to pull out of doubles with Serena Williams as well. The Burlingtonian announced on Friday morning that she will miss the rest of the grass season, including Wimbledon.
Feature Photo : Martin Sidorjak
