Kamil Majchrzak had the perfect start to his 2022 season: three matches, three straight-set victories, including against 44th-ranked Argentine Federico Delbonis, to drive Poland's run into the semi-finals of the ATP Cup undefeated in the round robin stage last month. High on belief, the world No. 117 couldn’t wait to take on heavyweights Spain for a place in the final of the elite team competition.
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A day before he was to step on court to face Spain's Pablo Carreno Busta,
Kamil Majchrzak had the perfect start to his 2022 season: three matches, three straight-set victories, including against 44th-ranked Argentine Federico Delbonis, to drive Poland's run into the semi-finals of the ATP Cup undefeated in the round robin stage last month. High on belief, the world No. 117 couldn’t wait to take on heavyweights Spain for a place in the final of the elite team competition.
A day before he was to step on court to face Spain's Pablo Carreno Busta, Majchrzak returned a positive Covid test. The 26-year-old was forced to withdraw from the event, even as all his other teammates tested negative. Sent into isolation, Majchrzak watched Poland go down to Spain 2-1 despite a win by their top singles pro Hubert Hurkacz. Doubles specialist Jan Zielinski, who was a late replacement for Majchrzak, was blown away by Carreno Busta.
“It was painful for me,” Majchrzak said.
Majchrzak, though, didn’t let that hurt hamper his charge. He recovered in time for the Australian Open, and, on Friday, made his maiden ATP Tour semi-final by stunning second seeded Italian teen sensation Lorenzo Musetti 6-2, 6-7(5), 6-4 in the Tata Open Maharashtra quarter-finals in Pune.
A month into the new season Majchrzak has jumped into the top-100 again (he is currently ranked 95th), won seven out of the eight matches so far and sailed to a stage he has never been before on the ATP Tour. If not for that surprise virus infection, Majchrzak believes he had greater things in store in Sydney.
“I was confident, I was playing well. I really wanted to give my best for Poland. It was so unfortunate, because I believed we had a shot to beat Spain and win it. But I could do nothing,” Majchrzak said on Friday.
Except, find the motivation to get back to his top physical level during the isolation period, shrugging off the minor symptoms. “I shifted all my focus to recovering as soon as possible. I wanted to get back into shape, especially fitness wise because that was more difficult than the tennis for me,” he said.
In his first match out of isolation, Majchrzak beat the veteran Andreas Seppi in straight sets in the first round of the Australian Open before losing the next to Alex de Minaur, who had beaten Musetti in Melbourne.
In Pune, Majchrzak dominated Musetti in the opening set, serving strong and cashing in on the teen’s high-risk game. But Musetti began growing into the rallies in the second set, not giving as many cheap points while also finding more winners from the baseline. A double fault by Majchrzak at the end of the tie-breaker brought Musetti back into the game. Majchrzak employed more of his variations in the decider, using his favoured drop shot and rushing to the net apart from the serve-and-volley tactic. He broke Musetti in the ninth game to lead 5-4, and converted his third match point in the next game with a neat finish at the net.
Majchrzak is a 2014 Youth Olympics gold medallist, but his transition from junior to senior has been far from smooth. Frequent injuries made him wait five years before he could break into the top-100 in 2019, a season that took him to his career-high world No. 83. Meanwhile, fellow Polish pro Hurkacz—his friend with whom Majchrzak grew up playing tennis in national tournaments at home—zoomed ahead, reaching as high as world No. 9 in 2021 and defeating Roger Federer at the Centre Court of Wimbledon. Majchrzak, though, couldn’t be happier that the likes of Hurkacz and Iga Swiatek, the 2020 French Open women’s singles champion from Poland, are showing the way for him at the top.
“We all motivate each other. It was Hubi (Hurkacz) who started it all, improving the fastest. He was an inspiration for us because we had been growing up together from a young age; from 11-12 we’ve been playing against each other in national tournaments,” Majchrzak said.
“We all know how much it costs everyone from Poland, we know how much sacrifice we have to make. It’s just inspiration for all of us from Poland that Iga and Hubi are doing so amazing with their results. And we want to follow them, of course.”
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