In the second round of the 2023 Australian Open, there was a significant upset on Wednesday as the 63rd ranked player in the world, Mackenzie McDonald of Piedmont, California, beat the defending Australian Open champion Rafael Nadal of Spain 6-4, 6-4, 7-5. For McDonald, it was the biggest win of his tennis career. Here are five interesting facts about McDonald.
5) Mixed heritage.
McDonald is half Chinese, 25% Scottish and 25% English according to Art Spander of ubitennis.net.
4) Coached by Robby Ginepri.
Ginepri is a grand slam semifinalist. The native of Fort Lauderdale, Florida made the 2005 United States Open semifinals before losing 6-4, 5-7, 6-3, 4-6, 6-3 to Andre Agassi of the United States.
3) Has reached one ATP Final.
McDonald has reached one ATP Final. That was back at the 2021 Washington Open, where he lost to Italy’s Jannik Sinner, 7-5, 4-6, 7-5. On the way to the final, McDonald beat 2022 Wimbledon finalist Nick Kyrgios of Australia 6-4, 6-4 in the first round, and 2014 United States Open finalist Key Nishikori of Japan 6-4, 3-6, 7-5 in the semifinals.
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2) Has beaten one player ranked in the top 10 before.
McDonald’s win over Nadal was his second win over a top-10 player. The first win was over 2009 United States Open champion Juan Martin Del Potro of Argentina, in the quarterfinals of Delray Beach on 2019, 6-4, 3-6, 7-6.
1) McDonald faces another seeded player in the third round of the 2023 Australian Open.
Just like the second round, McDonald faces another seeded player in round three. That will be Yoshihito Nishioka of Japan. Head-to-head, Nishioka is 3-1 all-time. Nishioka won 6-2, 6-4 in the first round of the 2019 Estoril Open in Portugal, 6-7, 6-0, 4-6, 6-2, 6-3 in the first round of the 2019 French Open, and 6-4, 6-3 in the second round of Adelaide in 2023. McDonald’s win came in the first round of the 2021 Kremlin Cup in Moscow, 6-3, 6-4.
