Nadal and McDonald will take on each other in the second round of the 2023 Australian Open on January 18.
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Rafael Nadal, the defending champion, will take on Mackenzie McDonald on Wednesday in the second round of the 2023 Australian Open. In the opening round, Nadal began the defence of his championship against Jack Draper. Throughout the first set, both players’ serves were generally reliable. In the eighth game, the Spaniard had a break point, but the 20-year-old saved it to keep serving. Draper rallied to tie the score at 4-4, but Nadal prevailed by winning the following few games to take the set. The Spaniard was broken to begin the fourth set, but he quickly recovered to win the set 7-5, 2-6, 6-4, and the match in six sets.
Meanwhile, McDonald’s opening opponent was fellow countryman Brandon Nakashima. The former established a commanding lead by winning the first two sets in tiebreakers. Nakashima raised his level, his back against the wall. In order to maintain his position in the match, he won the third set while only dropping one game. He saved a few match points before winning the tie-break in the fourth set to force a deciding set. In a last-ditch effort, the 27-year-old won the final three games in a row to prevail 7-6 (5), 7-6 (1), 1-6, 6-7 (10), 6-4.
| Nadal vs McDonald | Match details |
|---|---|
| Date | January 18, 2023 |
| Surface | Hard courts |
| Tournament | Australian Open |
| Stage | First Round |
| Time (India) | TBD |
| Time (Australia) | TBD |
| Opponent | Score |
|---|---|
| Jack Draper | 7-5, 2-6, 6-4, 6-1 (W) |
| Casper Ruud | 7-5, 7-5 (W) |
| Felix Auger-Aliassime | 6-3, 6-4 (L) |
| Taylor Fritz | 7-6, 6-1 (L) |
| Tommy Paul | 3-6, 7-6, 6-1 (L) |
| Opponent | Score |
|---|---|
| Brandon Nakashima | 6-7, 6-7, 6-1, 7-6, 4-6 (W) |
| Mikael Ymer | 6-3, 6-7, 3-6 (L) |
| Dan Evans | 7-5, 7-5 (W) |
| Yoshihito Nishioka | 6-4, 6-3 (L) |
| Daniel Galan | Walkover (W) |
Nadal and McDonald have faced one another once in the past where the Spaniard won the match.
| Tournament | Winner | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 2020 French Open | Rafael Nadal | 6-1, 6-0, 6-3 |
Nadal and McDonald will take on each other in the second round of the 2023 Australian Open on January 18.
Australia – Nine and Stan Sport
Canada – TSN and RDS
India – Sony Sports Network
UK – Eurosport
USA – ESPN Network
The matches of both men’s and women’s can be live-streamed on demand on the Tennis TV app and website.
