Taylor Fritz and Mackenzie McDonald will take on each other in the semi-finals of the 2023 ATP Delray Beach Open on February 19.
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Mackenzie McDonald has been performing admirably throughout 2023, and by reaching the semifinal at Delray Beach, he has finally stood out. His biggest career triumph came against an injured Rafael Nadal in the second round of the Australian Open, albeit he went on to lose his next match to Yoshihito Nishioka. Throughout his career, the American struggled to beat opponents ranked in the top 10, managing just one victory in 14 attempts before his illustrious triumph over Rafael Nadal in Melbourne. It’s noteworthy that his lone victory came in Delray Beach four years ago when he overcame top-seeded Juan Martin Del Potro. The 2021 ATP Washington runner-up made his circuit debut in the 2019 Delray Beach main tour semifinal, but it didn’t go well for him. Despite defeating eventual champion Radu Albot in the first set 6-3 0-6 0-6 he was unable to win any more games.
Taylor Fritz is winning his matches even though he hasn’t been playing at his best this week in Delray Beach. He exposed nine breakpoints and trailed by a break in the opening set of each of his two matches against Emilio Gomez and Adrian Mannarino, which ended with scores of 6-4 6-3 and 7-6 6-4, respectively. His previous best in Delray Beach was a quarterfinal appearance in 2018; the semifinal appearance is the #1 American’s best effort there in six tries. He needs to win one more game in order to surpass his current mark for 2023. Last week in Dallas, he reached the semifinals before losing to Yibing Wu, the eventual winner, after blowing a set advantage. The world’s #7 player’s performance in recent weeks has been disappointing when compared to his consistent efforts in 2022 and the exceptional quality of play he demonstrated during the United States’ successful campaign in the inaugural United Cup held last month. Three championships were won by the 25-year-old in 2022, with the biggest of his career coming at the Indian Wells Masters. At Wimbledon, he also reached his first-ever grand slam quarterfinal and won matches against Rafael Nadal and Felix Auger-Aliassime to route to the ATP Finals semifinals. To win his first title of the year, though, and improve his prospects of climbing to the top 5 in the ATP rankings later this month, he still has a few more matches to play.
| Taylor Fritz vs Mackenzie McDonald | Match details |
|---|---|
| Date | February 18, 2023 |
| Surface | Hard |
| Tournament | Delray Beach Open |
| Stage | Semifinals |
| Time (India) | 6:30 A.M. |
| Opponent | Score |
|---|---|
| A. Mannarino | 7-6, 6-4 (W) |
| E. Gomez | 6-4, 6-3 (W) |
| Y. Wu | 7-6, 5-7, 4-6 (L) |
| M. Giron | 7-6, 3-6, 6-3 (W) |
| J. Sock | 7-6, 6-4 (W) |
| Opponent | Score |
|---|---|
| M.Mmoh | 3-6, 6-3, 6-4 (W) |
| Y. Nishioka | 6-3, 3-6, 6-2 (W) |
| T. Daniel | 6-2, 6-2 (W) |
| F. Tiafoe | 1-6, 3-6 (L) |
| F. Verdasco | 6-3, 6-0 (W) |
Taylor Fritz won by a score of 3-1. The first seed is in a different league than Mackenzie McDonald, who has been playing well this year, so if he plays close to his best, he will likely win this match.
On February 19, Taylor Fritz and Mackenzie McDonald will square off in the 2023 ATP Delray Beach Open quarterfinals.
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