MacDonald dethroned a limping Nadal

Mackenzie MacDonald (USA) dethroned last year's champion and top seed Rafael Nadal (Spain) in the second round of the Australian Open tennis championship.

MacDonald took advantage of a physical problem of his 36-year-old rival and won 6:4, 6:4, 7:5 after a little more than two and a half hours of play.

The American, ranked 65th in the world, got off to a flying start and raced to a 4-1 lead on his way to victory in the first set. In the second set, MacDonald squandered an early break lead but broke again in the seventh game, in one of the games where Nadal appeared to have picked up the injury

"I'm very happy with the way I started the match. I played well, I served great, and my returns were going well. I was really able to oppose him perfectly," commented the American.

At 3:5 in the second set, the Spaniard took a medical timeout due to a problem in the left hip area. He returned to the court and finished the match, although he was visibly having trouble moving. He did, however, hold the tie in the third set at 5-5, after which MacDonald took eight of the last nine games to triumph.

"It was difficult for me to play against an opponent who was suffering. I'm glad I found a way. He's an amazing champion. He never gives up, no matter the situation.

To close a match against a player like him is always difficult. I tried to keep going doing that on the court which brought me success, but he somehow managed to throw me out of rhythm at one point. Still, I'm happy that I got the win in the end.

I believe I can do something big in tennis and I continue to I tell myself that every game. Now I'm going to rest and recover for the next fight," MacDonald said after the biggest win of his career so far.

No. 6 Felix Auger-Aliassime (Canada) overcame a two-set deficit to beat Alex Molchan (Slovakia) 3-6, 3-6, 6-3, 6-2, 6-2 after just over three hours of play. Auger-Aliasim, a quarter-finalist in Melbourne last season, landed 23 aces and after a shaky start gradually found his game. After the second set, he dominated, hitting 44 winners to his opponent's 11 by the end to complete the turnaround.

Italy's Yannick Siner, the 15th seed and a quarter-finalist in 2022, also qualified for the third round. He easily handled the Argentine Thomas Echeverri with 6:3, 6:2, 6:2. Sinner made 32 winning shots to just 14 of the opposition, which proved to be decisive.

No. 16 Frances Tiafoe (USA), a quarter-finalist in 2019, hit 20 aces to reach the second round with a 6-4, 6-4, 6-1 win over 17-year-old qualifier Juncheng Shan (China), who was making his main draw debut Grand Slam tournament schedule.


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