Alex de Minaur has secured safe passage into round two of the Australian Open after knocking out Mackenzie McDonald.
De Minaur was handed a nightmare Australian Open draw, although that was eased massively when Matteo Berrettini pulled out of the tournament.
The Australian was scheduled to meet the Italian in round one in Melbourne before Berrettini withdrew from the Australian Open due to injury.
American McDonald took his place, with De Minaur straightforwardly winning their clash at Rod Laver Arena 6-2, 6-2, 6-3.
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De Minaur now meets Hamad Medjedovic in the second round of his home Grand Slam, where he is the sixth seed.
And he should be given an extra boost by being the player with the second most wins in hard-court Grand Slams Men’s Singles among Australians during the Open Era.
As per OptaAce, only Lleyton Hewitt (79) has more, with the legendary figure also boasting two Grand Slam titles and a world number one spot from his superb career.
It’s certainly a positive sign for De Minaur, who currently occupies his career-high rank of sixth on the ATP Tour.
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The Australian Open will, however, very likely get much more difficult for De Minaur, who could take on world number one Carlos Alcaraz.
Alcaraz, who beat Australian Adam Walton in his opener, represents a potential quarterfinal opponent for the home favorite.
It’s a match that Walton hopes to see, with the Australian saying after his loss to Alcaraz: “Yeah, I’d love to see it.
“I hope that Alex can make the quarters and Carlos makes the quarters because I think that would be a great match to view.
“Yeah, I mean Alex has got some weapons that I probably don’t have. It will be a different match than the one I played tonight.
“You know I’m sure Alex has played Carlos a few times and would approach the match a little differently than how I would approach the match, just given we have different strengths and weaknesses.
“Yeah, I believe that whoever is playing good tennis can win. It will be a close match.”
| Year | Winner | Tournament | Round | Surface | Score |
| 2025 | Carlos Alcaraz | Nitto ATP Finals | Round Robin | Indoor Hard | 76(5) 62 |
| 2025 | Carlos Alcaraz | Barcelona | Quarterfinal | Outdoor Clay | 75 63 |
| 2025 | Carlos Alcaraz | Rotterdam | Final | Indoor Hard | 64 36 62 |
| 2023 | Carlos Alcaraz | Queen’s | Final | Outdoor Grass | 64 64 |
| 2022 | Carlos Alcaraz | Barcelona | Semifinal | Outdoor Clay | 67(4) 76(4) 64 |
It could, of course, be a close encounter, particularly with the fans behind De Minaur, but history is very much on the side of his opponent.
The two players have met five times so far throughout their careers on the ATP Tour, and Alcaraz has won all five matches.
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