Medvedev continues mastery of McDonald

Mackenzie McDonald has lost all 11 sets in his five matches against
Daniil Medvedev. 2018 photo by Paul Bauman

   Top seed and 2019 champion Daniil Medvedev of Russia dismissed wild card Mackenzie McDonald, who was born and raised in the San Francisco Bay Area, 6-2, 6-2 today in the second round of the Western & Southern Open in Cincinnati.

   The 6-foot-6 (1.98-meter) Medvedev, who claimed his fourth ATP Masters 1000 title in Toronto last week, won 26 of 27 points on his first serve. He has swept all 11 sets in his five matches against the 5-foot-10 (1.78-meter) McDonald, including a 6-4, 6-2, 6-3 decision in the fourth round of the Australian Open in February.

   The second-ranked Medvedev has won 16 of his last 18 matches, beginning with his first grass-court title in Mallorca in June.

   McDonald, 26, reached his first ATP final two weeks ago in Washington, D.C., losing to Italian sensation Jannik Sinner, who turned 20 on Monday.

   At 18 in 2013 in Cincinnati, McDonald became the first unranked teenager to qualify for an ATP Masters 1000 tournament, the men's highest level besides the Grand Slams.

   U.S. Open — Northern California products Jenson Brooksby, 20, Sam Riffice, 22, and Katie Volynets, 19, received wild cards for the Aug. 30-Sept. 12 tournament.

   Brooksby stunned former world No. 4 Tomas Berdych in the first round of the 2019 U.S. Open as a qualifier.