Karen Khachanov vs Mackenzie McDonald: Waiting for the Russian in the Second Round

After failing in Rotterdam, Karen Khachanov flew to a tournament in Doha, Qatar. And in the first round of this competition the opponent of the Russian will be an American tennis player, Mackenzie MacDonald, the #49 in the world.

We have already noted that Karen Khachanov performed well at the Australian Open. The Russian is one of the few who put up a fight against the future AO winner, Rafa Nadal. The tournament in Rotterdam can hardly be called a success for Karen. In the first round, the Russian player beat Popyrin of Australia with incredible difficulty. In the second round, he lost in two games to Cameron Norrie. We'll see if Khachanov is more productive in Qatar.

For Macdonald, it will be his third tournament in Doha. Between Melbourne and Qatar, the American has visited Montpellier and Rotterdam. Mackenzie did not succeed in France or the Netherlands, dropping out of both his first and second tournaments in the second round. In Montpellier, the American beat Ivashka but lost to Zverev. In Rotterdam, he was more robust than Basilashvili but weaker than De Minaur.

Khachanov defeated Mackenzie MacDonald twice in his career, first in March 2021 at the Tour de Marseille and then in June of the same year at Wimbledon. Since then, their opponents have not appreciably improved, but they have hardly become weaker either. The Russian and the American are more likely to maintain parity in terms of level. This means that Karen has an excellent chance to break into the second round of the Qatar tournament.