USA TODAY International Edition
Rising star McDonald making his presence felt
UCLA tennis coach Billy Martin planned a quick getaway to Hawaii long before he knew one of his pupils was going to be playing in the second week of Wimbledon.
But for Martin, who coached Mackenzie McDonald in college before he turned pro in 2016, watching this surprise run to the Round of 16 is actually timed pretty well. Rather than having to wake up at 4:30 a.m. on the West Coast to watch McDonald’s match Monday against Milos Raonic, he and his sons can just stay up into the wee hours Sunday night celebrating someone who is more to Martin than someone he coached to a national championship.
“I’ve known Mackie since he was 7,” Martin said. “My youngest son and him had to play each other in a small tournament in San Diego and became best friends and roomed together, so he has a special spot in my heart.”
No matter what happens against Raonic, McDonald, 23, has already put together his breakout performance as a pro, adding him to the conversation of young American players to fill what has been a rather long void on the ATP Tour.
“I would love to see him get at least another match, and I know it’s a tough opponent, but I feel like he has to be playing with a lot of confidence,” Martin said. “He returns so well that might be a good matchup against Raonic. If he can negate his serve, he has at least a chance against him.”
Martin said McDonald, who wound up playing three years at UCLA before turning pro, was perhaps the easiest recruitment of a top player he’s ever had, owing to both his son’s friendship and the fact his father, Michael McDonald, is a Bruins alum. And it was a fruitful career, culminating with an NCAA title in singles and doubles in 2016.
But life on the tour has presented more obstacles. While McDonald has had promising moments — he took Grigor Dimitrov to five sets in the Australian Open this year — he has spent most of his time kicking around on the ATP Challenger Tour and trying to break into the top 100, which he finally will thanks to his Wimbledon performance.
“He really physically needed some years before he could really succeed at a top pro level and he’s been working so very hard at it,” Martin said. “He’s matured in the thought process of what he needs to do to become a better pro, and sometimes it means you just have to get your fanny kicked quite a few times to make you realize, ‘If I’m really going to be successful, I have to up my expectations of what I have to do off the court,’ and he’s done that. It’s really been educational for him to see what the pro tour is all about and be honest with himself about what he has to work on.
“To do it at Wimbledon, on a surface he maybe hasn’t completely gotten comfortable with and has played the least amount of tennis on, it’s a bit surprising. But he prepared really well.”
Part of that preparation was training with Roger Federer, who has often tabbed him as a hitting partner since turning pro, taking him as far as Dubai just for practice. Now, he’s two wins from perhaps playing Federer in a Grand Slam tournament semifinal.
“He put himself up on the chance of working his rear end off and still losing, but waking up the next day and going at it again,” Martin said. “He’s had a real good, resilient mind and hasn’t lost faith and still has that burning passion to want to be a top pro. This has shown him he has a chance to do that.”