Zhuhai Championships 2023: Karen Khachanov vs Mackenzie McDonald preview, head-to-head, prediction, odds, and pick
Match Details
Fixture: (1) Karen Khachanov vs (6) Mackenzie McDonald
Date: September 24, 2023
Tournament: Zhuhai Championships 2023
Round: Quarterfinal
Venue: Zhuhai, China
Category: ATP 250
Surface: Hard
Prize money: $981,785
Live telecast: USA - Tennis Channel | UK - Tennis TV | Canada - TSN
Karen Khachanov vs Mackenzie McDonald preview
Top seed Karen Khachanov will play against Mackenzie McDonald in the quarterfinals of the 2023 Zhuhai Championships on Sunday.
After a first-round bye, Khachanov faced qualifier Alex Bolt in the second round. The Russian broke his opponent's serve to start the match and solidified his advantage with a service hold to make it 2-0. While he faced multiple break points on his own serve after that, he fended them all off to claim the set.
Bolt was able to keep up with Khachanov for most of the second set, but fell apart towards the end. The latter bagged the last three games of the match to win 6-4, 6-4 and score his first win since the French Open.
McDonald earned a hard fought three-set victory over Shang Juncheng to advance to the second round, where Kimmer Coppejans waited for him. The American led 4-1 in the first set, but dropped the next five games to lose the set.
McDonald jumped to a 3-0 lead in the second set and didn't squander his headstart this time to clinch the set and level the proceedings. He started the third set in a similar fashion as he went 4-0 up. He wrapped up the match soon after that to score a 4-6, 6-3, 6-2 comeback win.
Karen Khachanov vs Mackenzie McDonald head-to-head
Khachanov leads McDonald 3-0 in the head-to-head. He won their previous encounter at the 2022 Qatar Open in straight sets.
Karen Khachanov vs Mackenzie McDonald odds
(Odds are sourced from BetMGM)
Karen Khachanov vs Mackenzie McDonald prediction
Khachanov scored his first win since returning from an injury hiatus by defeating Bolt. He saved all 10 break points that he faced and complimented his strong serving with some solid hitting from the baseline.
McDonald should've gotten past Coppejans in straight sets, but dropped the ball big time in the first set. He recovered rather quickly and played better for the rest of the match.
Khachanov will be feeling confident of his chances against McDonald given his perfect winning record in this rivalry. He's the better server and more consistent shotmaker between the two. However, the Russian is still on the comeback trail and is lacking enough match play.
McDonald will be aiming to score his first win in this match-up, but has been pushed to three sets in both of his matches so far. Even a slight dip in his level against a player of the Russian's caliber could cost him the match. As such, Khachanov will be expected to notch up another win over the American.
Pick: Karen Khachanov to win in three sets.