Mackenzie McDonald will meet Mikael Ymer in the Quarter-Finals of the 2023 Eastbourne International. The match will be played on Thursday June 29th, 2023.
Mackenzie McDonald is ranked 64th in the world and is unseeded here at the 2023 Eastbourne International. The American was not expected to get this far but has been impressive here on the grass, defeating Marco Cecchinato and top seeded Taylor Fritz in straight sets. His upset against Fritz was one of the biggest wins of his career, hitting 6 aces and 36 winners. He didn’t allow his fellow American to become settled, and with his confidence this high he should be considered the favorite here against Mikael Ymer.
Ranked 3 spots higher than his opponent Mackenzie McDonald at #61, Mikael Ymer has been equally as impressive here at the 2023 Eastbourne International. He upset Botic van de Zandschulp in the opener before cruising Liam Broady 6-2, 6-4 in the Round of 16. He served extremely well, not being broken throughout the match and struck 30 winners. In this form he will be liking his chances of reaching his first ever grass-court Semi-Final, especially against an opponent that he has defeated twice before.
I am expecting a very close match between two evenly matched players, but I am giving the edge to Mackenzie McDonald. He has never defeated Mikael Ymer, but they have never played on this surface and he has looked better this week, especially in his massive win over Fritz. He has just a little more maturity to his game and more firepower, both of which will be important here. It will likely go the distance, but my money is on the American here at the 2023 Eastbourne International.