Sixth seed Alex De Minaur will start his Australian Open campaign against lucky loser Mackenzie McDonald. De Minaur was initially scheduled to play Matteo Berrettini, but the Italian’s late withdrawal meant a spot opened up for McDonald.
Whoever out of the two wins, will face either Mariano Navone or Hamad Medjedovic in the second round of the Australian Open.
Alex de Minaur vs. Mackenzie McDonald Match Details
Date: January 19, 2026
Tournament: Australian Open 2026
Round: First Round (Round of 128)
Venue: Melbourne Park, Melbourne, Australia
Surface: Outdoor Hard
Category:Â Grand Slam
Live Telecast: Tennis Channel, TSN, RDS, Sky Sports
De Minaur vs. McDonald Head-to-Head
De Minaur has won both of his prior tour-level matches against McDonald, beating him 1-6, 7-6 (1), 6-0 in Shenzhen back in 2018. The last time they locked horns, De Minaur won 7-6 (6), 1-6, 6-4 in Rotterdam back in 2022.
De Minaur did not have the best of starts to 2026, losing his first match 3-6, 3-6 to Casper Ruud in the United Cup. However, the Aussie won his next two matches against tough opposition, beating Jakub MenÅ¡Ãk 6-4, 6-1 and Hubert Hurkacz 6-4, 4-6, 6-4.
McDonald started his 2026 season in the Australian Open qualifiers and started with a hard-fought 4-6, 6-4, 7-5 win over Dmitry Popko.
The American then beat Hugo Grenier 7-6(4), 6-1 before losing 6-3, 6-7(2), 6-2 to Liam Draxl. However, Berrettini withdrawing due to injury saw McDonald enter the main draw as a lucky loser.
De Minaur vs. McDonald Prediction
De Minaur had a 73 percent win rate on outdoor hard courts in 2025, winning the Citi DC Open in Washington. The Aussie also had a semifinal match at the China Open, where he lost after a competitive three-set match against Jannik Sinner, who also ended his Australian Open campaignin the quarterfinals.
Including Challenger tennis, McDonald had a 60 percent win rate on the outdoor hard courts in 2025, but could not make it past the second round at any of the Tour-level events. His biggest success came on the Challenger Tour, reaching the final in San Diego and Jinan.
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De Minaur has won eight hard-court titles in his career from sixteen hard-court finals, having a 69 percent win rate at the Australian Open. On the other hand, McDonald has reached only one career final, which was on a hard court at the 2021 Citi Dc Open, where he lost to Jannik Sinner. However, the Australian Open is where the American got the biggest win of his career, beating Rafael Nadal back in 2023, when the Spaniard was the defending champion.
Form on hard courts and ranking over the last year clearly show that De Minaur is the heavy favorite to win the upcoming match. That is reflected by the PFSN Simulator, which shows that the home favorite has an 84 percent possibility of winning the first round.
Pick– De Minaur to win in straight sets
