Mackenzie McDonald

Mackenzie McDonald has been playing tennis ever since he learned to walk. McDonald's second-round test at the Australian Open is 22-time major champion ...

“Anyone can play well when things are good, but when things aren’t going well those are the days that you obviously need to try and find your way or find the right way to win. Ferreira, whom McDonald called “a great human”, knew early on the American was a clean ball-striker with good attacking instincts. With that he made money and went from living in an apartment and not having any money or any resources going to school on loans and everything to giving his son tennis lessons weekly and having The South African, who now works with [Frances Tiafoe](https://www.atptour.com/en/players/frances-tiafoe/td51/overview), coached McDonald from ages 11-18 in California. You love it at times, you definitely hate it at times, but in the end it’s kind of given me everything. “I love Wayne. The Spaniard was ruthless on the clay of [Roland Garros](https://www.atptour.com/en/tournaments/roland-garros/520/overview), dismissing the American 6-1, 6-0, 6-3 in just one hour and 40 minutes. “I was just swinging the racquet and she was sitting there dropping balls.” Tennis, when you’re so young, for a lot of the guys out here it kind of chooses you before you choose it. My norm was skipping [physical education] at school and skipping some other classes to go play tennis and have lessons. “My norm was the tennis court. “I was super young, lots of hours.