McDonald tops Travaglia in ATP Marseille opener

Mackenzie McDonald, a San Francisco Bay Area product now
based in Orlando, Fla., has won 10 of his last 12 singles match-
es. 2018 photo by Paul Bauman

   Mackenzie McDonald, who was born and raised in Piedmont in the San Francisco Bay Area, defeated Stefano Travaglia of Italy 7-6 (2), 7-6 (1) today in the first round of the Open 13 Provence in Marseille, France, on the ATP Tour.

   The 25-year-old McDonald, now based in Orlando, Fla., has won 10 of his last 12 singles matches, including a fourth-round appearance in the Australian Open and the title in the $104,160 Nur-Sultan 1 Challenger in Kazakhstan.

   Travaglia reached the final of the ATP Melbourne 1 tournament in February, losing to countryman Jannik Sinner.

   McDonald, 5-foot-10 (1.78 meters), next has a tall — literally — task against third-seeded Karen Khachanov, a 6-foot-6 (1.98-meter) Russian who drew a first-round bye. 

   McDonald, ranked No. 120, and Khachanov, ranked No. 21, will meet for the first time. They attained career highs of No. 57 and No. 8, respectively, in 2019. McDonald had right hamstring surgery later that year.

   In the opening round of doubles, McDonald and Yoshihito Nishioka of Japan lost to top-seeded Ken Skupski and Neal Skupski of Great Britain 6-3, 6-3. 

    WTA Tour in Guadalajara, Mexico — Top-seeded Nadia Podoroska of Argentina beat qualifier Giuliana Olmos, a 28-year-old product of Fremont in the Bay Area who plays for Mexico, 7-6 (8), 3-6, 6-2 in the first round of the Abierto Zapopan 2021.

   Podoroska, a French Open semifinalist as a qualifier last fall, reeled off the last six games. 

   Cincinnati native Caty McNally outlasted wild card Katie Volynets of Walnut Creek in the Bay Area 6-0, 3-6, 6-4 in a matchup of 19-year-olds. 

   In a late first-round doubles match, top-seeded Desirae Krawczyk, a native of Palm Desert, Calif., and Olmos beat Irina Bara of Romania and Dalila Jakupovic of Slovenia 7-5, 6-1.