McDonald reaches quarterfinals in Germany Challenger

No. 8 seed Mackenzie McDonald, a San Francisco Bay Area product, topped
alternate Kimmer Coppejans of Belgium in three sets today in the second
round of the Heilbronn Challenger. 2016 photo by Paul Bauman 

   No. 8 seed Mackenzie McDonald, a 26-year-old product of Piedmont in the San Francisco Bay Area, defeated alternate Kimmer Coppejans of Belgium 6-4, 4-6, 6-3 today in the second round of the €88,520 ($107,527) Challenger in Heilbronn, Germany, on red clay.

   McDonald, now based in Orlando, Fla., saved all three break points against him and broke Coppejans, the 2012 French Open boys singles champion, five of 10 times. 

   McDonald, ranked No. 120, is scheduled to play lucky loser Joao Menezes of Brazil for the first time in Thursday's quarterfinals. Menezes, ranked No. 196, ousted No. 2 seed Yannick Hanfmann of Germany 6-4, 6-3.

   In the first round of doubles, Andre Goransson (University of California, Berkeley, 2014-17) and Sem Verbeek (University of the Pacific, 2013-16), topped Daniel Masur of Germany and Denys Molchanov of Ukraine 7-6 (2), 7-6 (3). Goransson won last week's €44,820 ($54,189) Challenger in Biella, Italy, with Nathaniel Lammons of Dallas.

   McDonald and Denis Kudla of Arlington, Va., eliminated wild cards Tuna Altuna and Altug Celikbilek of Turkey 6-4, 6-4.

   ITF Women's Tour — Katie Volynets, a 19-year-old wild card from Walnut Creek in the Bay Area, dispatched lucky loser Catherine Harrison, a former UCLA All-American from Germantown, Tenn., 6-3, 6-2 in the opening round of the $100,000 Challenger in Bonita Springs, Fla., on green clay. 

   No. 3 seed Maiar Sherif Ahmed Abdelaziz (Fresno State, 2015-16) of Egypt outlasted qualifier Victoria Duval of Bradenton, Fla., 6-4, 1-6, 6-3. 

   No. 4 seed Kristie Ahn, a 28-year-old Stanford graduate from Englewood Cliffs, N.J., suffered her fifth consecutive first-round loss, falling to qualifier Irina Fetecau of Romania 6-3, 7-5.

   Ahn has won only two matches in her last 11 tournaments, dating to the U.S. Open last September. The first two losses in the skid came against Serena Williams.

   ATP Tour — In the first round of doubles in the Italian Open in Rome, No. 5 seeds Rajeev Ram, a volunteer assistant coach at Cal from Carmel, Ind., and Joe Salisbury of Great Britain edged Sander Gille and Joran Vliegen of Belgium 6-3, 2-6 [12-10] on red clay. Gille and Vliegen reached the final in Munich two weeks ago and the semifinals in Madrid last week. 

   Ram and Salisbury are set to meet Raven Klaasen of South Africa and Ben McLachlan (Cal, 2011-14) of Japan on Thursday. Klaasen and McLachlan topped Maximo Gonzalez of Argentina and Fabrice Martin of France 6-7 (7), 6-4 [10-6].

   WTA Tour — In the opening round of doubles in the Italian Open, No. 4 seeds Shuko Aoyama and Ena Shibahara of Japan demolished wide cards Giulia Gatto-Monticone and Bianca Turati of Italy 6-1, 6-0 in 50 minutes. Shibahara was born in Mountain View in the Bay Area and starred at UCLA.