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Beast mode: De Minaur dominates opening round clash
Nicholas Quinlan • January 19th, 2026 5:37 pm
Alex De Minaur has started his Australian Open campaign with a commanding win beating American Mackenzie McDonald in straight sets.
The World No. 6 won 6-2, 6-2, 6-x at Rod Laver Arena where a raucous crowd spurred him on throughout.
He was also helped by McDonald, who made several unforced errors which created multiple break point opportunities for the Australian.
Heaping praise on the world no 6, whose original first round opponent Matteo Berrettini was forced to withdraw from the tournament, Todd Woodbridge said: "It’s so hard to win a point against him, (De Minaur).
"He makes you play one, two, three extra shots. Alex was using the weapons he has well.
"He’s using his speed to chase thigs down no matter what is being thrown at him, he has the answers. As his opponent you have to work so hard against him. McKenzie is up against a brick wall, hes playing a better version of himself."
The Demon will play Serbian Hamad Medjedovic in the Second Round.
He wasn’t the only Aussie to taste success out on court.
On the women’s side, both Priscilla Hon and Storm Hunter pulled through as victors as they both progressed into the second round.
Hunter was the first of the two to go through, having beaten World No. 40 Jessica Bouzas Maneiro on Kia Arena 6-4, 6-4.
This means that the Queenslander was able to beat a player who was ranked more than 300 places above her in the WTA rankings.
It’s now the second time out of her seven main draw appearances that she has been able to make it out of the first round.
While for Hon, her opponent, Marina Stakusic was forced to medically retire in the final stages of the third set seeing her win 1-6, 6-4, 5-3.
