Daniel Elahi Galan vs Mackenzie McDonald Preview & Prediction | 2025 U.S. Men’s Clay Court Championships | First Round
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MacKenzie McDonald will hope home advantage can pay dividends as he faces clay-expert Daniel Elahi Galan in Houston
Ranking points: ATP 250
Start date/time: Monday 31st March, 2025: UK – not before TBC / US ET – not before TBC / US PT – not before TBC
Venue: River Oaks Country Club, Houston, USA
Surface: Outdoor clay
How to watch on TV: UK – Sky Sports Tennis / US – Tennis Channel
How to watch online: UK – Sky Go / US – Tennis Channel
Tickets: Visit this link for the latest Daniel Elahi Galan vs Mackenzie McDonald ticket information
Daniel Elahi Galan vs Mackenzie McDonald prediction
This first round clash could spell danger for Mackenzie McDonald.
The American currently sits outside the world’s top 100 and will lock horns with a Colombian who has shown some serious clay-court prowess on the Challenger circuit of late.
Galan may well be ranked nine places below McDonald in the rankings, but he has played a raft of tournaments on the surface after losing in round one of qualifying at the Australian Open in January, picking up Challenger titles in Punte del Este and then Santiago earlier this month.
The 28-year-old South American did suffer a surprising quarter-final loss to world number 324 Genaro Alberto Olivieri in Concepcion last time out, but his comfort and clay-focused game style means he’ll fancy breaking American hearts in this round one encounter.
This will be McDonald’s first match on the dirt in 2025 and despite a run to the final in San Diego, he has yet to find the form that saw him reach a career-high 37 in the world in late 2023.
McDonald heads into this on the back of a narrow first round loss to Nick Kyrgios after coming through qualifying in Miami and he will be boosted by a head-to-head record that sees him lead Galan 2-0 at ATP Tour level. However, both of those matches were on hard courts with the Colombian winning their only showdown on clay to-date in a Challenger event at Heilbronn in 2021.
Daniel Elahi Galan vs Mackenzie McDonald tip: Daniel Elahi Galan to win 2-1