Milos Raonic is the last Canadian singles player (male or female) left in Wimbledon through the first week of tournament play.
It should probably come as no surprise, however, because Raonic entered the tournament as the 13th seed, the highest for any Canadian in the 2018 tournament, and has made it to the second week of Wimbledon now for three straight tournaments.
To get to the fourth round at the All England Club, Raonic had to deal with the unusual circumstance of playing a match over the course of two days. Raonic went back and forth with his third-round opponent, unseeded Dennis Novak, on Friday, holding a 7-6 (5), 4-6, 6-5 lead when the match was suspended due to darkness.
But when play resumed on Saturday, Raonic dominated, winning the third set, 7-5, and winning the fourth set, 6-2, to give him the victory.
Raonic said that the suspension in play allowed him to change his mindset, leading to his improved performance.
“I was extremely negative [on Friday] and just needed to come out with a very different state of mind and different approach today to have a better chance than I had [on Friday],” Raonic told reporters.
Back in the Round of 16 at #Wimbledon and looking forward to a day off before another battle on Monday 🔥💪 #TeamMilos pic.twitter.com/QcpX9Q3AM3
— Milos Raonic (@milosraonic) July 7, 2018
Should Raonic defeat his next opponent, American Mackenzie McDonald, and he will advance to his third consecutive quarterfinal at Wimbledon. Raonic lost to the eventual champion Roger Federer in the quarterfinals in 2017, and lost in the championship to Andy Murray in the 2016 tournament.
Raonic has only faced unseeded opponents so far, and his fourth round opponent, McDonald, is no different.
Who is Mackenzie McDonald?
McDonald is 23-years-old and has played at the professional since 2016. Before turning pro, McDonald won the NCAA Division I Men’s Tennis Singles and Doubles championships as a collegiate at UCLA. He was coached there by former tour pro Wayne Ferreira.
McDonald has produced his best tennis in a Grand Slam tournament during this Wimbledon run. Earlier this year, McDonald won an opening round match at the Australian Open before bowing out in round two against the No. 3 seed Grigor Dimitrov. He did push the Bulgarian to a fifth set tie break before finally losing the match.
Raonic is somewhat familiar with McDonald having hit with him during training sessions.
"I know him a little bit, practiced with him a bunch," Raonic said. "He's played well this year."
McDonald has so far defeated Ricardas Berankis, Nicolas Jarry and Guido Pella, respectively, to reach the fourth round of Wimbledon. McDonald won his third round match against Pella on Friday in straight sets. He is currently ranked No. 101 in the world, the highest he's ever reached in the ATP.
While McDonald is still young and ranked outside the top 100, Raonic said he knows the match won’t be easy.
"He's obviously had good wins through these last three matches here. It's going to be tough,” Raonic said. “You know, I'm going to have my chances. He likes to play more solid tennis, likes to take the ball early.”
When is Milos Raonic's match against Mackenzie McDonald?
Raonic and McDonald are scheduled to face off Monday, July 9. McDonald will have two days rest while Raonic will have one.
The court and time of the match have yet to be announced.
Should Raonic win, and his likely quarterfinal opponent would be the ninth-seeded John Isner.
How can I watch Milos Raonic at Wimbledon
All Wimbledon games are being aired in Canada on TSN's family of networks. In the United States, ESPN is broadcasting games both on its cable networks and streaming platforms.