McDonald wows home support with Ilkley success

By Paul Eddison, Sportsbeat

Ella McDonald showed all her fighting spirit as she battled into the second round of the LTA’s Lexus Ilkley Trophy, getting the better of Arianne Hartono in three sets.

The 18-year-old trailed 5-2 in the first set but fought back to take it in a tie-break on her way to a 7-6 (5) 5-7 6-2 victory over her Dutch opponent.

That sets up a second-round clash with Lanlana Tararudee of Thailand, after she got the better of Mimi Xu.

For McDonald, the key to the match was her ability to quickly seize momentum in the third set, having dropped the second.

She said: “I thought it was a really good performance as I came from behind in the first set, then it was a close second and luckily I got the front edge at the beginning of the third.

“I was really happy with the performance, she played well too so it was a really competitive match.”

McDonald earned the first break of the match, but was immediately broken back and looked in trouble at 5-2.

She saved two set points to take it into a tie-break, and was able to take the first set from there.

And while Hartono hit back to take the second, McDonald raced into a 4-0 lead in the third before seeing out victory.

Hailing from Preston, about an hour and a half away, McDonald had plenty of support in the stands and she felt that played a big role in getting her over the line.

She added: “It’s nice to be up here and have a nice venue for a nice tournament. I’m thankful for the crowd who came to watch me as well.

“I’m really grateful for it, I know some people in the crowd, it’s nice to see some familiar faces. Hopefully it will be the same for the next matches.

“I was trying to keep my cool. I’m glad I got the early break because it helped me relax in the third set, as well as the crowd.”

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