Indian Wells, Calif. - UCLA men's tennis player Mackenzie McDonald is making the most of his wild card opportunity at the 2015 BNP Paribas Open, as the Bruin sophomore won his opening round qualifying match on Tuesday afternoon at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden.

McDonald, who is the nation's fifth-ranked collegiate player, currently owns a ranking of No. 628 on the ATP World Tour. His opponent on Tuesday was 99th-ranked Farrukh Dustov of Uzbekistan. Despite the large gap in rankings between the two players, McDonald proved he belonged, dropping the first set before storming back to take a 5-7, 6-4, 6-1 victory. His opponent in the second round will be tour veteran Michael Berrer of Germany, the world's 161st-ranked player. The McDonald-Berrer match is scheduled to be the third match on Stadium 7 tomorrow.

Also picking up a qualifying win on Tuesday was former UCLA player Dennis Novikov, who beat Aljaz Bedene of Slovenia, 6-7(5), 7-6(5), 6-3. He will take on Spain's Daniel Gimeno-Traver in the first match on Stadium 7 on Wednesday.

More information about the 2015 BNP Paribas Open can be found at www.bnpparibasopen.com