James McGee (tennis)

James McGee
Country (sports)  Ireland
Residence Castleknock, Ireland
Born (1987-06-10) 10 June 1987
Castleknock, Ireland
Turned pro 2008
Plays Right-handed (two-handed backhand)
Prize money $300,915
Singles
Career record 9–10
Career titles 0
1 Challenger, 4 Futures
Highest ranking No. 146 (22 June 2015)
Current ranking No. 194 (19 September 2016)
Grand Slam Singles results
Australian Open Q3 (2016)
French Open Q3 (2014)
Wimbledon Q1 (2013, 2014, 2015)
US Open 1R (2014)
Doubles
Career record 4–3
Career titles 0
0 Challenger, 5 Futures
Highest ranking No. 430 (17 May 2010)
Current ranking No. 922 (19 September 2016)
Last updated on: 19 September 2016.

James McGee (born 10 June 1987) is an Irish professional tennis player. He was born in Castleknock, Ireland. He attended Belvedere College in Dublin, Co. Dublin. He currently is the highest ranked Irish tennis player[1] and has been playing for the Ireland Davis Cup team since 2009.[2]

He is sponsored by HEAD, Fila and Aer Lingus.

Personal life

McGee was born to Kieran and Marie McGee.[3] He started playing tennis at the age of seven at Castleknock.[4] He won his school's tennis championship in 2002, 2003 and 2004, and was also awarded the Most Outstanding Player of the Year in Ireland in 2003.[3] He was educated at Belvedere College in Dublin and then obtained a major in Psychology from North Carolina State University in 2008.[4]

Career

McGee has spent most of his career on the Futures and Challenger circuits. As of 9 June 2014, he has played in 10 Davis Cup ties for Ireland with a record of 13 wins and 8 losses (9–5 in singles & 4–3 in doubles).[2]

2014

James McGee at the Nice Open 2014.

McGee had finished 2013 in good form and continued this into 2014, reaching the semi-finals of the BNP Paribas de Nouvelle-Calédonie in Nouméa, equalling his best performance at a challenger.[5] He then competed in Australian Open qualifying but lost in his first match to eventual qualifier Jimmy Wang.[6] McGee later recorded an impressive win over top 100 player Alex Bogomolov, Jr.[7] at the Challenger of Dallas and then narrowly missed out on making his first ATP World Tour main draw the following week, losing in the final round of qualifying at the U.S. National Indoor Tennis Championships to David Goffin.[7] In March, McGee played in qualifying for the BNP Paribas Open, an ATP World Tour Masters 1000 event, but was again defeated by Goffin.[7] He then helped Ireland to a 3-2 victory over Egypt in the Davis Cup, winning both his singles rubbers in straight sets.[8]

In late April, McGee once again equalled his best challenger result, reaching the semi-finals of the Tallahassee Tennis Challenger.[9] He then went on to win his first ever Grand Slam qualifying match, defeating Norbert Gomboš at the French Open and then stunning Guido Pella in two sets in the following round. McGee, however, was unable to become the first Irish tennis player since Sean Sorensen, in 1982, to reach the French Open main draw, as he lost in straight sets to Andrea Arnaboldi.[10] In early June, McGee once again reached the final round of qualifying for an ATP World Tour event, this time at the Queen's Club Championships, but came up just short in a tight three sets match against Daniel Brands. McGee next competed at Wimbledon qualifying but was defeated in straight sets by Aljaž Bedene.[11]

McGee then travelled to North America for the summer hardcourt swing. He first competed at the Nielsen Pro Tennis Championships but lost out to Tim Smyczek in the second round. McGee then came his closest to making an ATP World Tour main draw at the Hall of Fame Tennis Championships, where he lost to Ante Pavić in a final set tie-break in the final qualifying round. He then reached the semi-finals of the Challenger Banque Nationale de Granby. This result saw him break into the top 200 of the rankings for the first time in his career, reaching a new high of 193.[12] He also made the semi-finals of the doubles with Chase Buchanan. The following week, at the Kentucky Bank Tennis Championships, McGee defeated the number one seed Evgeny Donskoy in the opening round.[13] He was eliminated at the quarter-final stage by 2011 champion Wayne Odesnik.[14] In the doubles he again played with Chase Buchanan and the pair reached the final, the first challenger final of McGee's career, but they were defeated in straight sets.[15] The following week he lost to Vincent Millot in the opening round of the Odlum Brown Vancouver Open.[16]

McGee qualified for his first ever grand slam main draw at the 2014 US Open after defeating Zhang Ze in the final round of qualifiers in 3 sets.[17] He also defeated Gonzalo Lama[18] and Yuki Bhambri[19] during the qualifying stages. McGee faced Aleksandr Nedovyesov in the first round of the main draw where he lost in 4 sets.[20] Despite this defeat, the prize money earned for reaching the first round accounted for more than a quarter of his career earnings to date.[21]

Singles titles

Legend (Singles)
ATP Challenger Tour (1-2)
ITF Futures (4-5)
Wins (5)
No.DateTournamentSurfaceOpponent in the finalScore
1. 23 July 2011 Dublin, Ireland Carpet France Charles-Antoine Brezac 6–3, 6–3
2. 31 March 2012 Manama, BahrainM Hard Spain Jordi Samper-Montaña 6–4, 6–4
3. 18 June 2012 Melilla, Spain Hard Egypt Mohamed Safwat 6–3, 7–5
4. 19 August 2013 Libreville, Gabon Hard India Jeevan Nedunchezhiyan 6–4, 7–6(7–4)
5. 18 September 2016 Cary, United States Hard United States Ernesto Escobedo 1-6, 6-1, 6-4
Runner-up (7)
No.DateTournamentSurfaceOpponent in the finalScore
1. 29 September 2008 Rethymno, Greece Carpet Sweden Daniel Danilovic 6–4, 4–6, 3–6
2. 5 June 2011 Madrid, Spain Hard Spain Arnau Brugués-Davi 5–7, 7–6(7–3), 6–7(0–7)
3. 2 July 2011 Rabat, Morocco Clay Morocco Mehdi Ziadi 4–6, 4–6
4. 21 January 2013 Eilat, Israel Hard Czech Republic Jiří Veselý 2–6, 4–6
5. 18 February 2013 Brownsville, United States Hard South Africa Rik de Voest 6–7(6–8), 1–6
6. 30 March 2015 San Luis Potosí, Mexico Clay Argentina Guido Pella 3–6, 3–6
7. 20 April 2015 Savannah, United States Clay South Korea Hyeon Chung 3–6, 2–6

Doubles

Legend (Singles)
Grand Slam (0)
ATP World Tour Masters 1000 (0)
ATP World Tour 500 (0)
ATP World Tour 250 (0)
ATP Challenger Tour (0)
ITF Futures (5)
Wins (5)
No. Date Tournament Surface Partner Opponent in the final Score
1. 8 February 2009 Austria, F3 Carpet Czech Republic Jiri Krkoska Germany Kevin Deden
Germany Bastian Knittel		 6–3, 6–7(6–8), [10–4]
2. 16 May 2009 Great Britain, F7 Clay Republic of Ireland Colin O'Brien United Kingdom Nick Cavaday
Republic of Ireland Barry King		 6–4, 6–4
3. 27 October 2009 Great Britain, F16 Hard Republic of Ireland Barry King United Kingdom Tim Bradshaw
United Kingdom Alexander Slabinsky		 6–4, 7–6(7–3)
4. 3 October 2010 Greece, F6 Carpet Romania Ioan-Alexandru Cojanu Greece Paris Gemouchidis
Romania Bogdan-Victor Leonte		 6–4, 6–2
5. 26 March 2012 Bahrain, F1 Hard Republic of Ireland Sam Barry Germany Jeremy Jahn
United Kingdom Matthew Short		 7–5, 4–6, [10–8]
Runner-up (6)
No. Date Tournament Surface Partner Opponent in the final Score
1. 15 August 2009 Russia, F4 Clay Netherlands Romano Frantzen Ukraine Ivan Anikanov
Ukraine Artem Smirnov		 3–6, 4–6
2. 27 February 2010 Bosnia & Herzegovina, F2 Carpet Republic of Ireland Colin O'Brien United Kingdom Chris Eaton
United Kingdom Dominic Inglot		 W/O
3. 18 April 2010 France, F6 Clay France Olivier Charroin France Charles-Antoine Brezac
France Vincent Stouff		 4–6, 1–6
4. 22 July 2011 Ireland, F1 Carpet Republic of Ireland James Cluskey France Albano Olivetti
United Kingdom Neal Skupski		 6–7(4–7), 3–6
5. 23 July 2012 Ireland, F1 Carpet Spain Jaime Pulgar-Garcia France Albano Olivetti
France Elie Rousset		 3–6, 4–6
6. 26 July 2014 Lexington Hard United States Chase Buchanan Canada Peter Polansky
Canada Adil Shamasdin		 4–6, 2–6

Grand Slam Singles Performance Timeline

Key
W  F  SF QF R# RR Q# A P Z# PO G F-S SF-B NMS NH
(W) Won tournament; reached (F) final, (SF) semifinal, (QF) quarterfinal; (R#) rounds 4, 3, 2, 1; competed at a (RR) round-robin stage; reached a (Q#) qualification round; (A) absent; played in a (Z#) Davis/Fed Cup Zonal Group (with number indication) or (PO) play-off; won a (G) gold, (F-S) silver or (SF-B) bronze Olympic medal; a (NMS) downgraded Masters Series/1000 tournament; or (NH) tournament not held.
To avoid confusion and double counting, these charts are updated either at the conclusion of a tournament, or when the player's participation in the tournament has ended.
Tournament2013201420152016
Australian Open A Q1 Q2 Q3
French Open A Q3 Q1
Wimbledon Q1 Q1 Q1
US Open A 1R A

References

  1. ↑ "ATP rankings-Ireland". ATP. 22 August 2011. Retrieved 23 August 2011.
  2. 1 2 "James McGee Davis Cup Profile". ATP. 16 September 2011. Retrieved 16 September 2011.
  3. 1 2 "James McGee's Profile". College Tennis Online. Retrieved 26 August 2014.
  4. 1 2 Fuller, Russell (24 August 2014). "US Open 2014: Ireland's James McGee living New York dream". BBC Sport. Retrieved 26 August 2014.
  5. ↑ http://www.irishexaminer.com/archives/2014/0104/sport/brave-mcgee-comes-up-short-in-epic-struggle-in-new-caledonia-254274.html
  6. ↑ http://www.nytimes.com/2014/01/09/sports/tennis/lonely-at-the-top-try-the-lower-rungs-of-professional-tennis.html?_r=0
  7. 1 2 3 http://www.thescore.ie/james-mcgee-tennis-1396507-Apr2014/
  8. ↑ http://www.irishtimes.com/sport/other-sports/mcgee-victory-secures-ireland-s-place-in-davis-cup-1.1752297
  9. ↑ http://www.tennisnow.com/News/10-Things-James-McGee.aspx
  10. ↑ http://www.irishtimes.com/sport/other-sports/mcgee-falls-just-short-of-roland-garros-1.1806662
  11. ↑ http://www.thescore.ie/wimbledon-mcgee-sorensen-ireland-1521204-Jun2014/
  12. ↑ Brennan, Eilís (22 July 2014). "Tennis Tuesday – McGee Breaks Top 200 Fognini Breaks Racquet". Pundit Arena. Retrieved 23 July 2014.
  13. ↑ "Tuesday's Recap". Kentucky Bank Tennis Championships. 22 July 2014. Retrieved 28 July 2014.
  14. ↑ "Friday's Recap". Kentucky Bank Tennis Championships. 25 July 2014. Retrieved 28 July 2014.
  15. ↑ "Saturday's Recap". Kentucky Bank Tennis Championships. 26 July 2014. Retrieved 28 July 2014.
  16. ↑ "Men's Singles First Round Section 1". Odlum Brown Van Open. Retrieved 18 August 2014.
  17. ↑ "James McGee qualifies for US Open". The Irish Times. 22 August 2014. Retrieved 22 August 2014.
  18. ↑ "James McGee progresses in US Open qualifying". Irish Times. 20 August 2014. Retrieved 26 August 2014.
  19. ↑ "James McGee now one win away from US Open main draw". Irish Times. 22 August 2014. Retrieved 26 August 2014.
  20. ↑ "James McGee bows out of US Open". Irish Times. 25 August 2014. Retrieved 26 August 2014.
  21. ↑ Crooks, Eleanor (24 August 2014). "James McGee: 'I sat on my chair and I started crying like a big baby'". independent.ie. Retrieved 26 August 2014.
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