James McGee (born 10 June 1987) is an Irish former professional
tennis
Tennis is a racket sport that is played either individually against a single opponent ( singles) or between two teams of two players each ( doubles). Each player uses a tennis racket that is strung with cord to strike a hollow rubber ball ...
player. He was born in
Castleknock
Castleknock () is an affluent suburb located west of the centre of Dublin city, Ireland. It is centered on the village of the same name in Fingal.
In addition to the suburb, the name "Castleknock" also refers to older units of land division: ...
, Ireland. He attended
Belvedere College
Belvedere College S.J. (sometimes St Francis Xavier's College) is a voluntary secondary school for boys in Dublin, Ireland. The school has numerous alumni in the arts, politics, sports, science, and business.
History
Belvedere owes its origin ...
in Dublin, Co. Dublin.
Personal life
McGee was born to Kieran and Marie McGee.
He started playing tennis at the age of seven at Castleknock.
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.
He was educated at
Belvedere College
Belvedere College S.J. (sometimes St Francis Xavier's College) is a voluntary secondary school for boys in Dublin, Ireland. The school has numerous alumni in the arts, politics, sports, science, and business.
History
Belvedere owes its origin ...
in Dublin and then obtained a major in
Psychology
Psychology is the scientific study of mind and behavior. Psychology includes the study of conscious and unconscious phenomena, including feelings and thoughts. It is an academic discipline of immense scope, crossing the boundaries betwe ...
from
North Carolina State University
North Carolina State University (NC State) is a public land-grant research university in Raleigh, North Carolina. Founded in 1887 and part of the University of North Carolina system, it is the largest university in the Carolinas. The universit ...
in 2008.
Career
McGee has spent most of his career on the
Futures
Futures may mean:
Finance
*Futures contract, a tradable financial derivatives contract
*Futures exchange, a financial market where futures contracts are traded
* ''Futures'' (magazine), an American finance magazine
Music
* ''Futures'' (album), a ...
and
Challenger
Challenger, Challengers, or The Challengers may refer to:
Entertainment
Comics and manga
* Challenger (character), comic book character
* ''Challengers'' (manga), manga by Hinako Takanaga
Film and TV
* ''The Challengers'' (TV series), a 1979 ...
circuits. As of 9 June 2014, he has played in 10
Davis Cup
The Davis Cup is the premier international team event in men's tennis. It is run by the International Tennis Federation (ITF) and is contested annually between teams from competing countries in a knock-out format. It is described by the organis ...
ties for
Ireland
Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...
with a record of 13 wins and 8 losses (9–5 in singles & 4–3 in doubles).
2014
![James McGee Nice 2014](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/31/James_McGee_Nice_2014.JPG)
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
Nouméa () is the capital and largest city of the French special collectivity of New Caledonia and is also the largest francophone city in Oceania. It is situated on a peninsula in the south of New Caledonia's main island, Grande Terre, a ...
, equalling his best performance at a challenger. He then competed in
Australian Open qualifying but lost in his first match to eventual qualifier
Jimmy Wang. McGee later recorded an impressive win over top 100 player
Alex Bogomolov, Jr.
Aleksandr Aleksandrovich Bogomolov Jr. (russian: Александр Александрович «Алекс» Богомолов; born April 23, 1983), nicknamed Bogie, is a Russian-American retired professional tennis player.
Tennis caree ...
at the
Challenger of Dallas
The RBC Tennis Championships of Dallas (formerly known as Challenger of Dallas) is a professional tennis tournament played on indoor hard courts. It is currently part of the ATP Challenger Tour. It is held annually at the T Bar M Racquet Club in D ...
and then narrowly missed out on making his first
ATP World Tour
The ATP Tour is a worldwide top-tier tennis tour for men organized by the Association of Tennis Professionals. The second-tier tour is the ATP Challenger Tour and the third-tier is the ITF Men's World Tennis Tour. The equivalent women's organis ...
main draw the following week, losing in the final round of qualifying at the
U.S. National Indoor Tennis Championships
The U.S. National Indoor Championships was a tennis tournament that was last held at the Racquet Club of Memphis in Memphis, Tennessee, United States. The event was played on indoor hard courts and usually took place in February. For much of ...
to
David Goffin
David Goffin (; born 7 December 1990) is a Belgian professional tennis player. His career-high singles ranking is world No. 7. He is currently the Belgian No. 1, and the first Belgian man to be ranked in the top 10. Goffin has won six ATP titles ...
.
In March, McGee played in qualifying for the
BNP Paribas Open, an
ATP World Tour Masters 1000
The ATP Masters 1000 tournaments (previously known as ATP Masters Series) is an annual series of nine tennis tournaments featuring the top-ranked players on the ATP Tour. The series' events have been held in Europe and North America since the ...
event, but was again defeated by Goffin.
He then helped
Ireland
Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...
to a
3–2 victory over
Egypt
Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediter ...
in the
Davis Cup
The Davis Cup is the premier international team event in men's tennis. It is run by the International Tennis Federation (ITF) and is contested annually between teams from competing countries in a knock-out format. It is described by the organis ...
, winning both his singles rubbers in straight sets.
In late April, McGee once again equalled his best challenger result, reaching the semi-finals of the
Tallahassee Tennis Challenger. He then went on to win his first ever Grand Slam qualifying match, defeating
Norbert Gomboš
Norbert Gombos (, hu, Gombos Norbert; born 13 August 1990), occasionally spelled Norbert Gomboš, is a Slovak professional tennis player competing primarily on the ATP Challenger Tour and playing for the Slovakia Davis Cup team. He achieved a ...
at the
French Open
The French Open (french: Internationaux de France de tennis), also known as Roland-Garros (), is a major tennis tournament held over two weeks at the Stade Roland Garros in Paris, France, beginning in late May each year. The tournament and ven ...
and then stunning
Guido Pella
Guido Pella (; born 17 May 1990) is an inactive Argentine professional tennis player. In August 2019, Pella reached his career best world No. 20 in singles. In July 2019, he peaked at No. 55 in doubles.
Personal life
His father, Carlos, taught ...
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
The French Open (french: Internationaux de France de tennis), also known as Roland-Garros (), is a major tennis tournament held over two weeks at the Stade Roland Garros in Paris, France, beginning in late May each year. The tournament and ven ...
main draw, as he lost in straight sets to
Andrea Arnaboldi
Andrea Arnaboldi (; born 27 December 1987) is an Italian tennis player playing on the ATP Challenger Tour. He advanced to the main draw in the 2014 French Open, 2015 French Open
The 2015 French Open was a tennis tournament played on outdoor cl ...
. 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
The Queen's Club Championships is an annual tournament for male tennis players, held on grass courts at the Queen's Club in West Kensington, London. The event is part of the ATP Tour 500 series on the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) T ...
, but came up just short in a tight three sets match against
Daniel Brands
Daniel Brands (born 17 July 1987) is a German retired professional tennis player. His career-high singles ranking was world No. 51, achieved in August 2013.
Professional career 2008
Brands began 2008 ranked No. 220. After a few unimpressive tou ...
. McGee next competed at
Wimbledon qualifying but was defeated in straight sets by
Aljaž Bedene
Aljaž Bedene (born 18 July 1989) is a Slovenian former professional tennis player. He was a naturalised Briton and played with this nationality from 2015 to 2017, returning to represent Slovenia in 2018.
Bedene has won six Futures and 16 Chal ...
.
McGee then travelled to North America for the summer
hardcourt
A hardcourt (or hard court) is a surface or floor on which a sport is played, most usually in reference to tennis courts. It is typically made of rigid materials such as asphalt or concrete, and covered with acrylic resins to seal the surface and ...
swing. He first competed at the
Nielsen Pro Tennis Championships but lost out to
Tim Smyczek
Timothy Smyczek ( ; ; born December 30, 1987) is an American former professional tennis player. He made three quarterfinals on the main tour as well as the semi-finals of Newport in 2018. Additionally he won seven Challenger titles. He achieved ...
in the second round. McGee then came his closest to making an ATP World Tour main draw at the
Hall of Fame Tennis Championships
The Infosys Hall of Fame Open is an international tennis tournament that has been held every year in July since 1976 at the International Tennis Hall of Fame in Newport, Rhode Island, the original location of the U.S. National Championships. The ...
, where he lost to
Ante Pavić
Ante Pavić (; born 7 March 1989) is an inactive Croatian professional tennis player. His highest singles ranking is No. 132 achieved on 13 October 2014. He qualified for the main draw in the 2014 French Open after saving a match point in the fina ...
in a final set tie-break in the final qualifying round. He then reached the semi-finals of the
Challenger Banque Nationale de Granby
The Championnats de Granby, currently sponsored as Championnats Banque Nationale de Granby, is a professional tennis tournament played on outdoor Tennis court#Hard courts, hard courts. It is currently part of the Association of Tennis Profession ...
. 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. He also made the semi-finals of the
doubles with
Chase Buchanan
Chase Buchanan (born June 4, 1991) is an inactive American male tennis player. Buchanan grew up and attended grade school and high school in New Albany, Ohio and attended Ohio State University as a member of the tennis team.
Career
Buchanan rea ...
. The following week, at the
Kentucky Bank Tennis Championships
The Lexington Challenger (previously known as the Kentucky Bank Tennis Championships and the Fifth Third Bank Tennis Championships) is a professional tennis tournament played on outdoor hardcourts. It is currently part of the ATP Challenger Tour ...
, McGee defeated the number one seed
Evgeny Donskoy
Evgeny Evgenyevich Donskoy ( rus, Евге́ний Евге́ньевич Донско́й, , ɪ̯ɪvˈɡʲenʲɪɪ̯ dɐnˈskoɪ̯; born 9 May 1990) is a Russian professional tennis player. His career-high ATP singles ranking is world No. 65, ...
in the opening round. He was eliminated at the quarter-final stage by 2011 champion
Wayne Odesnik
Wayne Odesnik (born November 21, 1985) is a South African-born American retired professional left-handed tennis player, with a two-handed backhand. His highest singles ranking was No. 77 in 2009.
Among his biggest upsets were a 2007 win over Iv ...
. In the
doubles he again played with
Chase Buchanan
Chase Buchanan (born June 4, 1991) is an inactive American male tennis player. Buchanan grew up and attended grade school and high school in New Albany, Ohio and attended Ohio State University as a member of the tennis team.
Career
Buchanan rea ...
and the pair reached the final, the first
challenger
Challenger, Challengers, or The Challengers may refer to:
Entertainment
Comics and manga
* Challenger (character), comic book character
* ''Challengers'' (manga), manga by Hinako Takanaga
Film and TV
* ''The Challengers'' (TV series), a 1979 ...
final of McGee's career, but they were defeated in straight sets. The following week he lost to
Vincent Millot
Vincent Millot (; born 30 January 1986, in Montpellier, France) is a French former professional tennis
Tennis is a racket sport that is played either individually against a single opponent ( singles) or between two teams of two players eac ...
in the opening round of the
Odlum Brown Vancouver Open
The VanOpen, currently sponsored as Odlum Brown VanOpen, is a professional tennis tournament played on outdoor hardcourts. It is part of the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) Challenger Tour, and of the ITF Women's Circuit. It is h ...
.
McGee qualified for his first ever grand slam main draw at the
2014 US Open after defeating
Zhang Ze
Zhang Ze (; ; born July 4, 1990), is a Chinese male tennis player.
Zhang's career highlights include reaching the quarterfinals of the 2012 China Open (defeating Richard Gasquet en route), playing the Australian Open main draw in two consecu ...
in the final round of qualifiers in 3 sets. He also defeated
Gonzalo Lama
Gonzalo Andrés Lama Feliu (; born 27 April 1993 in Santiago de Chile, Santiago) is a Chilean tennis player. He has won two Challengers (Cali and São Paulo), along with fourteen futures, twelve in singles and two in doubles. He has defeated top ...
and
Yuki Bhambri
Yuki Bhambri (born 4 July 1992) is an Indian professional tennis player. He is a former junior no. 1 and winner of the 2009 Australian Open Junior Championship. He is the first Indian to win the junior Australian Open title and the fourth Indi ...
during the qualifying stages. McGee faced
Aleksandr Nedovyesov
Aleksandr Nedovyesov (born 15 February 1987), formerly known as Oleksandr Nedovyesov, is a Ukrainian-Kazakhstani professional tennis player. He reached his highest ATP singles ranking of world No. 72 on 21 April 2014 and his highest doubles ranki ...
in the first round of the main draw where he lost in 4 sets. Despite this defeat, the prize money earned for reaching the first round accounted for more than a quarter of his career earnings to date.
ATP Challenger and ITF Futures finals
Singles: 12 (5–7)
Doubles: 11 (5–6)
Singles performance timeline
References
External links
*
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:McGee, James
1987 births
Living people
Irish male tennis players
Sportspeople from Dublin (city)
People educated at Belvedere College