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How James McGee's Grand Slam breakthrough set the course for an ambitious 2015

Ireland’s top tennis player is in action at Australian Open qualifying next week.

PLAYING IN THE main draw of a Grand Slam was a lifelong dream for Ireland’s top tennis player James McGee.

But when he served the decisive ace at US Open qualifying last August and fell to his knees, exhausted and elated, it wasn’t the end of the journey. It only whet his appetite for more.

The 27-year-old Dubliner will do it all again next week in Melbourne when he lines up with 127 others vying for the final 16 spots at the Australian Open, which begins on 19 January.

Twelve months ago he fell at the first qualifying hurdle, losing in straight sets against Jimmy Wang of Taiwan. There was little to choose between them — Wang took a first-set tie-breaker before winning the second 7-5 — and after the disappointment lifted, McGee was able to look at the result in a different light.

“I knew that even though I’d played quite well in qualifying, I lost to a guy who was on fire,” he told TheScore.ie from Noumea where he was fine-tuning this week ahead of his return to Australia.

This time, the prospects look very different. McGee has been proactive in shining light on the harsh financial realities of life on the ATP Challenger and Future tours where prize money is a fraction of the pots offered at the main events but the costs rack up all the same.

His major breakthrough at the US Open, where he qualifier for the first round proper before losing to Aleksandr Nedovyesov, was worth $36,000 — around a quarter of his career earnings in six seasons as a pro. Just as importantly, it put him back in the headlines, a valuable place for an athlete courting renewed commitment from sponsors and other benefactors.

James McGee 25/8/2014 FREY FREY

It is their continued support, McGee says, which has led to the most important change in recent months. He can now travel to tournaments with a coach on regular basis, a luxury he could rarely afford in the past.

Long-time friend Nick Cavaday is working with him and together, they have drawn up a plan that will help McGee rise from 228th in the world and see him become a regular feature in Grand Slam main draws.

“I actually felt like I struggled a little bit physically in the US Open, especially in the first round,” McGee explains.

I qualified in and I had a couple of days to recover but I remember in the first round, my legs felt quite heavy, so I made sure in the off-season to spend a lot of time working on my endurance, strength endurance and speed endurance.

“There was a physical side to my game that I’ve worked on and that I’ll continue to work on this year that I believe will make a huge difference in making that ranking jump.

“What ties into the physical side is the mental toughness, mental endurance and concentration, and we sort of feel that in doing that work it kills two birds with one stone. Those two areas are massive for any athlete: to be able to play for so long and not lose your concentration.”

He adds: “We’ve been working a lot on my mentality and playing with more aggression, playing a more offensive style. I’m quite a physical player already, I do a pretty good job scrapping balls back.

We’re just trying to play a bit more efficient type of tennis that’s not as draining energy-wise being out there for three hours. We’re working on winning matches more efficiently.

Might that efficiency have been the difference against Wang last year, or after taking the first set against Nedovyesov in Flushing Meadows before losing in four? Time will tell.

One thing is for sure: McGee is in a much better place now than when he travelled down to Australia 12 months ago. Although it was a dream come true to be there, he admits that it was challenging and often lonely to be in the midst of a Grand Slam event by himself.

He might yet be joined by Louk Sorensen who made history at the 2010 Australian Open when he recorded Ireland’s first Grand Slam win in the open era but was dealt a setback last week when he was forced to retire from a tournament in Happy Valley.

“Going into this year, one thing that helps is knowing the environment, being familiar with the conditions, being familiar with the facility, the court speed, the balls,” McGee explains.

It’s actually a tournament that I really like. I would have loved to have gone deeper last year. I think that if I keep focusing on the right things I can have a really good Australian Open.

“Obviously I’m planning on qualifying in and hopefully this time I can win a couple of rounds instead of losing in the first round like I did in the US Open.

“I’m really, really excited now. I can’t wait.”

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7 Comments
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    Mute Ferg Breen
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    Feb 15th 2012, 3:36 PM

    What’s with the negativity?
    We may be boring at times but its working. Id rather win our group games 1-0 and be bored than loose 5-4 and be entertained.
    European Championships here we come!

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    Mute Begrudgy
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    Feb 15th 2012, 3:45 PM

    Whats the point in watching so? I would rather us have a go then play that boring tripe.

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    Mute Brian Fransisco Kealy
    Favourite Brian Fransisco Kealy
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    Feb 15th 2012, 4:45 PM

    http://www.zonalmarking.net/2011/11/16/trapattoni-ireland-tactics-euro-2012/

    We would be steam-rolled by any team with decent players. We don’t have great players so why should we kid ourselves? Everyone who says Trap is too boring now are the same people who would be calling for his head if we “had a go” and shipped a shed load of goals to Spain

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    Mute Kevin Maybury
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    Feb 16th 2012, 12:26 AM

    @brian we might not be the best team in the world but we are not as bad as trap allows us to be he doesnt pick the best players and when there is a chance to go for the win we rarely take it

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    Mute Kieran White
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    Feb 15th 2012, 4:07 PM

    i , for one cant wait for the Euro’s – Trap is doing a great job.

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    Mute Begrudgy
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    Feb 15th 2012, 3:37 PM

    England 5th???? Lol. B.S.

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    Mute Martin O Regan
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    Feb 15th 2012, 2:02 PM

    Who are we on about again
    The England B team is it .
    What rubbish .

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    Mute Dave McAuliffe
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    Feb 15th 2012, 2:34 PM

    Hey if you want John Terry, Ashley Cole, Rooney etc then off ya go, dont let the door hit your ass on the way out.

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    Mute Brian Fransisco Kealy
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    Feb 15th 2012, 4:41 PM

    So would you celebrate if we won something or just drown in your own pool of negativity?

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    Mute George Byrne
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    Feb 15th 2012, 5:15 PM

    Can anybody explain how Ireland’s FIFA ranking points increased from 864 to 893 in a month when they were not playing.

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    Mute Steven Smyth
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    Feb 15th 2012, 8:14 PM

    Eh…….no. Makes you wonder (and the fact England are in 5th)

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    Mute Kevin Collins
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    Feb 15th 2012, 9:35 PM

    cos recent results are weighted higher than older results. and some of our older results (i.e. under stan) were dragging us down but have now dropped off so our points average has gone up. simples.

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    Mute George Byrne
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    Feb 16th 2012, 4:57 PM

    Thanks Kevin.
    However, only results in January can impact the February rankings. In each of the four Januarys in question (2009-2012) Ireland were not playing so I think the mystery remains.

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    Mute Patrick Hynes
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    Feb 15th 2012, 9:02 PM

    Please god we’ll be higher after the euros.

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    Mute George Byrne
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    Feb 16th 2012, 5:15 PM

    Looking at Feb fixtures, a rankings of 17th in March is not out the question if we beat the Czech Rep

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    Mute Conor Reilly
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    Feb 15th 2012, 9:19 PM

    How were we third seeds for the Uefa Draw for brazil 2014?

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    Mute George Byrne
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    Feb 16th 2012, 5:08 PM

    Seedings for the qualifiers (Euro & WC) are based on the UEFA Coefficient not the FIFA rankings

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    Mute George Byrne
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    Feb 16th 2012, 5:47 PM

    Correction: Since 2006, WC qualifiers use the FIFA rankings.

    Ireland are ranked 13 (within Europe) by UEFA coefficient. UEFA coefficient excludes all results except last three tournaments (qualifiers & finals) of Euro & WC. Oldest gets a lower weighting.

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    Mute Steven Smyth
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    Feb 15th 2012, 10:11 PM

    Trappatoni looks like he’s waiting for his last number to be called at the bingo!

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