James McGee fails to qualify for Australian Open in final qualifying round

Heartbreak for Castleknock's James McGee at the Australian Open.

He narrowly missed out on a spot in the main draw after losing 7-6 3-6 6-3 to Blake Mott in the final qualifying round in Melbourne.

McGee raced into a 5-2 lead in the opening set, but was beaten on a tie break after Mott rallied to pull himself back into the match.

The longest set of the two-and-a-half hour match was followed by McGee clinching the second set in emphatic fashion, 6-3.

But it wasn't to be for the Dubliner who conceded the final set and as a result the match.

Gave it everything I had but my opponent came up with the goods and put up a great fight. I will grow from this. Well done @BlakeMott96

— James McGee (@jamesmcgee01) January 14, 2017