IRISH NUMBER ONE James McGee begins his bid to qualify for the Australian Open tonight.
McGee is due on court at 11pm (Irish time) against world number 174 Jimmy Wang in the first round of the men’s singles qualifying.
The Dubliner, who is ranked 214, needs three wins to qualify for the main draw and make his Grand Slam debut in Melbourne next week.
But he faces a tough task with the seeded Paul-Henri Mathieu likely to be his opponent in the next round if he beats Taipei’s Wang.
The two have met twice previously, most recently at the Rimouski Challenger in Canada last year where McGee came from a set down to win. Wang won their other meeting in Japan in 2012.
McGee, 26, played his first Grand Slam qualifying event at Wimbledon last summer but lost in the first round.