CARY, September 18, 2016

Qualifier James McGee defeated the top seed and defending champion Dennis Novikov to earn a spot in the $50,000 Atlantic Tire Championships final on Sunday. The 29-year-old from Ireland won the match in under two hours, 3-6, 6-3, 6-3.

The pair had only met one time prior to Saturday’s match with McGee winning the previous encounter. McGee capitalized on his strong serving to win 76 per cent of the points on his first serve. The world number 257 advanced to his first final on the ATP Challenger Tour since April 2015 in Savannah.

7 wins in a row and counting! Excited to be in the Final of Cary Challenger tomorrow! @AtlanticTireCh #ready 👊🏼🇮🇪 pic.twitter.com/v6oxmhEPYQ

— James McGee (@jamesmcgee01) 17. September 2016

McGee will face eight seed, Ernesto Escobedo, in the championship match. Escobedo took advantage of his strong forehand and defeated second seed, Frances Tiafoe, in three sets. Escobedo secured his championship spot with a 6-3, 6-7(5), 7-6(2) win in two hours and 17 minutes. Ernesto will vie for his second 2016 USTA Pro Circuit title having previously won the Lexington Challenger.

Number two seeds Philip Bester and Peter Polansky breezed through to the doubles finals in under fifty minutes. They defeated Adam El Mihdawy and Darian King 6-4, 6-1. Last year’s semi-finalists will face Stefan Kozlov and Austin Krajicek in the championship match.

The doubles championship match will begin at 1 p.m. local time with the singles match following the doubles trophy presentation.