For the first time in the history of the event an Irish player will walk through the Irish Village on his way to Centre Court to compete in the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships.

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Wild card James McGee will meet 45th ranked Joao Sousa of Portugal in the first match of the tournament on Centre court at 2pm on Monday.

The 27-year-old Dubliner, who trains at the the BTT Tennis Academy in Barcelona, is currently ranked 208, and has a career high ranking of 188 which he achieved in October 2014.

“Ireland has long had a strong association with the tournament, and we are delighted to welcome our first Irish player to the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships. We look forward to seeing him in action on Centre Court and we wish him well” said Colm McLoughlin Executive Vice Chairman of Dubai Duty Free.

The match of the day on the first day’s play on Centre Court will be at 7pm when defending champion and six time title winner Roger Federer will face Mikhail Youzhny, who is making his 14th straight appearance in Dubai.

Novak Djokovic will also make his first appearance in the championships tomorrow, also as a wild card in the doubles with fellow Serbian Laslo Djere. They will face fourth seeds Rohan Bopanna and Daniel Nestor on Court 1 at 5pm. Entry to Court 1 is free.