AUSTRALIAN OPEN

January 13, 2025

James McCabe

Press Conference

J. McCABE/M. Landaluce

6-4, 6-3, 6-4

THE MODERATOR: Congratulations. Through to the next round of your home Grand Slam. What was the atmosphere like on court today?

JAMES McCABE: Absolutely amazing. I think every Australian's dream is to play the Australian Open main draw in your home country. And just grateful for Tennis Australia for the opportunity and just excited for the next round. Just grateful that I got through today.

The guy is absolutely an amazing player. I think he's Spain's next up and coming. He's a great player. It was a great battle out there. Just happy and grateful I got through today and hopefully can keep going.

THE MODERATOR: Questions.

Q. First Grand Slam victory and first ATP Tour victory. Must be special. Talk us through your emotions now.

JAMES McCABE: Just really happy to get through it. I have lost three or four now in a row, so just to get that monkey off my shoulder, I'm just happy and grateful. All the support Tennis Australia has given me, I'm just grateful for.

I think more just getting the experience against the bigger, in the bigger stages, and bigger players. You just can't really prepare for that. You've just got to go through it. Grateful I got the opportunity and hopefully I can keep going.

Q. (Question about Sonny Bill.)

JAMES McCABE: I have known Sonny ever since I was a kid. We are really close, family friends. I just wanted him to come down. He came down last year, as well. He came to Adelaide.

Sonny is like a brother to me. Sonny is amazing. He's like, especially Sonny being Sonny, he has all the experience being one of the best players ever to step on the field. Just, yeah, his words of wisdom and everything is just I'm very lucky.

Q. Does he give you advice on the court, like not being too much in your own head or how to manage tense situations?

JAMES McCABE: Yes. Well, he's been at the top. Being at the top of rugby he has a lot of experience with pressures and everything that comes with it.

It's a bit different with rugby being a team sport. But I think every sport has their on merits and own things. Tennis is tough because you're out there for multiple hours before matches. You don't know when you're going to be on. Rugby is structured and planned. You know what you're going to do, and there is not much change. But in tennis everything is changing continuously.

So like him being at the top of his sport, he's one of the greats, so I'm just grateful all the words of advice he gives me. I take them to heart.

Q. Who else was in your corner today with Sonny Bill?

JAMES McCABE: It was Sonny and Gavin van Pepperzeel, Al Murphy, my mom, my sister, and my manager.

Q. I noticed end of the second set, Martin went and had a toilet break. You know when you are two sets up, your opponent is going to do that. I wonder when you wandered over to your corner who was talking, what were you thinking?

JAMES McCABE: Gavin and Sonny were just giving me advice, because I think it was Bonzi in Adelaide, and I made a bit of not mistake but like inexperience. It was just, like, learning from what I did in the past, and not sitting down in the chair for five or ten minutes. Getting up, walking around. There's pressure. It's a good steppingstone. I'm just grateful I got through today.

Q. Do you think you successfully eradicated that mistake and...

JAMES McCABE: Definitely today I'm happy with the way I handled everything from my emotions and stuff. And as I said, he is an absolutely amazing player and amazing battle. I'm just grateful I got through it.

Q. Another clash with Alex Michelsen. Are you excited to get another crack at him after you took a set off him last year?

JAMES McCABE: I will try not to remember that match (smiling). But excited for that match. I don't know when it is, but hopefully be a bit better this time.

Q. Are you happy for revenge or take some things you learned last year into this match?

JAMES McCABE: Well, that's the plan, so hopefully (smiling). Hopefully I can get the win this time. But Alex is an amazing player. He's 30, 40, something in the world. It's going to be a battle. I'm looking forward to it, and it's going to be fun.

Q. James, many people within Australia will only just be getting to know you. You have an interesting background. There is some reference on your being a flute player, a swimming background, Irish and Filipino background, as well? To introduce yourself to the broader community, tell us what you're about and what makes you tick, what kind of person you are.

JAMES McCABE: So I was born in the Philippines. When I was two months old, I moved to Australia. I live in Sydney, Rockdale, so near the airport. I have lived there my whole life.

When I was two, I lived in a apartment complex that has swimming pool and tennis court. When I was two, dad took me down to the tennis court. I hit a few balls, and I could rally when I was two-and-a-half. And then swimming pool, dad took me to swim. I ended up, I won swimming nationals and tennis nationals, and then when I won swimming nationals, I got full scholarship into a private school.

Dad wanted me to finish school, get an education, so when I was in Year 6, I ended up picking up the flute. Piano I picked up a few years earlier, just because I wanted to play, I think I around Grade 6 on the piano.

And then learning how to play the flute from scratch was definitely difficult. A few years in I started playing in orchestras and symphonic wind bands, academy orchestras, sang in choirs. It was a bit tough when I was swimming.

I'd wake up for 4 a.m. for a 5 a.m. swimming start to around 7:00. From 7:00 to 8:30, it would probably be orchestra, depending on the day, orchestra, choir, academy orchestra, or symphonic wind band.

Then school would start at 8:30 till 10:30. Then I had a music lesson from 10:30 to 11:00. From 11:00 to 1:00 would be another two periods of classes, whatever they may be. From 1:00 to 2:00 would be another either ensemble or music lesson. School, finish at 3:45. Then swimming training and have 3:45 to around 5:00-something would be another ensemble, and then 5:00 would be kind of like a break until 6:00, and then swimming training. Might start with a gym. And 6:30, 7:00 start, finish at 9:00. Get home around 9:30, get my homework done as much as I possibly could. And then from whenever I finished that, went to sleep and then started the next day at 4:00 a.m. again. Childhood was quite tough. (Laughter.)

But I got through it, and I think it definitely builds character and builds strength. I was a kid. I'm not saying I'm much older now. I didn't know anything else. I didn't know what anyone else was doing. That was my life.

Then when I was 10 I dropped the racquets to do swimming and music for the full scholarship to the school. Then 15, I played like casually, didn't play basically any tournaments or anything. Then 15, I picked up the racquets again.

Then I won December Showdown and School Boy Nationals in singles and doubles for Australian Nationals. And then the School Boys Nationals, I won in individual. And then after that, that's why dad sent me to a private school, because he wanted me to finish my education. I finished my education.

And then 2020, at the end of COVID, I got really chubby because I wasn't playing much or anything. Then after that, as soon as I finished school, I started traveling and started playing tennis. Didn't play much juniors, because I was doing all the music and stuff like that.

So everything so far the last two years has just been a learning experience from traveling and you just don't know what to expect until you do it.

Getting the opportunity to, especially last year, which I'm very grateful for, I was bit inexperienced, but I think now I'm a bit better handling things and going through certain situations.

It's just grateful I had the opportunity and just thankful for Tennis Australia for everything.

Q. I feel like you've got a lot of improvement, only just scratching the surface?

JAMES McCABE: Hopefully. Yeah, hopefully I can keep going. And I just joined, I got started working at the National Tennis Academy in Australia. So I did my preseason there. I'm grateful for everything Tennis Australia has done and whatever the future brings. But I'm looking forward to the new chapter in my life and new chapter in my tennis.

Hopefully I can keep rising and hopefully I can do Tennis Australia proud.