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Key points
- Max Purcell has slashed his ATP singles ranking almost 200 spots this year to a career-high No.43.
- Purcell made his top-100 debut in March and is now Australia’s second-ranked men’s player.
- The 25-year-old will be a major part of Australia’s bid this week to qualify for the Davis Cup finals.
There is no one like Max Purcell among Australia’s tennis elite.
The country’s newest star – who has surged from a ranking of No.220 in January to a career-high 43 – is rough around the edges, loves a laugh, and is never afraid to speak his mind. That said, he believes he has matured a lot since accusing Davis Cup captain Lleyton Hewitt of not having “the balls” to tell him he missed out on a 2022 Australian Open wildcard).
Max Purcell enjoyed a breakout season on the men’s tour.Credit: Getty Images
On the court, Purcell is one of the rare professional players willing to serve-volley for large portions of matches, in a throwback to Pat Rafter’s days. In his own words, he loves it when matches “get handsy”.
There is a fiercely ambitious competitor hidden underneath the Aussie larrikin. After winning last year’s Wimbledon title with Matt Ebden, having also reached the Australian Open final together five months earlier, Purcell sacrificed the partnership this year to chase his singles dream.
Purcell and Lleyton Hewitt embrace after last year’s Davis Cup semi-final victory.Credit: Getty Images
The 25-year-old is now Australia’s second-ranked men’s player, behind Alex de Minaur, and set to be a major part of this week’s bid in Manchester, England, to qualify for the Davis Cup finals in November.
Previously a doubles option only in the team competition, Purcell – who described his relationship these days with Hewitt as “great” – hopes to be on double duty, given his singles career has taken off.
Hewitt is spoilt for choice in Australia’s squad, with Alexei Popyrin, Jordan Thompson and Thanasi Kokkinakis also in contention to join de Minaur in playing singles for clashes with Great Britain, France and Switzerland.
Only the top two countries will advance from the group. Ebden has arrived, too, fresh from reaching the US Open doubles final with new partner Rohan Bopanna.
“It’s what we want – as many guys battling for spots as possible,” Purcell told this masthead.
“We’ll play the match-ups, but I’d love to play singles and doubles here. It all comes down to the coaches and what they think, but I play singles and doubles every week [on tour], so it’s nothing for me to back up, especially when it’s for your country. It’d be pretty cool to grab the No.2 spot.”
Purcell has enjoyed an outstanding year, starting with qualifying for the Australian Open then winning three consecutive Challenger titles in India to barge into the top 100 for the first time.
But that was just the entree: the Sydneysider, coached by Cole Smith, reeled off a brilliant run on the North American ATP hardcourt swing last month to announce himself as a tour de force.
In between, he lost eight of nine matches while recovering from ligament tears and a fractured talar dome in one of his ankles, which he suffered in a Challenger final in South Korea against fellow Aussie Aleks Vukic in May.
Doctors recommended he walk around in a moon boot for up to 12 weeks, but he visited a Croatian guru, used by several of the top Australian players, after Wimbledon, and they put together a plan that kept him on the court.
Max Purcell’s larrikin demeanour belies a fierce competitive edge.Credit: Getty
Purcell went on to qualify for the Toronto Masters, then upset world No.12 Felix Auger-Aliassime for the second time, before pinching a set off Andy Murray. He charged from qualifying again the next week to make the Cincinnati Masters quarter-finals, including taking his maiden top-10 scalp (Casper Ruud) and pushing then-world No.1 Carlos Alcaraz to three sets.
Purcell rounded out his purple patch with a last-eight appearance at Winston-Salem, where he eliminated top-25 opponent Tallon Griekspoor.
That meant plenty of “big balls” post-match celebrations, for which he has become well known. A first-round US Open exit to countryman Chris O’Connell put a slight dampener on it all, but was more of a blip in an otherwise successful period.
“It was f—ing huge. It was a huge confidence-booster,” Purcell said.
Max Purcell is known for a unique celebration.Credit: TennisTV / Twitter
“I doubted myself a bit while I was injured, and not moving great. I wondered if once I started feeling good, whether all those losses would destroy my confidence.
“But I convinced myself that once I was ready, I would pick up right where I left off. It was great to trust myself and believe in myself to do it. I backed myself to play a different game style, only serve-volleying because all these guys at the top level are almost unbeatable from the back of the court.”
Australia’s de Minaur (12), Purcell (43), Popyrin (45), Vukic (50), O’Connell (53) – who won last week’s Shanghai Challenger title, days after winning a set against US Open finalist Daniil Medvedev – Thompson (55), Kokkinakis (74), Rinky Hijikata (82) and Jason Kubler (94) all started this week in the top 100.
Hewitt’s men finished runner-up to Canada in last year’s Davis Cup competition, but are in an even stronger position 12 months on, even with Nick Kyrgios still sidelined (and not showing any sign of ending his exile from the squad, anyway).
“We’ll be fighting for that No.1 spot in the group this week, but even finishing top two would be great, after how long everyone’s year has been,” Purcell said.
“We will hopefully get to the last match having already locked in our [finals] spot – but still with the fire to push for the No.1 spot. We had a great run last year, but we’re hungry to go to that next step and win it.”
Australia’s first match is on Wednesday against Great Britain, and will be broadcast from 10pm AEST on Channel Nine.
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