Max Purcell has made a huge breakthrough leading into Wimbledon, with the Aussie maverick battling through qualifying and the main draw to reach his first ATP Tour final at the grass-court Eastbourne International.
Purcell, whose only previous ATP semi-final had been at the same Devonshire Park venue on England’s south coast, beat local hope Billy Harris to prevail 6-4 4-6 6-4.
‘I’ve been struggling, so this is huge,’ said 26-year-old Purcell, who has been in danger of slipping out of the top 100 after his breakthrough 2023 season – but now finds himself set to burst back from No.94 at least into the top 70.
The Sydneysider will play big-serving American Taylor Fritz in the final.
It is a remarkable upturn in fortunes for the former Wimbledon doubles champion, who had previously lost four tour-level matches in a row.
But back on his favourite grass-court surface, has now won five matches – two in qualifying and three more in the main competition – in just six days at Eastbourne.
‘New coach this week and I feel like everything’s really coming together right before one of my favourite tournaments,’ Purcell said.
‘I think in the first three of my four matches earlier this week, I ended up arse on the ground kind of saving some big points.
Max Purcell has made a huge breakthrough leading into Wimbledon, with the Aussie maverick battling through qualifying and the main draw to reach his first ATP Tour final at the grass-court Eastbourne International
Purcell, whose only previous ATP semi-final had been at the same Devonshire Park venue on England’s south coast, beat British star Billy Harris in three sets
‘But the grass feels good; qualifying last week in Halle [Germany] definitely gave me some some confidence, and I just felt like I’m kind of due to get a couple more wins.
‘It was a big crowd with the Brits cheering against me. I kind of got used to it,’ he added with a smile, thanking the crowd for creating a great atmosphere.
Come Wimbledon on July 1, Purcell will fancy his chances against qualifier Otto Virtanen from Finland in round one of the men’s singles.
Every match from the All England Club can be streamed live in Australia via Stan Sport.
