It might have taken him seven match points, but Australia’s third-highest ranked men’s player, Max Purcell, has booked his spot in the second round of the Australian Open for the first time.
The world No 45 overwhelmed Hungarian qualifier Máté Valkusz at Kia Arena on Tuesday, 3-6, 7-6, 6-4, 7-5.
However, in the presence of enthusiastic fans at home, Purcell managed to win through determination, despite giving his opponent a chance to catch up after initially leading 5-2 in the last round.
“I greatly appreciated your support in the fourth quarter,” the 25-year-old expressed to the audience following the game.
“I was struggling with it so much, but your support really pushed me to succeed in the final game.”
During a single game, he was unable to capitalize on six opportunities to win, ultimately losing the game after being outplayed by the Hungarian player.
However, Purcell was able to seal the victory with an ace and a gesture of disappointment after taking another break.
Prior to the intense finale, Purcell utilized his unique serve and volley technique during the crucial second set tie-breaker to gain dominance in the game.
The initial set was uneven and marked by the Australian player’s excessive groundstrokes, indicating a struggle to establish a consistent rhythm.
During that time, the outlook was not positive for the Australian player. He had a challenging start where he was eliminated early in Brisbane and lost to Japanese journeyman Taro Daniel in Auckland.
He clearly showed frustration, muttering to himself after making 10 unforced errors in the set.
At that point, Purcell’s conversations with his coach Nathan Healey would not be deemed courteous.
However, despite qualifying with a strong serve and baseline skills, Valkusz was unable to sustain his level of play.
Purcell stated, “The man was relentlessly attacking me.”
“I didn’t have a great opportunity, but I managed to make a comeback in the second set. I focused on maintaining my serve and hoped that my opponent would make a mistake, which he did. Thankfully, I was able to win the match.”
Purcell appeared more enthusiastic during the second set tie-breaker.
He has openly expressed concern about the lack of diversity among players on the ATP tour. In the critical stage of the match, Purcell stayed true to his word by aggressively approaching the net and causing his opponent to make mistakes.
Purcell said that things improved for me when he stopped making guesses on my initial serve.
I didn’t receive any free points and it seemed like he was winning everything.
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Once he eased up on the return, I was able to win a few quick service games and apply pressure on his serve. From there, I could strategize and continue playing.
As the Hungarian grew weary, the Australian appeared to gain stamina in the last two rounds.
The number of people in the 5,000-capacity Kia Arena increased steadily as Purcell’s performance gained momentum.
The person from Sydney enjoyed the spotlight, even going as far as hyping up the audience before a crucial moment in the third set, which ended up being successful.
However, he pushed the crowd’s patience to its limits towards the end of the game.
The Hungarian player was able to break back twice. However, during a 12-minute game where he had six match points, Purcell was unable to convert and ended up losing at 5-4.
The Australian player will face off against 11th seeded Casper Ruud in the second round. Ruud, who defeated Spain’s Albert Ramos-Vinolas 6-1, 6-3, 6-1, will be a tough opponent for the Australian.
Purcell beat Ruud in the second round of last year’s Cincinnati Masters in perhaps his best result of the season.
Purcell stated that he played as Casper in Cincinnati under energetic circumstances, where the balls were slightly lighter and had more bounce.
“It’s quite warm in this location, but I’ll have the audience supporting me. I am more than willing to have another attempt.”
Previously, Australian wildcard Olivia Gadecki suffered a decisive defeat at the hands of American Sloane Stephens, with a score of 6-3, 6-1.
