PERSISTENCE PAYS FOR Purcell

A

Daniel

IRVINE

Reports

Max Purcell has recorded some impressive results in his young career.

The 25-year-old from Sydney is a three-time Grand Slam doubles finalist and won the Wimbledon gentlemen’s doubles title last year.

He nished 2022 as the youngest player inside the world’s top 50 in doubles, having peaked at No.25 during an outstanding season.

This doubles success has helped Purcell achieve several childhood dreams, including representing Australia in Davis Cup and at the Olympic Games.

Yet Purcell couldn’t shake the feeling that he wasn’t achieving his full potential, especially on the singles court.

“I feel like I’ve got a lot more to give in singles,” explained Purcell in January after successfully qualifying at the Australian Open.

“I’m trying to take a step away from doubles this year and trying to focus on my singles and see where the next three or four years can take me with that.”

Purcell had enjoyed some singles success on the ATP Tour, recording multiple top-20 wins during 2021. Yet prior to this year, he had not broken into the world’s top 150.

Starting 2023 ranked No.220, Purcell’s goal was “to try and get into the top 100 at some point”.

Remarkably, he achieved that breakthrough in early March.

This followed Purcell winning a trio of ATP Challenger titles in India, which saw his ranking skyrocket from world No.203 to world No.95 in the space of three weeks.

He became only the 14th player in history to claim three consecutive ATP Challenger titles – and the rst Australian to achieve the feat.

“I was just locked in,” Purcell re ected on his 15-match winning streak.

“I just wanted to win every single point when I stepped on the court.”

The determined Purcell maintained a steely focus o court too during that incredible run.

“I wanted to be off my phone as much as I could,” he told ATPTour.com.

“I wanted to make sure I was getting as much quiet time as I could and just make sure going into my matches that I didn’t bring anything else on the court. No extra emotions or anything like that.

“I just wanted to be as calm as I could and focus on my mission. That seemed to work out really well.”

This highlights Purcell’s growing maturity, as well as his willingness to make sacri ces to achieve his on-court goals.

He plans to schedule smarter in 2023, having learned from the experience of trying to juggle both singles and doubles in recent seasons.