‘It’s incredible’: Jordan Thompson and Max Purcell snap 28-year US Open drought

Jordan Thompson and Max Purcell have written themselves another piece of Australian tennis history at the US Open.

Move over Woodies — for the first time in 28 years, Australia has a men’s doubles pair in the US Open Final.

Jordan Thompson and Max Purcell have proved that an unprecedented charge at Wimbledon was no fluke as the Aussie duo made their second straight grand slam final after taking out American pair Jackson Withrow and Nathaniel Lammons 6-4 7-6 in the semi-final.

It sets up a final on Sunday morning Australian time where the seventh seeded Aussies will taken on 10th seeded German pair Kevin Krawietz and Tim Putz.

But the Aussie duo have made a few pieces of history with the result, becoming the first all-Aussie pair since Todd Woodbridge and Mark Woodforde won the title in 1996 to make the final at Flushing Meadows and just the seventh all-Aussie team into the men’s doubles final in the Open era.

They are also aiming to become the first Aussies to win a US Open doubles title in 21 years after Woodbridge, who won in 2003 alongside Swede Jonas Bjorkman.

The boys have done it again. Photo by Jamie Squire/Getty Images

They also become the first all-Aussie pair to make back-to-back grand slam finals since the Woodies lost the 2000 French Open before winning Wimbledon — an omen perhaps?

The Thompson-Purcell team have also been very impressive in the tournament, dropping just one set in their second round match where they faced off with fellow Aussie John-Patrick Smith and Germany’s Andreas Miles and survived match points to bounce back.

Since then, they haven’t dropped a set.

The duo were on fire in the semi-final, dominating the serve early in the match and not facing a break point until late in the second set.

But the Aussies survived to book a date in the final.

“We were in cruise control for the most part,” Thompson told Stan Sport. “But credit to them, they put up a fight and made it really stressful. (Luckily) we scrapped through.”

Purcell is the more experienced of the two and will play in his fifth grand slam doubles final — he’s won just one, the 2022 Wimbledon title with Matt Ebden — while it’s a second grand slam final for Thompson.

It caps career-best runs in the tournament, as Thompson had never made it out of the third round of the US Open in doubles, while Purcell had previously made it as far as the quarter-finals.

“What makes it so special, is that we are such good mates,” Purcell said.

“Every time we get a win, I feel overloaded with happiness. It’s not just the achievement, it’s who you do it with.

“We’ve worked really hard and made it our goal this year to win a grand slam, so to be one match away again is really special.”

Max Purcell with the feeling when you win. Photo: Matthew Stockman/Getty Images/AFP

The Aussies are into another grand slam final. Photo: Jamie Squire/Getty Images/AFP

Thompson added: “It’s incredible. My first full year of doubles and we’ve managed to go to a Wimbledon final and a US Open final and hopefully you can go one better here.

“It’s not really me — just ask him about his shoulders. I was jumping on and now it’s back-to-back finals.”

It’s been an incredible tournament for Thompson in particular, who also banked $US325,000 ($A482,000) for his fourth round appearance in the singles effort before being eliminated by fellow Aussie Alex de Minaur.

If they win, Thompson and Purcell will split $US750,000, or around $A556,000 each — a tidy prize of over $A1m for Thompson.

Purcell was eliminated in the second round of the singles draw and has already banked $208,000 for his efforts.

Jordan Thomson and Max Purcell celebrate. Photo by Jamie Squire/Getty Images

It continues what has been a golden period for Australian men’s doubles pairs.

Since 2022, Australian teams have won three grand slam titles with Nick Kyrgios and Thanasi Kokkinakis taking out the 2022 Australian Open title, Matthew Ebden and Purcell claiming Wimbledon in 2022, Rinky Hijikata and Jason Kubler winning the 2023 Australian Open and John Peers and Ebden claiming gold at the 2024 Paris Olympic Games.

Before The Special Ks’ victory in 2022, the previous all-Aussie pair to win a grand slam title had been the Woodies at Wimbledon in 2000.

It will be welcome news for Aussie Davis Cup captain Lleyton Hewitt as it appears likely he’ll have to replace de Minaur, who was struggling with a hip injury in his quarter-final loss to Brit Jack Draper.

Australia face France, Czechia and Spain in the qualifying stages in Valencia, Spain starting September 10.

Originally published as ‘It’s incredible’: Jordan Thompson and Max Purcell snap 28-year US Open drought