Australian Open: ‘That’s tennis’ as Max Purcell joins his mates at the Heartbreak Hotel
Max Purcell has joined the long list of Australian men to be pipped at the post at the Australian Open. Regrets? He has none.
Max Purcell has a mullet and a moustache. He serves and volleys. He’s a throwback to the golden era of Australian tennis. All he needs to complete the retro picture is a wooden racket and a pair of Dunlop Volley shoes.
Purcell played his heart out at the Australian Open on Wednesday. Like a few of his mates, he’s been cruelly knocked out.
A day after Alexei Popyrin lost a mighty four-set battle against world No.1 Novak Djokovic, and Jordan Thompson fell just short in a tight four-setter to Greece’s seventh-seeded Stefanos Tsitsipas, and Chris O’Connell was edged out in another tense four-setter against 16th-seeded American Ben Shelton, which came after James Duckworth, Jason Kubler and Rinky Hijikata all lost tense five-setters, Purcell was pipped at the post by Norway’s 11th-seeded Casper Ruud.
If it was the Melbourne Cup, you’d call for a photo to decide a finish this close. Purcell played rough and tough. He served, volleyed, hustled, bustled and hit an incredible 93 winners to Ruud’s 44, but after three hours of tense and terrific tennis inside a packed Margaret Court Arena, as a huge crowd of 54,400 flocked to Melbourne Park, he was eliminated 6-3, 6-7 (5/7), 6-3, 3-6, 7-6 (10/7).
Purcell spread his arms wide during the deciding tie-breaker and shouted, “How?” As in, how to win? How to avoid another gallant defeat? The answer never came. Not sure where all these Australian blokes are staying, perhaps a Heartbreak Hotel?
“No regrets,” Purcell said. “Great match with Casper.”
He wasn’t mad, Max. The 25-year-old Sydneysider is one of nine Australian men ranked in the world’s top 100. He’s the nation’s third-rated player at No.45 and could make the Olympic team for the Paris Games if he keeps serving, volleying, hustling and bustling like this.
Like he’s back in the mullet-friendly, moustache-loving 1970s.
“I think we’re all finally where we want to be in our careers,” Purcell said. “Top 100, playing in the big tournaments. Everyone is then pushing to be ranked higher than the other one. Everyone is playing good ball. That’s part of the reason why I think I’ve done well, because all these other guys have started to do well. Everyone gets unlucky. Everyone gets luck somewhere else throughout the season. That’s just how it goes. Everyone’s had a few heartbreaks this week against some good players but man, that’s tennis.”
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