A resurgent Max Purcell will appear in his first ATP Tour singles final after qualifying in the Eastbourne draw.
Eastbourne, England, June 29, 2024 | Leigh Rogers
Eastbourne, England
Max Purcell rediscovered his best form and achieved a major career milestone at the ATP 250 grass-court tournament in Eastbourne this week.
The 26-year-old from Sydney advanced to his first ATP Tour singles final today after beating British wildcard Billy Harris 6-4 4-6 6-4 in the semi-finals.
Purcell, who had only won six tour-level matches prior to this tournament, continues his remarkable comeback.
“I think everything is falling into place.” The world number 94 said: “I feel good.
“(Last week’s) Halle qualifier definitely gave me some confidence and I had a couple of back-to-back matches there. I felt like I needed a few more wins, but I didn’t know how many.”
The Australian qualifier, who has already won six singles matches this week, will look to continue her impressive form in her final clash with world number 13 Taylor Fritz.
The first-seeded American overpowered Australia’s Aleksandar Vukic in the semifinals, hitting 15 aces and earning a 96% first serve score in a 7-6(5) 7-6(4) win.
Earlier in the day, Matt Ebden and John Peers suffered heartbreaking defeats in the men’s doubles final.
The Australian pair, who will team up at the Olympics next month, were up 6-4 5-3 against Britain’s Neil Skupski and New Zealand’s Michael Venus, but their fourth-seeded opponents fought back to win 4-6 7-6(2). [11-9] Victory.
World No. 1 Ebden and world No. 55 Pierce both picked up two championship points, once at 5-4 in the second set and again at 9-8 in the match tiebreaker.
Australians in Action – Eastbourne
result
Men’s Singles, Semifinals
[Q] Max Purcell (Australia) d [WC] Billy Harris (GBR) 6-4 4-6 6-4
[1] Taylor Fritz (USA) d [LL] Aleksandar Bukic (AUS) 7-6(5) 7-6(4)
Men’s Doubles Final
[4] Neal Skupski (GBR)/Michael Venus (NZL) d [3] Matt Ebden (Australia)/John Peers (Australia) 4-6 7-6(2) [11-9]
What’s coming
Men’s Singles Final
[Q] Max Purcell (AUS) V [1] Taylor Fritz (USA)
Bad Homburg, Germany
Ellen Perez and American partner Nicole Mellichar Martinez have reached the doubles final of the WTA 500 tournament in Bad Homburg.
The top-seeded duo continued their impressive run with a 6-3, 6-4 win over Norway’s Ulrikke Eikeri and Estonia’s Ingrid Neel in the semifinals.
It was their third consecutive win this week, all by identical scores of 6-3 6-4.
With this effort, Perez and Melichar-Martinez, jointly ranked ninth in the world, reached their 13th WTA Finals as a team and fourth this season.
World No. 24 Chan Hao-Ching and world No. 38 Veronika Kudermetova are waiting for their championship match.
The two teams met in the quarterfinals of the WTA tournament in Berlin last week, with Chan and Kudermetova winning in a close three-set battle.
Activities in Australia – Bad Homburg
result
Women’s Doubles, Semifinals
[1] Ellen Perez (Australia)/Nicole Melichar-Martinez (USA) d Ulrikke Eikeri (NOR) / Ingrid Neel (EST) 6-3 6-4
What’s coming
Women’s Doubles Final
[1] Ellen Perez (AUS)/Nicole Melichar-Martinez (USA) vs. Chan Hao-qing (TPE)/Veronica Kudermetova
Find out how to play: Visit play.tennis.com.au Get out on the court and have fun!
