- I had a difficult start to the Wimbledon campaign
- They recovered to reach the semi-finals against the top seeds.
- He surprised them in straight sets to reach the final.
The Wimbledon fortnight did not start well for Max Purcell and Jordan Thompson, but there could be a golden ending for the Australian duo.
The pair have earned a place in the men’s doubles final and will believe they can win after defeating the top seeds.
Purcell and Thompson beat Spaniard Marcel Granollers and Argentina’s Horacio Zeballos 6-4 6-4 in 71 minutes on Thursday to book a place in Saturday’s (early Sunday AEST) final at the All England Club.
There they will face unseeded Briton Henry Patten and Finn Harri Heliovaara, who defeated seasoned Queen’s Club champions Neal Skupski and New Zealander Michael Venus 6-4 7-6 (7-1) in their semi-final.
Earlier last week, Purcell fell in the first round of the men’s singles tournament, losing 6-3, 6-2, 6-2 to Finland’s Otto Virtanen.
An unusually flat Thompson fell in the next round to Brandon Nakashima by the same score.
But doubles offered the pair a second chance and they have taken advantage of it.
The 15th seeds have only dropped one set in five matches, when they beat Argentine 11th seeds Maximo Gonzalez and Andres Moltoni in the quarter-finals.
“I don’t think we ever had any doubts today,” Purcell said. “We came out and played very well and felt very comfortable. There’s no credit to take away from them, they’re great players. I felt like we were in form and when we’re in form, it’s very difficult to beat us.”
Jordan Thompson and Max Purcell discuss tactics during their men’s doubles semi-final win
Jordan Thompson volleys with Max Purcell behind him as his team wins the Wimbledon men’s singles semi-final
For Purcell, 26, this is her fourth major doubles final. She already won at Wimbledon in 2022 with Matt Ebden and is a two-time finalist at the Australian Open (2020 with Luke Saville, 2022 with Ebden).
Thompson, 30, is in her first Grand Slam doubles final.
“One of our goals is to win a Grand Slam,” Thompson said. “Being in a Grand Slam final, I think, is probably the most special thing, as it is at Wimbledon.”
Purcell and Thompson grabbed the opening break of the match in the seventh game, the first time the top seeds had lost a service game all tournament, and held on to that advantage to win the first set.
Marcel Granollers (at the net) and Horacio Zeballos lost to Jordan Thompson and Max Purcell
Granollers and Zeballos were looking to reach the Wimbledon final for the third time in four years, but the Australians broke their serve again in the ninth game of the second set. Purcell served out and ended their serve.
“We both served well, we both returned well, we did everything pretty well,” Thompson said. “It was a very clean game.”
The pair now have 26 wins from 30 matches together.
They will aim to become only the seventh Australian pair since the Open era began in 1968 to win the event, a roll of honour headed by Mark Woodforde and Todd Woodbridge (six times) and John Newcombe and Tony Roche (four).
“Man, we want it so bad, you know?” Purcell said. “And this is the game we have to win. (I) know how good I felt last time and I really want to do it with Thommo.”