It was the breakout moment for Australian tennis’s new nonconformist.
Max Purcell – who just one year before was ranked close to No 300 – had deservedly taken the first set of his quarter-final at August’s Cincinnati Masters against then world No 1 Carlos Alcaraz.
As expected, the Spanish phenomenon surged in the second set and broke the Australian early in the third to lead 2-0. But with his throwback serve-and-volley game, the 25-year-old shocked the Ohio crowd in breaking back.
Purcell wasn’t going anywhere. Right to the end, the underdog went back and forth with Alcaraz, the man widely anointed as the face of tennis for the coming post-Novak Djokovic era. Eventually, the Sydneysider missed a break-back chance in the final game, succumbing 4-6, 6-3, 6-4.
“I was a bit disappointed losing, because you don’t get too many chances deep in a third set against a world No 1 to get a [win]” Purcell says ahead of this week’s Australian Open.
“But I was stoked about the five matches prior, getting through, showing how tough I am and showing I can play ball with the big dogs. And not only that, but bringing a completely different game style to rattle them.”
A young Purcell would get dragged to the courts on Sydney’s northern beaches alongside his older sister and fraternal twin brother, but initially he was more interested in catching lizards. Slowly, he caught the tennis bug too, sending him along a path that has taken him to the top 50 on the ATP tour thanks to a jump of 168 rankings places during 2023.
But the 25-year-old’s route has been something other than conventional. Initially Purcell made a name for himself on the doubles circuit, winning Wimbledon in 2022 alongside countryman Matt Ebden. He still watches more doubles than singles: “There’s more variety, and everything’s a bit quicker.”
He has been outspoken. In 2022 he briefly feuded with Nick Kyrgios, and accused Lleyton Hewitt that he “didn’t have the balls” to call Purcell and tell him he hadn’t been given a wildcard for the Australian Open. “Lleyton and I are great now,” he says.
And through it all, he has relied on one of today’s more funky playing styles.
“I find there’s about 80% of the tour who are that ‘cookie-cutter’,” he says. “It might look different to the eye with their technique, but the patterns and the ball speed are pretty similar.”
In 2024, the majority of players rely on powerful and well rehearsed top-spin ground strokes to control points from the baseline, confident that their returns and passes will discourage opponents who like to vary their approach.
“It doesn’t really matter how good I am from the back of the court,” Purcell says. “There’s 200 guys out there just as good, so I just feel like the fact that I have the options coming forward, have the slice, have the hands. Why not use it? It’d be stupid not to.”
In addition to his favourite shot, the slice backhand, Purcell has developed a reliable forehand slice that he feels comfortable using as an attacking weapon. And he has the touch – fine-tuned over years of playing doubles at the top level – to be effective at the net.
In the past year he has won 72.4% of his first service points, a rate similar to top 10 contenders Holger Rune, Tommy Paul and Casper Ruud – who Purcell beat in his Cincinnati run – as well as Alcaraz.
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Yet the Australian knows he can’t serve and volley every point. The approach is more effective on slicker courts, with faster balls, and against players who are defensive in their returns.
“Regardless of your surface and balls, I love to still do it,” he says. “But it just might not be that 70 to 100% of the time, and might be that 20% of the time.”
Whatever the conditions, Purcell enjoys how his approach challenges his opponents. “20% when you’re returning against, still feels a lot more than 20%,” he says. “Especially against guys who stand back or look to be a bit more passive on return, I think it’s a great play.”
He has been able to make the most of the on-court contest thanks to a refined off-court approach. More than six years after Purcell won his first professional tournament, he has now found a rhythm on tour.
Purcell doesn’t plan on returning to Australia mid-season in 2024, he wants to focus on preparation in a schedule designed to suit his style, and he knows he needs to listen when his body tells him to take a break. Mentally, too, he feels as he’s taken a step forward, particularly given the response to his comments about Hewitt.
“Whatever I think is fine, but it needs to stay in my head, and I think I just need to soldier on and that be part of my journey,” he says. “Because I mean, far out, there are so many players that don’t have any opportunities. So I think I was just a little ungrateful at what I did or didn’t get.”
But on court at least, the upstart won’t stop pushing people’s buttons. Even tennis royalty like Alcaraz.
“I saw in an interview after [their August match], people asked him what he hates in tennis, and he said serve-and-volley,” Purcell says. “That kind of made me chuckle a bit.”
Round one of the Australian Open begins on Sunday 14 January at Melbourne Park.
