Australian duo defeats third seeds in doubles while Alex de Minaur falls in his opening singles match in Turin.
Turin, Italy, 11 November 2024 | ATP with tennis.com.au
Max Purcell and Jordan Thompson opened their doubles campaign at the 2024 ATP Finals in style on Sunday in Turin, while Alex de Minaur suffered a loss in his first singles match of the group stage.
The fifth-seeded Australian pair downed third seeds Wesley Koolhof and Nikola Mektic 7-6(1), 6-3 on their debut at the season finale.
Also in his tournament debut, De Minaur succumbed to world No.1 Jannik Sinner 6-3 6-4.
Dream debut in Turin for the Aussies 🫂
US Open champions @jordanthommmo2 & @MaxPurcell98 pick up their first win in the Mike Bryan Group!#NittoATPFinals pic.twitter.com/kxhea65rmE
— ATP Tour (@atptour) November 10, 2024
Purcell and Thompson took control of their doubles encounter during a mid-match hot streak.
They stormed to the first-set tiebreak before moving 3-0 ahead with a double break in the second set, a lead that ultimately proved unassailable.
“It was great. From the get-go, we were on it, we were ready to play,” said Thompson. “We’re happy to be here at the [ATP Finals] so it was massively pleasing… It’s great for our first time here. Started with a win, life couldn’t be better here.”
After seizing a high-quality first set in the tiebreak, Purcell and Thompson delivered a classy serving display in the second to complete their victory.
The five-time ATP title-winning team dropped just four points on serve in the second set, which freed them up to play aggressively in their return games.
“[The serve] will be really key this week,” said Purcell. “I feel like the courts aren’t playing that fast… We kept hitting our spots and getting through our service games pretty quick, which means that the pressure on our opponents is going to be a lot.
“We didn’t break in the first, but we broke three times in the second set. That just shows that we put that pressure on and got our chances.”
> READ MORE: Thompson and Purcell “just went from strength to strength”
After improving to 2-0 in their head-to-head series against the 2020 ATP Finals champions, Koolhof and Mektic, Purcell and Thompson moved to 1-0 in Mike Bryan Group.
The other teams they will face in group play are Marcel Granollers/Horacio Zeballos and their Wimbledon final conquerors Harri Heliovaara/Henry Patten.
“I think we said in March that we wanted to come to Turin,” said Purcell. “That was our goal, and to finish the year in the top 10 [of the PIF ATP Live Doubles Teams Rankings], but the job’s not done and we have four more matches hopefully.”
It was a baptism of fire for De Minaur in his maiden ATP Finals appearance when he drew top seed Sinner.
The seventh seed broke in the third game but was unable to sustain the momentum against the Italian. De Minaur still has a chance to progress when he faces Daniil Medvedev and Taylor Fritz.
“Obviously it’s never easy playing against the best player in the world at the moment,” De Minaur said. “I knew I had my work cut out for me. I thought I started well and then kind of slipped away, two breaks.
“I just couldn’t sustain the level that I needed today to beat Jannik. He’s playing with a lot of confidence at the moment. In the big points he showed it.”
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