Matthew Ebden and Max Purcell were among many Australians to record memorable results at Wimbledon 2022.
London, Great Britain, 19 July 2022 | Vivienne Christie
As the last ball was struck at the 2022 Championships, Australian tennis could celebrate a collective success. While Nick Kyrgios had made a headline-grabbing run to a first Grand Slam singles final, Matthew Ebden and Max Purcell fought brilliantly to become the first all-Australian winners of a Wimbledon doubles title in 22 years.
There was also another standout performance in mixed doubles, where Ebden and Sam Stosur were the first all-Australian finalists since 2004.
Introducing our 2022 #Wimbledon champions and runners-up 🏆
🥇 Gentlemen’s Doubles: @mattebden/@MaxPurcell98
🥈 Gentlemen’s Singles: @NickKyrgios
🥈 Mixed Doubles: @bambamsam30/@mattebden #GoAussies pic.twitter.com/ZqKZWJroRa— TennisAustralia (@TennisAustralia) July 11, 2022
The signs that it would be a special Wimbledon for Australian tennis had occurred weeks before. Six Australians had earned entry into the main draw of the prestigious Grand Slam through qualifying, marking the most successful Wimbledon qualifying campaign for our nation in 27 years.
It was a hard-earned milestone for some players, with match points saved and some come-from-behind-victories along the way. For world No.209 Purcell, it was a rare occasion of competing over five sets.
“It’s a different experience, trying to figure out your way and how your body’s going to work for five sets and mentally knowing that two sets up and you have to win one more,” said Purcell after overcoming No.13 seed Nuno Borges in four sets to take his place in the main draw.
“I think I dealt with it really well when I played. I was a set and a break down, but I just thought, ‘you know, just make it as tough as I can for this guy’.”
Purcell was one of four Australian players to subsequently make his main draw singles debut at Wimbledon, with Maddison Inglis, Jaimee Fourlis and Zoe Hives also contesting the revered tournament for the first time. Jason Kubler and Astra Sharma, the other two Australian qualifiers, brought experience from earlier main draw campaigns.
Resilience developed in their broader careers served those players well. Fourlis, who saved match points in her first qualifying match, is finally in full health after career-threatening shoulder injury. Zoe Hives had battled even harder to simply compete…
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