Max Purcell levelled the head-to-head ledger against Aleksandar Vukic for his first singles win in New York in three attempts.
New York, USA, 28 August 2024 | Dan Imhoff
Max Purcell has cleared the opening hurdle at the US Open for the first time after denying fellow Sydneysider Aleksandar Vukic in straight sets to become the fifth Australian men’s winner on Day 2.
The 26-year-old had not won a match in two prior main draw appearances at Flushing Meadows but bucked the trend with a 7-5 6-4 6-3 result.
The two-hour, 15-minute victory continued a strong start for his compatriots following earlier wins for 10th seed Alex de Minaur, doubles partner Jordan Thompson, Thanasi Kokkinakis and Tristan Schoolkate.
Max takes the all-Aussie battle 🇦🇺@MaxPurcell98 is off to a strong start at the @usopen with a win over compatriot Aleks Vukic 7-5 6-4 6-3.#GoAussies pic.twitter.com/1w4hE2yf8t
— TennisAustralia (@TennisAustralia) August 27, 2024
He secured a clash against either American 14th seed Tommy Paul or this week’s Winston Salem champion, Lorenzo Sonego, for the chance to pass a Grand Slam singles second round for the first time.
“Something kind of clicked in practice. I felt like I started hitting the ball a lot better, certainly than the previous days, and brought it into the warm-up this morning and I felt like I brought it into today’s match,” Purcell told Stan Sport.
“I struggled against ‘Vuke’ in the past just with how his game matches up with mine, but I felt like I just had really good control of the ball today.”
The world No.97’s 36 winners were four fewer than Vukic’s count, but his 16 unforced errors were five fewer as he levelled the pair’s head-to-head at 1-all.
> READ: De Minaur returns to action with first-round US Open win
An ankle injury at 4-all in the second set did not help matters for Vukic, who was also bidding to pass the first round in New York for the first time in three attempts.
He had claimed the pair’s only tour-level meeting on grass at ‘s-Hertogenbosch in the round of 32 in June before Purcell went on to reach his maiden ATP final later that month at Eastbourne.
“I just really had to pretend I had no idea who he was,” Purcell said of facing his friend. “I guess unlucky for ‘Vuke’ late in that second set there, a little bit of an ankle injury, but I see it as 1-1.
“Final of the Busan Challenger last year I couldn’t continue, so he made it a little…
Click Here to Read the Full Original Article at Tennis.com.au – Tennis Australia…