Australia’s Max Purcell and Jordan Thompson have knocked out the No.1 seeded pairing to win a spot in the men’s doubles final at Wimbledon.
It took the 15th seeds just 71 minutes to ease past favourites Marcel Granollers and Horacio Zeballos in straight sets, 6-4, 6-4, with a commanding performance.
It will be Thompson’s first Wimbledon final and Purcell’s second, and fourth grand slam final.
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Australia’s Max Purcell and Jordan Thompson celebrate their Wimbledon men’s doubles semi-final win over Marcel Granollers and Horacio Zeballos on Thursday, July 11, 2024. Nine
The Australians left it late to break in both sets but, apart from having to fight off break point in the service game directly after they broke in the first set, looked relatively comfortable throughout.
“On paper, they were the underdogs, but in my mind, on this surface, they were always the favourites,” Australian doubles legend Todd Woodbridge said on the Nine commentary.
“But it’s nice to come in as the underdog. There’s a little less pressure.”
The Australians were ahead of their Argentine and Spanish rivals on almost every metric but their ability to win four out of every five second serves, compared to 38 per cent for the Spanish speakers, was telling.
Australia’s Max Purcell and Jordan Thompson celebrate their Wimbledon men’s doubles semi-final win over Marcel Granollers and Horacio Zeballos on Thursday, July 11, 2024. Nine
“It was a masterclass on the lawns of the All England Tennis Club,” former South African player Robbie Koenig said as the crowd celebrated the dominant win.
“They were simply stunning from first ball to last.”