Max Purcell sliced and diced his way into a maiden ATP Tour final in England on Friday but his compatriot Aleks Vukic was rattled by a seagull invasion before falling narrowly short of forcing an all-Australian decider in a tournament at Eastbourne.
The two Sydneysiders have struck form in the final grass court event in England prior to Wimbledon and both performed admirably in tricky conditions as a coastal breeze added to the challenge posed by rivals Taylor Fritz and Billy Harris.
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Purcell, who has made changes to his team in recent weeks after a testing period where he was at risk of slipping outside the top 100, ended the run of English wildcard Harris 6-4 4-6 6-4 in 2hr 13min with a classy all-court performance.
Vukic, who fell to the American star Fritz in a tight final in Atlanta last July, tested the world No. 13 again in the second semi-final before falling 7-6 (5) 7-6 (4) in a quality affair lasting 1hr 47min.
But as day turned towards dusk, Vukic had to contend with a flock of seagulls as well as the quality provided by the former Indian Wells champion Fritz.
Purcell, who peaked at a ranking of 40 last year but had slipped to 94 prior to arriving in southern England for the Eastbourne event, felt like his best form was not far away in recent weeks.
After winning through qualifying, this has rung true in the main draw for the 26-year-old, who will be inside the top 70 when Wimbledon begins on Monday.
He defeated Laslo Djere in three sets in the first round before claiming the scalps of Lorenzo Sonego, Miomir Kecmanovic and finally Harris on Friday. Fritz, who edged him in two tiebreakers when the met in Basel last year, is the next target.
“I have a new coach this week and I feel everything is coming together this week,” Purcell said.
“It feels good. Qualifying last week in Halle gave me confidence, a couple of straight sets matches there. I felt that I was due to get a couple of wins.”
He is the fourth qualifier in the tournament’s history to reach the decider but faces a significant test against the former world No. 5, who is a dual-champion at Eastbourne.
Fritz also required two tiebreaks to deny Vukic, who gained a start as a lucky loser but will arrive at Wimbledon with confidence after a good week on the grass.
“I felt like I had a lot of chances to break and I just couldn’t make it happen,” Fritz said.
“Perhaps … I could have done better but for the majority he played very well, so credit to him. It doesn’t feel good just scraping by in ‘breakers but it gives me a lot of confidence that I am finding ways to win.
“I started to find a bit of rhythm in the end when the wind died down. At least I can say that I’m serving well and I am getting those chances to break. I just need to take them.
“(Being a former champion) has been helping me all week. I love playing here. The tournament is extra special to me because this is where I got my first title … and hopefully I’ll be back tomorrow to get number three.”
Purcell, a former Wimbledon doubles champion, has drawn Finnish qualifier Otto Virtanen in his opening round match at Wimbledon, while Vukic will tackle the 54th-ranked Sebastian Ofner, who will play in a final in Mallorca on Saturday.