Bengaluru:Australia’s Max Purcell came full circle at DafaNews Bengaluru Open 2023. The youngster returned, from one set down, to beat his compatriot James Duckworth 3-6, 7-5, 7-6 (7-5) in the men’s singles finals at KSLTA on Sunday night.
The Australian endured all the gruelling time in this tournament, but came out trumps in three-setters after the chips were down, and all this is sure to be pushed higher up in his memory bank.
Purcell was fantastic in the two-hour and 50 minutes red-hot contest. The Australian had the desire to be there, and he did all this with his drop shots, change of trajectory and net play he utilized to gain a foothold in the finals.
And as much as Purcell is known as one of the “comeback masters”, at least in this tournament, he would have been thinking his chance dissipated after he was 1-3 down in the second set, before he was overwhelmed in the first.
Purcell knew if he was to come from two sets down, he likely would have to force unforced errors upon Duckworth, and he did excel by breaking his compatriot twice in the second set.
Hanging on in the match proved to be huge for Purcell as he looked seemingly inconsequential when Duckworth was in control.
And in the decider, Purcell remained focused with his variety of shots to bamboozle his opponent, and lift the crown for the second time in less than two weeks, having won last Sunday the Chennai Open.
Duckworth did not have to strain himself much to win the first set 6-3 and it indicated a quick end to the match. But that was not to be as Purcell gathered his game together in the second set.
The sustained pressure saw Purcell, the Wimbledon doubles title winner in 2022, earning three break points in the 10th game but Duckworth, a World No. 128, saved all of them to hold it. But eventually Purcell made the decisive break in the 12th game to go level at 1 set. He won the second set 7-5.
The third set went by serve, even though Purcell looked more confident and collected. His mix of power and touch was a sight to the sore eyes, especially the guile and feel in his backhand.
In the tie-break, Purcell closed out the match without much ado, as a good house of crowd cheered him on.
It was the just culmination of the prestigious tournament, hosted by the Karnataka State Lawn Tennis Association (KSLTA) at the KSLTA Stadium in Bengaluru, which witnessed high-voltage action dished out by top players from more than 20 countries.
On Saturday, the South Korean-Taipei pair of Yunseong Chung and Yu Hsiou Hsu clinched the doubles title defeating the Indian duo of Anirudh Chandrasekhar and N Vijay Sundar Prashanth.
