Purcell/Thompson set showdown with Granollers/Zeballos in New York
Can Max Purcell and Jordan Thompson complete a Grand Slam redemption story at the US Open?
The Australian duo booked its quarter-final spot at the hard-court major on Friday afternoon with a 7-6(3), 6-3 triumph against Nuno Borges and Francisco Cabral. Purcell and Thompson did not face a break point in their 86-minute triumph on Grandstand, where they struck 32 winners to Borges and Cabral’s 18.
Seeded seventh at Flushing Meadows, Purcell and Thompson are chasing their maiden Grand Slam title as a team. The pair held three championship points at Wimbledon in July before falling to a heartbreaking loss to Harri Heliovaara and Henry Patten. They have lifted three ATP 250 trophies together this year, however, and the pair is currently up one spot to seventh in the PIF ATP Live Doubles Teams Rankings as it chases a spot at the season-ending Nitto ATP Finals.
[ATP APP]Standing in Purcell and Thompson’s way in the last eight in New York are top seeds Marcel Granollers and Horacio Zeballos. The Spanish-Argentine duo defeated Yuki Bhambri and Albano Olivetti 6-2, 6-2 in a 62-minute third-round encounter.
In the bottom half of the draw, 10th seeds Kevin Krawietz and Tim Puetz ousted fifth seeds Simone Bolelli and Andrea Vavassori 6-4, 3-6, 7-6(4). The German pair, which has already reached the quarter-finals at the Australian Open and Wimbledon this year, will take on second seeds Rohan Bopanna/Matthew Ebden or 16th seeds Maximo Gonzalez/Andres Molteni in the last eight.
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