US OPEN

September 7, 2024

Max Purcell

Jordan Thompson

Press Conference

PURCELL-THOMPSON/Krawietz-Puetz

6-4, 7-6

THE MODERATOR: Jordan, Max, if each of you would give us your thoughts on the win.

JORDAN THOMPSON: Yeah, it was a great match. Clean match today. Obviously nerves are going to be at the end. But, you know, they were riding a little bit of momentum at the end, but I feel like we were the better team. I don't really say that too often, but from the get-go I thought we were creating chances and we just played really a good, clean match today.

MAX PURCELL: Yeah, more of what Thommo said. I feel like every match we got a little bit better. Obviously there's more tension when winning the match means the title not just another round. And being that we got so close the last one, we really wanted to get over the hump this time.

Yeah, I mean, doubles, so much shit, for lack of better words, can happen, so I'm glad that we kind of navigated our way through it at the end there and then got the win.

THE MODERATOR: Questions.

Q. Well done, guys. Congratulations. From a strategy standpoint, what were you doing against either player? Did you have specific plans against either player?

MAX PURCELL: I know that, I mean, I've watched enough doubles to know that where guys' weaknesses and whatnot are. I'm not going to go and say their weaknesses, but these days as well as that a lot of doubles players stand so close to the net. Lobs work a treat. I felt like the court was really slow today.

If we got it over and get it to land, even if we didn't get it to land, we got it in a difficult spot, we felt like we could extend that point, and the longer the points went, I felt like they were in our favor with the kind of skill we have from singles as well.

That was one. And then high percentage of good quality first serves so they didn't get as many hits in. I think relatively really clean match out there with those tactics, besides one hiccup on a service game, and I think that was key for us.

Q. To both of you guys, congratulations. Can you just relive the match point, the ace to close it out, what those feelings were like. I don't think I've ever seen the two of you look so happy and excited before.

JORDAN THOMPSON: Yeah, Maxy sends down an ace to win a Grand Slam title, I don't think there's many better feelings than that.

For me, just watching the ball go away from the player and hitting the square and it's not coming back, it couldn't be any better. I don't have to play a tough volley, I don't have to do anything, I just stand there and hopefully look good.

Q. Max, how did it feel for you at that point?

MAX PURCELL: I'd like to say I'm not going to screw it up twice. I felt like something good was coming there, yeah. (Smiling.)

Q. How much was the Wimbledon match in your minds when you had those two match points returning and then when you were serving for the match in the second set?

MAX PURCELL: Yeah, a fair bit (smiling). Yeah, glad we didn't have to try and start from scratch in the third. I felt like because of Wimbledon we would have been okay at the start of the third. I felt like we produced a lot more chances on the returning side than they did. I felt like they struggled with the lights, maybe the conditions, more than us.

Understandable, because I felt like today was a different tournament than the rest of the week. It was the most difficult and different conditions we played on. In fact, it's probably better prep for us for Valencia than it was previous days here at the US Open. I felt like our skill set helped us handle that a bit better.

Yeah, Wimbledon kind of helped us and probably made us focus a little bit more once it kind of slipped again to make sure it didn't slip a third time.

Q. You guys said yesterday it didn't matter that you're on the big court. But today, quite a few people turned out, probably more than what you expected turned out to actually watch the doubles, do you think? Was it a good atmosphere out there for you?

JORDAN THOMPSON: Yeah, it was a great atmosphere, but I don't think we were worried about playing on a big court or anything. Yeah, it's a bigger court than usual but I wouldn't say the crowd was the biggest one that we played in. We've played Davis Cup matches, and it feels like the crowd is on the court sometimes.

Yeah, we were prepared for all, but it just felt like another doubles match for us.

Q. Pretty good Australian legacy here in men's doubles. I think you guys are the first team since the Woodies to win here. What does it feel to sort of add to that legacy?

MAX PURCELL: Yeah, really good. I feel like Australian doubles has always had good players. We had Peersy before us kind of going deep in slams, and Ebby last year had a really good run and then into the start of this year, myself and Ebby a couple years before that.

I just think we're such well-rounded players that when we need to play doubles and figure out how to win doubles matches, we've got more than enough court craft to do that.

I guess the camaraderie of Australian players, we all kind of stick together, Thommo and I especially. That's a huge factor in why we win.

Q. You're up a set and a break, things are rolling, better team, better players, then things go off the rails for a little bit. What did you do as a team to get back into a spot that you could then go forward and finish the match?

MAX PURCELL: Blamed it on someone else, to start. Not Thommo. I just found something, blamed it on that. Moved on. I think straight after that we won the next two points returning. Didn't break, but we still knew we're up a set, we get this to a breaker, they're the ones that need to produce something to get out of this set and get into the match, and then they still have to win another set in these kind of slow, dead conditions. We're the players to beat.

I think everything was kind of weighing on them a bit more than us. It was just more of us getting to another match point and then finishing it off.

Q. How much of a factor was the second-round match with JP?

MAX PURCELL: Oh, they were annoying as, thank god for them.

Q. The fact you saved match points in that, that gave you the confidence? So often we've seen where a player could be saving match points early in a tournament, go on to win.

MAX PURCELL: Both slams I've won now I saved match points in earlier rounds. I think, I mean, I guess it's a bit of a good omen then, right? The next one we'll just try and save match points and then put a bet on us to win the tournaments.

JORDAN THOMPSON: A couple of idiots in the crowd.

MAX PURCELL: No, they were bloody annoying. I was feeling pretty average after my singles match that next day. I was really trying to focus on getting better for Davis Cup, I wasn't really thinking about hanging around here. Thommo wasn't also feeling too great. No, they definitely lifted us. Huge ups to them.

Q. Compared to the other times you've done it, grade your flying chest bump at the end?

MAX PURCELL: Shocking. Doesn't matter though.

JORDAN THOMPSON: It's a winning one so we can get away with it.

MAX PURCELL: Yeah. Wouldn't have mattered if we missed each other.

Q. Why do you guys click together so well as a doubles team?

JORDAN THOMPSON: I think we're good mates. We're both from the same place. My dad has coached us both. We don't think of it as we're doubles players. We think we're singles players and doubles is just a bonus and we get an extra practice trying to improve our singles.

And then it all just comes together. I mean, I feel like we're pretty well-rounded. Even though I'm a little bit older than Maxy, I feel like he's definitely the team leader, and I just follow his lead. His doubles expertise is a lot better than mine. Sometimes I feel like I'm just playing singles out there. I feel like I'm a singles player who can volley, so if I can put that into doubles, I will just keep improving as long as I can get on the doubles practice court.

Q. Max, your take?

MAX PURCELL: We do everything so well that we have options. So if we play against teams where we need to hit over-returns, we can hit over-returns. If we're playing against somebody to hit a lob, we can lob if we need it. Serve kicker, serve sliders. We have got all the options.

I feel like it makes it hard to build tactics against us, because they don't know what tactics we are going to throw at them? So I feel like they come in behind the eight ball to begin with. Plus we enjoy ourselves a lot out there. I mean, obviously there is some seriousness and we are not playing for nothing. But for the most part it feels like we are the most relaxed. We need it less than the rest of the teams. And I feel like we are a little bit more relaxed, because I feel like we are good enough to just continually get these opportunities.