Houston, USA, 9 April 2023 | Leigh Rogers

Houston, USA

Max Purcell and Jordan Thompson are through to the doubles final at an ATP 250 tournament in Houston.

The Aussie combination won two tight matches today to progress to their first ATP final as a team.

Purcell and Thompson eliminated second-seeded Americans Nathaniel Lammons and Jackson Withrow in the quarterfinals, before returning to the court to post a hard-fought 7-6(6) 7-6(5) victory against Kazakhstan pair Andrey Golubev and Aleksandr Nedovyesov in the semifinals.

This propels 28-year-old Thompson into his third career ATP doubles title and first on clay.

Purcell is the defending champion in Houston, having claimed his maiden ATP doubles title at the tournament alongside fellow Aussie Matt Ebden last year.

This is 25-year-old Purcell’s seventh career tour-level doubles final – and first since winning the Wimbledon 2022 title with Ebden.

They’ll play third-seeded British pair Julian Cash and Henry Patten in tomorrow’s final.

Rain has caused havoc to the schedule in Houston this week, with almost three full days of play lost. It meant Purcell played three matches today, also bowing out in the singles competition in a rain-delayed second-round match.

Jason Kubler won his second-round match to progress to his second career ATP-level singles quarterfinal. But top-seeded American Frances Tiafoe stopped his winning run in the quarterfinals.

Putting on a show 🍿

🇦🇺 Jason Kubler | #USClay pic.twitter.com/ZC5TqaAOS7

— Tennis TV (@TennisTV) April 8, 2023

Aussies in action – Houston

RESULTS
Men’s singles, second round
[6] Jason Kubler (AUS) d Daniel Elahi Galan (COL) 6-4 6-2
[8] Tomas Martin Etcheverry (ARG) d Max Purcell (AUS) 7-6(5) 6-1

Men’s singles, quarterfinals
[1] Frances Tiafoe (USA) d [6] Jason Kubler (AUS) 6-4 6-4

Men’s doubles, quarterfinals
Max Purcell (AUS)/Jordan Thompson (AUS) d [2] Nathaniel Lammons (USA)/Jackson Withrow (USA) 6-4 7-6(7)
Robert Galloway (USA)/Miguel Angel Reyes-Varela (MEX) d [1] Rinky Hijikata (AUS)/Jason Kubler (AUS) walkover

Men’s doubles, semifinals
Max Purcell (AUS)/Jordan Thompson (AUS) d Andrey Golubev (KAZ)/Aleksandr Nedovyesov (KAZ) 7-6(6) 7-6(5)

COMING UP
Men’s doubles, final
Max Purcell (AUS)/Jordan Thompson (AUS) v Julian Cash (GBR)/Henry Patten (GBR)

Monte Carlo, Monaco

Alexei Popyrin has made a promising start to his qualifying quest at an ATP Masters 1000 tournament in Monte Carlo.

The 23-year-old Australian fired 26 winners in a 3-6 6-3 6-1 opening-round win against Czech Vit Kopriva.

Popyrin now plays French wildcard Benoit Paire, a former top-20 player, for a place in the main draw.

Aussies in action – Monte Carlo

RESULTS
Men’s qualifying singles, first round
[13] Alexei Popyrin (AUS) d Vit Kopriva (CZE) 3-6 6-3 6-1

COMING UP
Men’s qualifying singles, final round
[13] Alexei Popyrin (AUS) v [WC] Benoit Paire (FRA)

Men’s singles, first round
[14] Alex de Minaur (AUS) v Andy Murray (GBR)

Men’s doubles, first round
[7] Matt Ebden (AUS)/Rohan Bopanna (IND) v Rafael Matos (BRA)/David Vega Hernandez (ESP)
John Peers (AUS)/Frances Tiafoe (USA) v Juan Sebastian Cabal (COL)/Robert Farah (COL)

Book online, play today: Visit play.tennis.com.au to get out on court and have some fun!