In their Nitto ATP Finals debut, Jordan Thompson and Max Purcell commenced their doubles campaign with a victory in Turin overnight.
The Aussie fifth seeds overcame a challenging opening set to defeat No.3 pair Wesley Koolhof and Nikola Mektić 7-6(1) 6-1.
A double break in the second set was enough for Thompson and Purcell to run away with the match and seal their first win to sit top of the Mike Bryan Group.
"It was great. From the get-go, we were on it, we were ready to play," said Thompson. "We’re happy to be here, so it was massively pleasing.
"It's great for our first time here. [We] Started with a win, life couldn’t be better here."
Having only been broken once throughout the contest, Purcell believes their service games will prove vital in determining how far they go.
"[It] will be really key this week," said the 26-year-old when referring to the serve. "I feel like the courts aren’t playing that fast. We kept hitting our spots and getting through our service games pretty quick, which means that the pressure on our opponents is going to be a lot.
"We didn’t break in the first, but we broke three times in the second set. That shows that we put that pressure on and got our chances."
2024 has been a breakout season for the Sydneysiders, claiming the US Open doubles crown, while also being one point away from Wimbledon glory.
"I think we said in March that we wanted to come to Turin," Purcell shared. "That was our goal, and to finish the year in the top-10, but the job’s not done and we have four more matches hopefully."
In the singles, Alex de Minaur once again hit a brick wall against world No.1 Jannik Sinner, going down 6-3 6-4 in his maiden ATP Finals appearance.
The 25-year-old extends an unwanted streak against the Italian to 0-8 in the head-to-head, only winning one set out of a possible 19.
"Obviously it’s never easy playing against the best player in the world at the moment," de Minaur said. "I knew I had my work cut out for me. I thought I started well and then [it] kind of slipped away [with] two breaks.
"I just couldn’t sustain the level that I needed today to beat Jannik. He’s playing with a lot of confidence at the moment. In the big points, he showed it."
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