Mel Purcell (born July 18, 1959) is a former professional tennis player and coach from the U.S. His career-high singles ranking was world No. 21, achieved in November 1980. Purcell's finest moment was when he reached the quarterfinals of Wimbledon in 1983. He was head coach of the Murray State University men's tennis team from 1996 to 2016.
Early years Purcell grew up in Murray, Kentucky, and played in the Kentucky State Tennis Tournament as a fifth-grader, and won two state doubles crowns with older brother Del as a middle schooler. He made the state singles finals three straight years, winning as a senior.
Purcell graduated Murray High School and went on to Memphis State University (now the University of Memphis), where he played for one year. He transferred to the University of Tennessee, where in 1980 he won an NCAA doubles championship with teammate Rodney Harmon.
Pro career Purcell made his debut on the professional circuit in Summer 1980. As a wild card entrant at the Washington (D.C.) Star Tournament, he upset top-seeded Eddie Dibbs. Two weeks later, he qualified for a spot in the U.S. Clay Courts, where he beat Hank Pfister and top-10 ranked Harold Solomon, then lost in the finals to José Luis Clerc. Purcell saw his Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) ranking soar from the 300s to the top 40 and was crowned 1980 ATP Rookie of the Year.
The next year, he played at Wimbledon, the first of six appearances (1981–85, 1987). He reached the quarterfinals in 1983, beating Tim Wilkison, Stuart Bale, Andreas Maurer and Brian Gottfried.
Purcell played in the US Open 10 times (1978–87) where he recorded victories over Stan Smith, Andrés Gómez and Ilie Năstase, among others. During this time, he was part of a rare match where he lost to fifth-seeded José Luis Clerc in the third round of the 1981 US Open despite winning two sets 6–0. He competed in the French Open six times (1981–84, 1987–88) where he twice reached the fourth round in singles and in 1981 reached the doubles quarterfinals with Vincent Van Patten.
Another career highlight was beating Ivan Lendl at the U.S. Pro Tennis Championships in Boston in 1982.
Injuries to his elbow from a car accident and a pulled stomach muscle slowed his career in 1985, but a year later, he beat Boris Becker in the German Open.
Purcell won three ATP singles titles in 1981: at Atlanta, Tampa and Tel Aviv. He also teamed to claim four doubles titles: at Delray Beach (1982 with Chip Hooper), Munich (1982 with Eliot Teltscher) and Vienna (1983 with Stan Smith and 1987 with Tim Wilkison).
Awards and accolades In 2015, Purcell was inducted into The Kentucky Athletic Hall of Fame.
Career finals Singles (3 titles, 5 runner-ups) ResultW/L DateTournamentSurfaceOpponentScoreLoss 0–1 Aug 1980 Indianapolis, U.S. Clay José Luis Clerc 5–7, 3–6Win 1–1 Mar 1981 Tampa, U.S. Hard Jeff Borowiak 4–6, 6–4, 6–3Win 2–1 Aug 1981 Atlanta, U.S. Hard Gilles Moretton 6–4, 6–2Win 3–1 Oct 1981 Tel Aviv, Israel Hard Per Hjertquist 6–1, 6–1Loss 3–2 Apr 1982 Los Angeles, U.S. Hard Jimmy Connors 2–6, 1–6Loss 3–3 Jul 1982 Boston, U.S. Clay Guillermo Vilas 4–6, 0–6Loss 3–4 Mar 1983 Monte Carlo, Monaco Clay Mats Wilander 1–6, 2–6, 3–6Loss 3–5 Oct 1983 Vienna, Austria Hard (i) Brian Gottfried 2–6, 3–6, 5–7
Doubles (4 titles, 4 runner-ups)
ResultW/L DateTournamentSurfacePartnerOpponentsScoreLoss 0–1 Mar 1981 Denver, U.S. Carpet (i) Dick Stockton Andrew Pattison Butch Walts 3–6, 4–6Win 1–1 Jan 1982 Delray Beach WCT, U.S. Clay Eliot Teltscher Tomáš Šmíd Balázs Taróczy 6–4, 7–6Loss 1–2 Feb 1982 Monterrey, Mexico Carpet (i) Tracy Delatte Victor Amaya Hank Pfister 3–6, 7–6, 3–6Win 2–2 May 1982 Munich, Germany Clay Chip Hooper Tian Viljoen Danie Visser 6–4, 7–6 Win 3–2 Oct 1983 Vienna, Austria Carpet (i) Stan Smith Marcos Hocevar Cássio Motta 6–3, 6–4Loss 3–3 Jul 1986 Boston, U.S. Clay Dan Cassidy Hans Gildemeister Andrés Gómez 6–4, 5–7, 0–6Loss 3–4 Oct 1987 Scottsdale, U.S. Hard Dan Goldie Rick Leach Jim Pugh 3–6, 2–6Win 4–4 Oct 1987 Vienna, Austria Carpet (i) Tim Wilkison Emilio Sánchez Javier Sánchez 6–3, 7–5
Today Purcell was the head men's tennis coach at Murray State University from 1996 – when he succeeded his father, hall of fame coach Bennie Purcell – until the university dropped the sport in 2016. He led Murray State to back-to-back Ohio Valley Conference titles in 2001 and 2002 and was named OVC Coach of the Year both seasons.
He was still playing matches on the Jimmy Connors Champions Tour in his 40s, where he played against and sometimes beat Jimmy Connors, Björn Borg, and John McEnroe.
Purcell hosts a tennis camp every summer for children and teens.
References
External links
Murray State University profile Murray State University Men's Tennis Team The Paducah Sun archives, 1990 four-part series about Mel Purcell