Mel Purcell
 |
|
| Country (sports) |
 United States
|
|---|---|
| Residence | Murray, KY |
| Born |
July 18, 1959 Joplin, MO |
| Height | 1.77 m (5 ft 10 in) |
| Turned pro | 1979 |
| Retired | 1988 |
| Plays | Right-handed (one-handed backhand) |
| Prize money | $797,197 |
| Singles | |
| Career record | 190–164 |
| Career titles | 3 |
| Highest ranking | No. 21 (November 3, 1980) |
| Grand Slam Singles results | |
| French Open | 4R (1981, 1982) |
| Wimbledon | QF (1983) |
| US Open | 3R (1980, 1981, 1982, 1986) |
| Doubles | |
| Career record | 118–139 |
| Career titles | 4 |
| Highest ranking | No. 47 (August 20, 1984) |
| Grand Slam Doubles results | |
| French Open | QF (1981) |
| Wimbledon | 3R (1984) |
| US Open | 3R (1978, 1982, 1983) |
Mel Purcell (born July 18, 1959) is a former American tennis player. His career-high singles ranking was World No. 21, achieved in November 1980. Purcell's finest moment was when he reached the quarter-finals of Wimbledon in 1983. He is the head coach of the Murray State University men's tennis team.
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.
Purcell made his first splash on the professional circuit in the summer of 1980. As a wild card entrant at the Washington (D.C.) Star Tournament, he upset top-ranked Eddie Dibbs. Two weeks later, he qualified for a spot in the U.S. Clay Courts. There, he beat Hank Pfister and top-10 ranked Harold Solomon before falling 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) on the famed grass courts. He reached the quarterfinals in 1983, beating Tim Wilkison, Stuart Bale, Andreas Mauer and Brian Gottfried before falling to eventual runner-up New Zealand's Chris Lewis 6–7, 6–0, 6–4, 7–6 in the quarterfinals.
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