1. Mel Purcell was born on July 18,1959 and is a former professional tennis player and coach from the US His career-high singles ranking was world No 21, achieved in November 1980.
16 Facts About Mel Purcell
1. 2.
Mel Purcell was head coach of the Murray State University men's tennis team from 1996 to 2016.
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Mel 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.
4.
Mel Purcell made the state singles finals three straight years, winning as a senior.
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Mel Purcell graduated Murray High School and went on to Memphis State University, where he played for one year.
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Mel Purcell transferred to the University of Tennessee, where in 1980 he won an NCAA doubles championship with teammate Rodney Harmon.
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Mel Purcell made his debut on the professional circuit in Summer 1980.
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Mel Purcell saw his Association of Tennis Professionals ranking soar from the 300s to the top 40 and was crowned 1980 ATP Rookie of the Year.
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Mel Purcell reached the quarterfinals in 1983, beating Tim Wilkison, Stuart Bale, Andreas Maurer and Brian Gottfried to reach the quarterfinals.
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Mel Purcell played in the US Open 10 times where he recorded victories over Stan Smith, Andres Gomez and Ilie Nastase, among others.
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Mel Purcell competed in the French Open six times where he twice reached the fourth round in singles and in 1981 reached the doubles quarterfinals with Vincent Van Patten.
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Mel Purcell won three ATP singles titles in 1981: at Atlanta, Tampa and Tel Aviv.
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Mel Purcell teamed to claim four doubles titles: at Delray Beach, Munich and Vienna.
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In 2015, Mel Purcell was inducted into The Kentucky Athletic Hall of Fame.
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Mel Purcell 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.
16.
Mel Purcell was still playing matches on the Jimmy Connors Champions Tour in his 40s, where he played against and sometimes beat Jimmy Connors, Bjorn Borg, and John McEnroe.