He’d also reached the semi-finals of Eastborne’s ATP 250-level tournament before that,beating Kevin Anderson,Gael Monfils and Andreas Seppi along the way. Purcell will now face the winner of the match between Dominik Koepfer and Facundo Bagnis.
Earlier,Barty crashed out of her first Olympics campaign in disastrous style to Spain’s Sorribes Tormo,who is ranked No.48 in the world. She had never faced Barty before Sunday’s clash and has never gone past the second round of a grand slam event in her career.
But the 24-year-old Spaniard showed no fear against the tournament’s top seed,who turned in an error-riddled performance and whose tough recent schedule may have caught up with her.
All up,Barty made a whopping 55 unforced errors to 13 from Sorribes Tormo.
“I’m disappointed I wasn’t able to get through,” Barty said. “It just wasn’t my day. Credit to Sara though,she is always a tough competitor.
“I never really felt comfortable out there and wasn’t able to play the match on my terms. The key to my game is serving well and I wasn’t able to do that. I was a bit erratic and made too many errors.
“The match was always going to be challenging. I felt like I had to be aggressive and she made me press and over-play.”
Barty was uncomfortable from the outset,coughing up the first set after giving up two early breaks while serving at just 42 per cent as Sorribes Tormo took full advantage of her misfiring performance.
While Barty’s first-serve percentage improved to 62 per cent in the second set - albeit after dropping her first service game - she kept the door ajar for her opponent with a series of overblown or undercooked shots.
Barty missed a huge opportunity to go 4-2 up,sending an easy volley straight into the net - a moment that proved even more costly as Sorribes Tormo broke her serve in the very next game.
The Spaniard then broke Barty’s serve again in the final game to seal a stunning boilover in an hour and 34 minutes.
Conditions were tough,amid oppressive heat in Tokyo which Novak Djokovic labelled “brutal” amid a push from some tennis players to change the Olympic schedule and move matches to later in the afternoon,when the weather is cooler.
Barty agreed with Djokovic’s assessment but said it felt no different to an Australian summer.
“I quite enjoy the heat. I love playing out here in these kind of conditions but it wasn’t meant to be today,” she said.
Loading
Barty’s loss means Australia’s hopes in the women’s singles draw now rest onAjla Tomljanovic,who advanced after her opponent Yaroslava Shvedova of Kazakhstan retired hurt at 7-5,3-2 on Sunday,with Sam Stosur already eliminated.
Barty’s Olympics aren’t quite over yet – she madea winning start to her doubles campaign with Storm Sanders on Saturday.
However,Barty was naturally considered a very strong medal chance in the singles,and hopes of a dream match-up withJapanese superstar Naomi Osaka in the final have now been dashed.
Osaka had no such issues,beating China’s Zheng Saisai 6-1,6-4 in her first match since sitting out the French Open due to mental health reasons.
“I feel like,more than anything,I’m just focused on playing tennis,” Osaka said.
“This,playing the Olympics,has been a dream of mine since I was a kid,so I feel like the break I took was very needed. But I feel definitely a little bit refreshed and happy again.”
Elsewhere in the men’s singles,Duckworth overcame a slow start to beat Slovenia’s Lukas Klein 5-7,6-3,7-6 and set up a second-round meeting with the Russian Olympic Committee’s Karen Khachanov - but fellow Aussie Luke Saville was beaten in straight sets by Hubert Hurkacz 6-2,6-4.
Never miss a medal or great sporting moment with our Olympic update emailed daily. Sign up for our Sport newsletterhere.