In the first round of the ATP250 tournament in Chengdu, China, Max Purcell and Jordan Thompson will play against each other. Both players represent Australia, so it will be an Australian derby. They have played 5 matches against each other, with Thompson leading 3-2 in their head-to-head record. Two of those matches took place this year, with Thompson winning 6-2 6-3 on hard court in Korea, and Purcell winning 7-5 1-6 6-4 6-4 on clay at the US Open. Purcell has been performing well this season, playing a total of 71 matches and winning 50 of them. He has won 3 Challenger titles on hard courts in India. However, he has suffered three consecutive losses recently: 2-0 to Legenstein, 3-1 to O'Connell, and 2-0 to Mannarino. Overall, Purcell seems to have lost his form lately. As for Thompson, he has played 60 matches this season and won 37 of them. He performed exceptionally well in the tournaments leading up to the US Open, reaching the quarterfinals in Washington and the second round in Cincinnati after qualifying. In Cincinnati, he even took a set off Alcaraz before losing in three sets. However, he did not have a successful run at the US Open and withdrew after the first set in his match against Botic. Overall, I believe that after this match, Thompson will extend his lead in their head-to-head record to 4-2.
