John Millman has travelled to Austria for the Davis Cup playoff with a new career high. After his sensational victory over Roger Federer, he reached his first Grand Slam quarter-finals at the US Open. For the 29-year-old, successes like these are not a matter of course; rather, he appreciates life as a tennis pro and likes to tell anecdotes from the circus of the junior tour. About the day he teased a tuk-tuk driver.
“Somehow you feel like Indiana Jones,” writes Millman on PlayersVoice about his first trips to international tournaments. “You sleep on the floor at any train station or airport, and you’re actually just playing so you can somehow afford a ticket for departure.”
One of the funniest experiences on the Futures tour happened to Millman at an event in Korea, where he sailed with compatriot Matthew Barton, a former top 200 player. “We were fed up with the food at the tournament buffet, but we didn’t want to take a taxi to our hotel,” says Millman.
The shuttle service of the tournament took longer and longer, which is why the two decided to have a pizza delivered directly to the tournament. “So we sit at the Center Court and see the last double match of the day when suddenly a tuk tuk came up to the court. The pizza supplier jumped out and asked the player who was getting ready for the return in the Champions Tiebreak to pay him. We couldn’t believe it, the scene was awesome.”
Times have changed, Millman is now taking taxis to the hotels and restaurants of the tournament venues, as he is among the top 40 players in the world for the first time in his career. Nevertheless, the man from Brisbane is one who absorbs and appreciates every moment. “You forget such things quickly when you get enough in the main field of Grand Slams,” says Millman.
Only last autumn, for example, he drove with the official transport service of a Challengers in Thailand, which he was later to win, towards his accommodation. “The thing had no roof, no seat belts, and we flew over the highway with it – actually life-threatening,” says Millman. “I can’t imagine that Feds or Rafa would do this. Sometimes it’s the moments when you’re not served anything on a serving tray that you enjoy the most.”
Millman can now also enjoy his tennis, which brings him more and more into the spotlight. Exactly one year ago, the right-hander, who is trained by German Jonas Luetjen, was still in 235th place in the ranking, but had to be operated on three times due to injuries to the shoulder and groin and had already missed his breakthrough in younger years.
“You feel your career picking up speed, and then comes the setback. That doesn’t feel good,” Millman remembers. In 2013, he missed an entire year on the tour due to a shoulder-blading on his club arm, and even did an internship with a friend in the financial sector during his time-out.
“There were just so many doubts in my head. It was good to get a little change of scenery, but I also felt that I wanted to return. It just wasn’t the right time for an office job. I’m sure I can be one of the top players.”
The best proof of this was a few weeks ago, when he severely punished Roger Federer for a weak performance in the round of 16 of the US Open. Despite losing the first set, he fought his way back into the match, coped better with the hot, sultry conditions at Arthur Ashe Stadium and beat the Swiss in four sets.
Millman is by no means a player who can trust in a particular shot. His basic strokes are solid and he is able to hit dangerous angles and move his opponent at any time.
However, a look at statistics shows that Millman performs above average in terms of return. In ATP’s return rating he is even 20th, ahead of Juan Martin del Potro, Roger Federer and Dominic Thiem. He takes the serve off his opponents more often than average, and usually requires relatively few break opportunities for this.
However, the eleven-time Challenger tournament winner describes his mental abilities as his greatest weapon. “Tennis isn’t just about serving at 220 kilometers per hour,” Millman explained. “As much as I’d like to do that, I’d rather rely on my abilities to the fullest extent.”
In the local media, he is usually referred to as the “Aussie Battler”, an Australian fighter. At the beginning he could hardly get used to the nickname, too much the expression would suggest that he would always play bravely, but would usually lose out.
Today, however, he likes the name better because he now sees himself as a successful fighter. He is able to annoy a top player at any time if he cannot call up his best level. “People now know they can’t allow themselves any weaknesses, because I will give absolutely everything. That’s one of my talents.”
This year he brought Grigor Dimitrov to the brink of defeat at his home tournament in Brisbane, and a few days later he left Borna Coric no chance in the first round of the Australian Open.
Even at the US Open, when most of the crowd cheered for Federer, Millman focused on the support from his box, fighting his way to the biggest match victory of his career to date.
The same could happen in Graz when Lleyton Hewitt, the motivation, sits on the Australian bench in person, and a small but fine group of Australian fans cheer their “Battler”. Then it is also conceivable that Millman not only annoys tuk-tuk drivers in Asia, but could also put Dominic Thiem and Co. on his feet.