Another Day, Another Comeback For Millman
After saving two match points against Tommy Paul on Friday, John Millman produced another comeback victory to reach his third ATP Tour final at the Astana Open in Nur-Sultan, Kazakhstan.
The fourth seed hit 16 winners and found success in extended rallies to defeat Frances Tiafoe 3-6, 6-4, 6-4 and reach an ATP Tour championship match for the third straight year. Millman is attempting to capture his first tour-level trophy after runner up finishes in Budapest in 2018 and Tokyo last year.
“I definitely didn’t want to play three sets. I was pretty tired after yesterday’s match. It was tough out there today with really physical tennis,” said Millman in an on-court interview. “Frances is a top player. He is obviously so dangerous.”
Millman, who owns a 15-11 record in 2020, gained revenge for his loss to Tiafoe at last month’s US Open. The Australian won 79 per cent of second-serve return points (11/14) in the decider, where he rallied from a 0-3 deficit to record his third win in four ATP Head2Head clashes against Tiafoe.
”It is so hard to make finals in ATP events,” said Millman. “It has been a really unexpected surprise, but in every tournament you go out there to hopefully try and win it. I am glad I am in a position to [do that].”
Tiafoe was attempting to reach his first ATP Tour championship since the 2018 Millennium Estoril Open. The American earned wins against Corentin Moutet, second seed Miomir Kecmanovic and Egor Gerasimov and leaves Nur-Sultan with a 12-11 record this season.
Millman will face Adrian Mannarino for the trophy. The Frenchman saved four of five break points to beat Emil Ruusuvuori 7-5, 6-2 and reach his 10th ATP Tour championship match.
Mannarino is yet to drop a set this week in Nur-Sultan. The third seed dropped just seven games en route to the semi-finals with wins against Yuichi Sugita and Mackenzie McDonald.
Millman owns a 2-0 ATP Head2Head advantage against Mannarino. The Brisbane native recovered from a set down to beat Mannarino in Tokyo last year and at this year’s Western & Southern Open.
”Adrian Mannarino is an established Top 100 player… He is very comfortable on these courts,” said Millman. “He is a lefty [who is] so tough to break down… I am really glad that I can be in a position to play for the title.”
After reaching 3-3 in the first set, Tiafoe claimed three straight games to earn a one-set lead. The American broke serve in back-to-back return games, as he played with aggression on his forehand and capitalised on Millman forehand errors.
Millman broke late in the second set to force a decider. The 31-year-old battled from the back of the court in extended rallies and drove backhand winners up the line to win consecutive games from 4-4.
From 0-3 down in the third set, the World No. 45 dictated rallies with his forehand and dragged Tiafoe out of position to serve for the match at 5-4. Millman converted his first match point when Tiafoe fired a crosscourt backhand into the tramline.