	products recent interviews FastScripts archive about ASAP Sports

Our Clients:

Browse by Sport

Find us on

Subscribe to RSS

Click to go to
Asaptext.com

View our
e-Brochure

BRISBANE INTERNATIONAL PRESENTED BY SUNCORP

January 3, 2018

John Millman

Brisbane, Queensland, Australia

J. MILLMAN/P. Polansky

7-6, 6-0

Q. Was that a reward tonight with another reward coming on Thursday?
JOHN MILLMAN: Yeah. Hopefully, yeah. I always like to test myself against the best players in the world. And sometimes it's challenging, as I found out against Rafa last year at Wimbie, but sometimes it can be very rewarding just to kind of see where you are against them.

It's a different type of pressure playing against someone like Pete. You know, probably a little bit more evenly matched on the paper. And there's a lot of pressure going out there.

And, yeah, hopefully against Grigor I can play pretty free and have nothing to lose. And hopefully I can put on a good show for the Brisbane people.

Q. Have you played him before?
JOHN MILLMAN: Actually, yeah. Actually, funny enough, I did. I had to think about that. I played him in, I reckon, a first-round qualifying match in 2010 at Surbiton grass court challenger.

(Indiscernible - multiple speakers.)

JOHN MILLMAN: Three and four, I got the win. Long time ago.

Look, Grigor is --

Q. (Indiscernible.)
JOHN MILLMAN: Yeah, there you go. Yeah, I had to rack my brain. But, yeah, he'll be pretty -- yeah, he'll be pretty nervous, I imagine, after that one.

It's going to be a tough match. Grigor is a great player. I've hit with him a fair bit. And, obviously, he loves coming here and playing in Brisbane. They won their doubles today.

He won the tournament last year, and he's a regular at this tournament. So he likes the conditions, and he'll be ready to go, I think, come Thursday.

Q. If there's a good time to play him, it would be week one, wouldn't it?
JOHN MILLMAN: Yeah, I think so. Definitely. You know, this is when maybe they're a tiny bit more vulnerable, but we'll see. Maybe he had the best preseason ever and he comes out just blazing it.

But hopefully, you know, that game and that doubles actually will help that I had yesterday and then the singles today and just getting used to the surroundings again.

And playing in front of quite a good crowd here at Pat Rafter Arena, that obviously helps going into the Grigor match just a little bit more familiar.

And, yeah, hope to really, you know, make the Brisbane people proud and put together another memorable performance.

Q. Did you feel a break out there tonight? Peter?
JOHN MILLMAN: I beg your pardon?

Q. Did you feel --
JOHN MILLMAN: Yeah, yeah, perhaps a little bit physically. I felt like he probably wasn't moving as free and didn't quite have as much pop on his serve in the second set.

So I think when that happens it's unfortunate, but, you know, I just didn't want to release that pressure, you know. You got to use that. That's what tennis is about, using those little, you know, breaks in momentum or even breaks in the body a little bit.

But I think I jumped on him really well in that second set early on and that really helped me, you know, close that match out.

Q. Some people just can't handle Queensland humidity, I guess.
JOHN MILLMAN: It is warm. I tell you what, for a couple of days there earlier on in the week, I was wondering if I could handle the Queensland humidity. I reckon this has been one of the hotter ones. It's been brutal out in the sun.

And, you know, I think that's why people like coming to Brisbane, though. They like to get that preparation, because we know that Melbourne can really turn on that weather and the guys have to play best of five down there. So I think it's great preparation here. I think that's why you see strong fields, both men and women.

And, yeah, I certainly think it's ideal preparation for myself.

Q. Just your thoughts on Andy Murray pulling out through injury. You've had a few injuries yourself in the past. Pretty tough.
JOHN MILLMAN: Yeah, definitely, definitely.

You know, he's a champion of the game. And Andy's always given me a fair bit of time. I know his camp relatively well now. And at US Open, actually, midweek there before the tournament started, you know, I was hitting with him on Louis Armstrong for a couple of hours at night.

So he's always -- he's a champion of the game, and I think the game is better when those big guys are playing, so I wish them speedy recoveries.

I haven't heard much word, but hopefully he's right for the Australian Open. But, if not, you know, I think the game is better off when all of our big boys are playing.

And he's been a fantastic supporter of this tournament. I know the Brisbane crowd, you know, really appreciate his efforts when he comes here.

So it's a bit of a blow, but there's plenty of other good players to come watch. So, you know, I'll focus on the job at hand and try to give one to Grigor.

Q. I just want to ask you as well, how much better a player do you feel than you were in 2015?
JOHN MILLMAN: Yeah, look, match to match, it's different. Obviously, I played a pretty good match here in 2015 when I was playing against Roger. And match to match is different. You know, I played some of my better tennis that day, that night.

But consistently, day in and day out, I feel like I'm playing better ball now. I'm actually really confident in my body. I thought I moved exceptionally well tonight.

And, you know, that's a big testament to the guys here, and they've put in a lot of hard work to get me to that level. You know, this time last year I was really scratching my head as to what was wrong and not far away from going underneath the knife.

So I'm really proud of the efforts and what I've made in the last 12 months, but I think the big thing is is I'm just familiar and I'm comfortable at this level now, I feel.

Like I said, that doesn't mean too much on any given night, but I think the more you put yourself in these tournaments and put yourself in these environments, you just feel a little bit more comfortable.

I don't feel as if I have -- you know, when I first started coming out here and playing in Brisbane, it's a bit of a pressure cooker for me playing in front of your home crowd just because I want to do them proud, you know.

But I feel as if now I probably don't have as much to prove because I've played in big tournaments now and I've done well in my terms, you know, relatively speaking in some of these tournaments.

And I feel a lot more comfortable at the level than I was at 2015, So that's probably the difference.

Q. Do you feel on the cusp of something? I mean, real tough year last year but you finished it off pretty well with good performances. And it isn't a bad start now, is it?
JOHN MILLMAN: Yeah, I'm really hopeful, you know. And I did finish it off really well. And it was a terrible year for me. The first six months was shocking and it was really tough because, you know, I had gotten to, you know, a career-high ranking just before I got injured, and that's really challenging and tough.

But on the flip side, last year was one of the toughest years for me, but it was also -- you know, I had some unbelievable highlights, too, at the end there. A third round at the US Open, that was unchartered waters for me at that Slam. Obviously, the Davis Cup gig was fantastic. And, you know, won the biggest Challenger that I've won at the last week of the year.

So I definitely feel as if I have positioned myself well to give it a really good crack with no points to defend for the first six months.

And it all starts now. This is when all the momentum builds. And hopefully I can keep those goals sooner rather than later this year and then just build that momentum up to some of those big tournaments midyear.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

ASAP Sports, Inc. | T: 1.212 385 0297