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APIA INTERNATIONAL SYDNEYJanuary 8, 2013John MillmanSYDNEY, NEW SOUTH WALES J. MILLMAN/T. Robredo THE MODERATOR: Questions, please. Q. How long in the ice bath after that match? JOHN MILLMAN: It was tough out there. The conditions were really hard. I'll make sure I get a good recovery, but I'm sure my body will respond well because I felt actually pretty good physically. I'll just do my normal routine and see the physio and get a bit of a stretch down and I'll try get out of here as soon as possible and just kind of switch off. That's what I like to do when I go, just kind of home switch off and not think about tennis. Q. Your ranking is getting higher every tournament. What are your rankings goals? JOHN MILLMAN: First of all, I want to knock off my brother‑in‑law. That's Robert Smeets, so I think he's a bit more nervous than me at the moment. I want to knock off him and then get inside that top 100. So that's its goal. That's what motivates me at the movement. He's over in the States right now watching every little point I play because he knows that I'm knocking on his door. (Smiling.) Q. It's been a great week or so for you. What do you put it down to, this sudden surge in form? JOHN MILLMAN: You know, obviously 2011 was pretty bad for me. I came back from pretty serious injury again with my shoulder. 2012, I mean, it's tough to come back from nothing again. So 2012 I was gradually playing a lot of matches. I got a lot of matches underneath my belt and getting fitter and fitter and getting more match‑tough. I played a lot last year, and towards the end of the year I kind of was getting a little bit tired a little bit jaded, so took a week off and I've come back really fresh. I think that really helps. Being a year just injury‑free really helps. I'm also confident. I've been hitting the ball well. With every match you play you kind of feel a little bit more confident against these players. You kind of almost feel like you belong here, and I think I that's a good thing. Q.  If you didn't have the shoulder trouble in '11 and '12 you could have been where you wanted to be two years ago. Are you frustrated by that, or just one of those things? JOHN MILLMAN: I mean, I think that's part of any sport. Some people are lucky with injuries. I did as much as I could to prevent them. It's just been a little problem with me. You learn from it though. My injury prevention is a lot better now. It kind of makes me hungrier now when you are fit to really make the most of it. I've had really good support back home that really helps you out, because, I mean, it's tough. But it makes it all worth it when you're playing these types of tournaments and getting the results that you've worked really hard to get. It hasn't happened by chance. I've worked hard, and I'm glad I'm reaping the rewards now. Q. Top‑10 player, a former top‑10 player, what does that do for your confidence? JOHN MILLMAN: Like I said, every time I walk on the court against these guys I get the feeling that I belong. That's another good example today against Tommy. The conditions were tough for both of us. I think I may have handled it a little bit better today. I have a lot respect for Tommy. I've watched him play for a long time. I'm sure he will kick on. I know he's come back from a tough last year, too. I think he came back from a bit of injury. So I'm sure he'll kick on, and it'll just prove that it was a very good win later on in the summer. I wish him the best for the Australian summer. Q. The excitement though, you must be salivating at the mouth to get down to Melbourne? JOHN MILLMAN: Yeah, one tournament at a time. When I was in Brisbane I wanted to stay around as long as possible; now that I'm in Sydney I want to stay as long as possible. I kind of like the hotel I'm staying at. Yeah, I want to make the most of being in Sydney. I don't want to look ahead to Melbourne. I can't wait for Melbourne, but I'm in Sydney now. It's not every day‑ well, especially where my rank is and hopefully won't be for much longer ‑ that you get to play main draw events in these ATPs. I'm really grateful that I got the opportunity for the wildcard this week. It gave me a little bit more time to recover after Brisbane, which was taxing physically and emotionally. Yeah, I'm grateful that I had the few days off to recover, and now I'm feeling fit out on court and have got no little niggles and the body feels really good. Hopefully I can stay around here as long as possible. Q. What are the goals for Melbourne then? Have you thought about it? JOHN MILLMAN: It sounds a bit cheesy, but I will take one tournament at a time. Melbourne, I mean, I've got some runs on the board now. There is no reason why I can't win matches in Melbourne. I'm fit enough I feel. Obviously it'll be a test for me. It's best‑of‑five sets. It's a test for everyone physically, especially if you have a day like this where it's really hot. But, you know, Melbourne will be another test for me. I can't wait to get down there. First of all, I want to do well in Sydney. Q. Potential second round with Andreas. Andy Murray was probably the biggest match of your career. Do you see this one being close to the second biggest? JOHN MILLMAN: Yeah, Andreas Seppi, I think I'm definitely playing ‑‑ I think he got a bye. I'm not sure. I've heard a lot about him. I saw him play a little bit in Eastbourne. I know was defending champion this year. I'm not sure how he went in 2012. Everyone I've spoken to ‑ and I'll do a little bit more research a little bit later ‑ but he's a tough bugger. He'll definitely make me work out there. It's going to be a really stern challenge for me, but one that I'm going to look forward to. Like I said, it's not every day I get to play against these types of players. I just want to take it with both hands and really test myself out there. That's what it's about. Q. A fair few Australians yesterday were lost yesterday on the women's and men's side. Are you prepared for the pressure, the expectation? You're okay with that? JOHN MILLMAN: Yeah, I think I handled myself pretty well today. There was a bit of pressure after my run last week. I wish I could have done more last week in Brisbane. Generally speaking, I think I handle the pressure pretty well. I normally get my best performances‑‑ well, I got my best performance out of Brisbane. That was unbelievable. The media and the crowd got behind me so much. But I'm not one to really back away from pressure. I think that's part of it. If you want be good at anything you're always going to have pressure regardless of what you do. Hitting a tennis ball isn't the hardest profession in the world. I've worked hard to get here and the top guys work hard, but everyone has pressure in their jobs. I just hope I handle it well. I'm confident I will. Q. And then the heat and your conditioning, could that potentially be an advantage for you? JOHN MILLMAN: I think today it was. Yeah, I think today it really was. I felt pretty fresh out there. It was tough. The balls fly a bit because it's so hot and pretty humid out there, so the balls are just flying on you and taking off on you. It's tougher also with the new rule. I'm not one that takes too long between the points, but you're conscious of that. On a day like this, that 20 seconds goes pretty quick. The conditions are really tough, but, you know, you're Australians; in Australia you got to be able to handle these conditions. I mean, we've played in them every day since we were six years old or whatever. You got to be able to handle it. There are some days you won't handle it as well as others; that's your body telling you something. But hopefully I can continue. I've always prided myself on my conditioning. I'm hopeful that for the rest of this week and through in Melbourne I can continue and hope that doesn't let me down. I'm sure it won't. Q. Do you think that's a massive advantage you have this week, having the experience and knowing you can handle the conditions better than... JOHN MILLMAN: Yeah, I mean, I think a lot of the guys have played in these types of conditions. They're no mugs and they've played in hot conditions before. But it helps having the pre‑season in Brisbane where it's pretty hot and humid and that. I think that's probably the advantage you have. I mean, these guys will get accustomed to it. I think their conditioning will get better being in these hot conditions. They've played in them before. You can get pretty hot. I played in Washington earlier and it was pretty hot. These places, they get hot. But what helps is I spent the summer in Australia and in Brisbane where it was getting pretty humid there and you're sweating a lot. So I think that helps, because Europeans ‑‑ I don't know where everyone does their training, but I know definitely it was cold in Europe. So that's got to help. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
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