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APIA INTERNATIONAL SYDNEYJanuary 9, 2013John MillmanSYDNEY, NEW SOUTH WALES A. SEPPI/J. Millman THE MODERATOR: Questions, please. Q. Very close out there. Frustrated to get so close for sure. JOHN MILLMAN: Yeah, no, it really was. Left a few shots out there so I was a little bit disappointed. Just a few little thing. I can take away a lot from the game. But, yeah, I left a few shots out there. That's why I went and did some work just now. Hopefully I can just improve those things going into next week. Q. Do you think you were playing within yourself a bit? JOHN MILLMAN: No, I wouldn't say that. Just couple little areas I just wasn't satisfied with at certain times in the match which cost me a few important points. Those good guys take advantage of that. Q. Must have been pleased with your serve today. JOHN MILLMAN: Yeah, there was some parts I was pleased with and other parts not. You just have to take your opportunities when you get them and not give your opponents as many opportunities. These better guys, they take them. I had a couple of poor games in there, which kind of, you know, caused me to lose and got him the win. Q. Was it always part of your game plan to really peg him back at the baseline like that? JOHN MILLMAN: Yeah, I think in the first set maybe went for a little bit too much at times, and then he kind of got a bit of confidence and really started dominating the court a little bit more. Andreas Seppi is a really good ball striker, and he can manipulate you and move you around the court. For me, it's just finding that balance of being solid at times and finding that balance of then being aggressive at the right times. That's going to improve the more I play and the more I compete at this level. Yeah, you know, hopefully I can pick up a few things that I did this week and take it on to next week. Q. What were the couple areas you weren't happy with? JOHN MILLMAN: We just did a little bit then just on just a little bit of change of direction a little bit. We did just a little bit more serving ‑ that's something I can always improve ‑ and a little bit of backhand volleys, even though I didn't use it a whole lot. Just little things that I'm working on. There are a lot of things I can work on, but I think that's a good thing because you would be pretty upset if you, you know, were at my ranking and didn't have anything to work on. I'm confident that if I can continue to improve, then my ranking will show. Q. How big has the last couple weeks been in terms of that going forward with your confidence? JOHN MILLMAN: Yeah, oh, great. You know, I really think that I can compete with these guys, you know. Obviously I had a few good wins in Brisbane and competed to a high standard against Andy Murray. Now in Sydney I had another good win. You know, came close to getting another one today. You know, you take confidence from that, that you can compete at this high level. Now, for me, it's about raising my game, raising my intensity, keeping that high level on a more consistent basis, and putting myself in positions in these tournaments to be playing these guys and not being satisfied with having just one good week. You've got to have consecutive weeks and you've got to go deeper into tournaments; that's something we're looking to do. I've been getting starts, but I wanting to deeper now. Q. What have you learned about your game this tournament? JOHN MILLMAN: I think the big thing that I've come out is my confidence, that I can compete at this level. I think that's a massive thing for me. You know, getting exposure against these guys and knowing in myself that the hard work is paying off and that I can compete against these guys. I think I also know that there are a few things that I can work on. I think that's really positive, because at the end of the day that's what's going to take you forward and that's what's going to improve your ranking. So there's things I can work on. We're going to get into some hard work. Hopefully I can win matches at the Australian Open. That's the goal. I'm not just there to make up the numbers. I want to be winning matches. I'm looking forward to the challenges that await me and the challenges that are in front of me to reach my goal of competing at this level week in, week out. Q. When will you head to Melbourne? What do you really want to focus on before then as well? JOHN MILLMAN: I will make the most of having one more night at the Westin. (Smiling.) I'll head tomorrow morning. I'll actually have a day off. I'll do any recovery now, I'll have a day off tomorrow, and then, yeah, just touch up a few‑‑ I mean, there is not a whole lot of significant improvements that you can make in a day or two. It's like my sisters bits around here. (Indicating waist) she can't get rid of them. She can't get rid of them in a day or two. (Laughter.) She went mad at me for saying that yesterday. I'll rub is it in her face a little bit. Got four of 'em. No, but there is not a lot you can do in a day or two. But I'm really confident. I'm really happy with the level that I'm at right now. Yeah, I could be happier if I had won today or gotten a bit deeper in this tournament, but I'm very happy with where my game is. I'm confident I can go down there and win matches. I'll take a day off and fine tune a few things here and there. I can be playing Sunday. I can't wait to play my first Grand Slam event. And going into it with this amount of confidence I think is a good thing. Q. What about the rest of the season beyond the Australian summer? JOHN MILLMAN: Yeah, that's something that we're going to look at the schedule a lot now. It'll obviously also depend on how I go at the Australian Open. You know, if I can win rounds and get deeper, get my ranking down even further, then it kind of changes your schedule. There are a couple challengers early on after the Australian Open, and then I've just got to evaluate. I want to be finding that balance between playing enough ATP events and expose myself at this level and getting the opportunities to play against these guys, and also mixing it in with challengers and hopefully going deep in them and building up my ranking so on consistent basis I'm playing these types of tournaments week in, week out. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
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