An ailing John Millman has staged a mighty fightback to reach the second round of the Sydney International with a pulsating win over rising American Frances Tiafoe.
Millman revealed he considered withdrawing after waking up from Monday night’s Fast4 exhibition appearance alongside Nick Kyrgios with the flu before outlasting Tiafoe 4-6 7-4 (7-5) 7-5 in a two-hour, 39-minute centre-court thriller on Tuesday.
“It was a tough decision to come out today. I was actually pretty crook,” he said.
“I woke up this morning with the flu and (was) really dizzy out there.
“But any chance to play at home in Australia, I think you’ve gotta take it, so I tried to come out here and give it everything.”
The US Open quarter-finalist next plays either countryman James Duckworth or Hungarian seventh seed Marton Fucsovics, despite earlier looking headed for certain defeat after falling a set and a service break behind in the searing Sydney summer heat.
But, rather than raising the white flag and heading to Melbourne to recover for Monday’s Australian Open start, the Queenslander sparked a bout of Millmania inside Ken Rosewall Arena.
After snatching the second-set tiebreaker, the world No.38 repeatedly relinquished his serve in the decider to his opponent ranked just one spot below.
But, with Davis Cup captain Lleyton Hewitt also willing him on courtside, Millman produced a fightback that even the Australian Davis Cup captain would have been proud of.
“It wasn’t ideal losing that first set. I thought if I had any chance of winning I had to win that first set,” MIllman said.
“It’s that never say die attitude that a lot of Australians have.
“Definitely in that third set, with a bit of momentum, I was down a few times.”
Millman’s epic effort certainly wouldn’t have surprised Kyrgios, who only hours earlier praised the 29-year-old’s lion-hearted tenacity after overcoming three career-threatening surgeries to crack the world’s top 40
“He’s unreal, he’s positive and gives 100 per cent every time,” Kyrgios said.