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John Millman, 32, joked that long matches aren't good for him in his age after battling through to the Nur-Sultan quarterfinal. Millman, ranked at No. 48 in the world, edged out Spain's Jaume Munar 6-4 6-7 (5) 7-5 after three hours and nine minutes of play.
Millman also needed three sets in his Nur-Sultan opener. “These long matches aren’t good in my old age, I tell you!” Millman said in his post-match interview, per the ATP website. “But look, it was such a physical battle out there.
I thought the level was extremely good. I thought I improved from yesterday in terms of how I was playing. But Mr. Munar, he’s a tough competitor. “His body probably let him down a little bit towards the end. I’ve got to tell you, my body wasn’t feeling all that great, either.
It was such a physical match and just so happy to extend my stay here”.
Millman hoping to defend his Nur-Sultan title
Millman, a former world No. 33, finally captured his maiden ATP title in Nur-Sultan last year after beating Adrian Mannarino in the final.
“It was massive for me. It is a really challenging thing to do and it is something that I had set as a goal for the past few years,” he said. “There have been plenty of good players who have not been able to break through and lift a title at the ATP level.
“I felt like I had put myself in a position a couple of times. I’d been in a couple of finals before, so to go through and achieve a goal was really special. It was, mentally, a really challenging year for everyone, so to be able to do it like that, I was proud of it, because it really tested your resilience. The triumph was the culmination of a lot of hard work and resilience”.