Andy Murray rallied past John Millman to reach quarters – Brisbane International 2013
The Olympic gold medallist, Andy Murray from Great Britain, survived scare against the local qualifier, John Millman, in a three-set thriller at the Brisbane International 2013 on Thursday. He summed up a 6-1, 5-7, 6-3 victory against the Aussie to power
into the quarter-finals at this Australian Open lead-up tournament taking place in Brisbane.
Seeded top in this event, Murray lost his concentration in the second set at the Queensland Tennis Centre. However, he lifted his game again in the final set and eventually recorded the victory in two hours and five minutes. Battling each other for the first
time, the Scot not only edged Millman in the FedEx ATP (Association of Tennis Professionals) Head 2 Head series by 1-0 but also booked inched closer towards defending his title.
"I think it was a pretty high quality match," said the Dunblane native in post match interview. "The first set wasn't that comfortable. [In the second set] he gained in confidence and started going for his shots more. He was returning my first serve extremely
well and playing right up on the baseline and just going for big shots. It was tough for me to dictate too many of the points. I made some adjustments with the way I was serving in the third set that turned it around, but he played really, really well for
the most part.”
Murray made quick in-roads at this ATP World Tour 250 series event. He drew the first blood in the opening game and jumped to a 2-0 lead. After Millman came on the score card in the third game, the Scot unleashed his skills and wiped out four games in a
row. He held his entire serves with conviction and cashed three out of seven break chances to pocket a breadstick.
The word number 199 played his best tennis in the proceeding set. He got the coveted break in the seventh game and leaped to a 5-3 lead. Despite squandering his edge in the 10th game, Millman broke his rival’s serve again and eventually sealed
the equaliser by winning seven games to five.
Ranked third in the world, Murray re-gained his strength in the final set. He blocked the only breakpoint he came across to keep his entire serves. The Scot cashed the lone break chance in the sixth game and clinched the decider with a 6-3 score line.
Up next for the British number one is the Uzbekistani star, Denis Istomin, who stunned the former world number one, Lleyton Hewitt, in straight sets to reach this spot.
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