Greg Jones counters John Millman to move into the last four – Caloundra International 2012
In an all-Australian quarter-final of the Caloundra Challenger tournament, Greg Jones strained past John Millman on Friday. Both players pulled up an epic three-setter that finally tilted in favour of the deserving winner,
Jones, who gobbled up the win in two hours and 16 minutes; progressing into the semi-finals with scores of 3-6, 6-3, 6-4.
Fourth seed, Jones was ought to win this contest to register a respectable head-to-head scores of 4-2. The physiological pressure was always there that let him down in the first set but he was mentally strong enough to fight
back from behind put an end to advance into the last four of the tournament.
Both players started off cautiously, with Millman taking charge of the proceedings in the sixth game; he broke his opponent’s serve to take the lead. Jones was already down with the psychological pressure of previous encounters
and lost the breakpoint at the crucial stage which further dismantled his confidence. Millman bagged the first set and prepared to come out with an all-round onslaught in the following set to finish off the proceedings.
The second set started with a successful serve games at either ends before both players traded breakpoints that tickled the scores to 2-2. The fourth seed stayed in the hunt for a vital breakthrough to take the lead. Millman
committed a couple of unforced errors in the sixth game and the fourth seed capitalized on them; he broke serve and took the lead that was kept intact until the end of the set. The progress of the match delighted the home fans who were not disappointed at
all.
The momentum was with the fourth seeded Aussie who broke serve in succession to build an unassailable lead of 4-1 in the final set. Millman broke serve once in the sixth game but couldn’t explore the second breakpoint that
finished-off his challenger tour campaign. It was a good comeback from the fourth seed, Jones, who will enter the semi-final stage on a high-note.
Jones will battle for the title match spot against the top seed Taiwanese, Yen-Hsun Lu. It is going to be an enthralling battle to say the least.
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