The only Australian left in the men’s singles draw, John Millman will look to make the third round of a grand slam for the third time in his career when he takes on the struggling Malek Jaziri at the US Open. Join The Roar for live scores from around 2:30am (AEST).
Millman was tasked with fellow Australian Nick Kyrgios during the first round, a match he went into as heavy underdog.
Kyrgios though, struggling with a shoulder injury imploded to bomb out of his favourite tournament in the first round. Millman marched past in four sets, but it was a strong performance for the 28-year-old, who made it into the tournament with a protected ranking.
The fourth set, which Millman took 6-1 was particularly impressive, but Millman played the percentages for the entire match. He served at an impressive 71 per cent, returned serve strongly and read Kyrgios’s stroke-making.
Given the world No.235’s Challenger form coming into the US Open, it was an unexpected win. There’s no getting around the fact that Kyrgios was a long way from his best, but Millman could only play what was in front of him and did a splendid job of it.
Jaziri, on the other hand, who lost four straight matches coming into the final grand slam of the year found a way past Thiago Moura Monteiro in five sets.
It was a difficult, scrappy match at the best of times. Neither player showed anything approaching the realm of good form, with Jaziri’s movement struggling and his serve even worse, down at 54 per cent.
For a player without a big serve, he must work harder on the percentages. Given how well Millman returned the serve of Kyrgios, he will be all over Jaziri in this match if he continues to serve to such low standards.
His serve has struggled right throughout the last month, with a series of disappointing first round losses. The 33 year-old has experience on his serve, but it appears very little else.
The pair met last year in Cincinnati, with Millman winning that encounter in three sets.
Prediction
Milman wasn’t expected to win in the first round, but he is this time. Jaziri is struggling and will probably pinch a set after an impressive first round showing, but don’t expect him to win this one.
Millman in four sets.
Be sure to join The Roar for live scores of this second round match at the US Open from around 2:30am (AEST) or at the completion of Yanina Wickmayer versus Kania Kanepi and don’t forget to add a comment below.
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