This Friday John Millman will attempt to repeat the dose on Roger Federer when the two face off at a major for the first time since the Australian’s sensational upset victory at the 2018 US Open.
After Millman had fought his way to a straight-sets victory over Hubert Hurkacz, Federer met his end of the bargain, thrashing Filip Krajinovic in straight sets to set up what promises to be a tantalising clash against the battler from Brisbane.
The Swiss maestro picked up from where he left off in the first round, taking the opening set in just 20 minutes, and despite a brief challenge from the Serb in the second set, the 38-year-old would show no mercy as he marched into the third round at Melbourne Park for the 21st straight year.
There is no doubt revenge will be on Federer’s mind after being on the wrong end of an upset four-set defeat against the 31-year-old Millman at Flushing Meadows 16 and a half months ago.
It was just the second time Federer had lost to an Australian at a major, after his loss to Patrick Rafter on his grand slam debut at the 1999 French Open.
The result made headlines in Australia and was one of the biggest news stories, if not the biggest sports story, in the country.
Speaking to John McEnroe after his win over Krajinovic, Federer joked that he nearly passed out when he faced Millman in what were very hot conditions at that tournament.
"I almost passed out when I played against him in your city in New York. It was so hot. He had no problem.He’s from Queensland" — Federer to John McEnroe on Millman https://t.co/AFhlPSJ21g
— Christopher Clarey (@christophclarey) January 22, 2020
Such is the commercial appeal of this match, you can bet that it will be scheduled for Friday evening in which domestic television ratings are expected to smash the roof.
Millman will attempt to join the likes of Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic, Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, Tomas Berdych, David Nalbandian and Juan Martin del Potro, among many others, as those to beat the Swiss maestro multiple times at grand slam level.
The Queenslander has had an exceptional start to the 2020 season, winning two of his matches at the ATP Cup and then reaching the quarter-finals in Auckland, where he was beaten by French veteran Benoit Paire.
At Melbourne Park he defeated Ugo Humbert, who won the title in New Zealand, in the first round before recording a straight-sets victory over Hubert Herkacz to earn himself another shot at Roger Federer at grand slam level.
But while he will start as the heavy underdog this Friday, he can take a lot of confidence from not only his impressive start to the season but also the way he performed against the 20-time major champion in New York in September 2018.
(Elsa/Getty Images)
In other matches played on Wednesday, Federer saw his potential fourth-round opponent, 18th seed Grigor Dimitrov, crash out of the tournament by way of a five-set defeat to Tommy Paul in which the final-set tiebreak score was 10-3 in the American’s favour.
Stefanos Tsitsipas got a free pass into the third round when his German opponent, Philipp Kohschreiber, withdrew prior to their match due to a muscle strain.
The reigning ATP finals champion’s next match will therefore be against Milos Raonic, who easily defeated Cristian Garin in straight sets.
Second seed Novak Djokovic also advanced to the third round with minimal fuss, seeing off the challenge of Japanese wildcard Tatsuma Ito, who went into the new year having not won an ATP main draw match for over two years.
On the women’s side Serena Williams’s bid for history remains on track as she defeated Tamara Zidansek in straight sets, while Australian top seed Ashleigh Barty also had it easy in her second-round match, thrashing Polona Hercog also in straight sets.
Defending champion Naomi Osaka and Cori Gauff will face off in the third round of a major for the second consecutive time. While the Japanese had it easy against China’s Zheng Saisai, 15-year-old Gauff had to come from a set down to defeat Romania’s Sorana Cirstea in three sets.
Two-time Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova withstood a serious challenge from former junior French Open champion Paula Badosa to post a 7-5, 7-5 victory, while Caroline Wozniacki delayed her retirement for at least another two days, defeating Dayana Yastremska by the same scoreline.
Only Ons Jabeur, who backed up her win over Johanna Konta with a comeback victory over Caroline Garcia, stands in the way of the Dane and a possible fourth-round Sunday showdown against the might of Serena Williams.
(Jason Heidrich/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
Among today’s matches, Garbine Muguruza and Karolina Pliskova will headline the daytime schedule on Rod Laver Arena, while Simona Halep and Rafael Nadal will be in action in the evening.
For those with a pass into Melbourne Arena, Nick Kyrgios will look to again bring the flair when he comes up against former Australian Open quarter-finalist Gilles Simon at 6:45pm as he closes in on a possible fourth-round duel against Rafael Nadal.
Rod Laver Arena
Day session – play starts at 11:00am AEDT
Garbine Muguruza (ESP) vs Ajla Tomljanovic (AUS)
Laura Siegemund (GER) vs [2] Karolina Pliskova (CZE)
Not before 2:00pm
Egor Gerasimov (BLR) vs [7] Alexander Zverev (GER)
Night session – play starts at 7:00pm AEDT
Harriet Dart (GBR) vs [4] Simona Halep (ROU)
[1] Rafael Nadal (ESP) vs Federico Delbonis (ARG)
Margaret Court Arena
Day session – play starts at 11:00am AEDT
[6] Belinda Bencic (SUI) vs Jelena Ostapenko (LAT)
[4] Daniil Medvedev (RUS) vs Pedro Martinez (ESP)
Priscilla Hon (AUS) vs [17] Angelique Kerber (GER)
Night session – play starts at 7:00pm AEDT
Andreas Seppi (ITA) vs [15] Stan Wawrinka (SUI)
[5] Elina Svitolina (UKR) vs Lauren Davis (USA)
Melbourne Arena
Day session – play starts at 11:00am
[19] Donna Vekic (CRO) vs Alize Cornet (FRA)
Jessica Moore (AUS)/Astra Sharma (AUS) vs Ashleigh Barty (AUS)/Julia Goerges (GER)
Alex Bolt (AUS) vs [5] Dominic Thiem (AUT)
Not before 6:45pm
[23] Nick Kyrgios (AUS) vs Gilles Simon (FRA)
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