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2019 Brisbane International Men's singles, second round Pat Rafter Arena, Queensland Tennis Centre Grigor Dimitrov vs John Millman |
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For the second time in a row, Grigor Dimitrov will face a huge challenge in the second round of the Brisbane International against Australian John Millman. Join The Roar for live scores and coverage from 12pm (AEDT).
This time last year, Dimitrov was entering a season where he was expected to excel and just maybe, breakthrough with a grand slam performance for the ages, stopping the big four.
Alas, that wasn’t to be with Dimitrov putting together a season he would rather forget, dropping to 19 in the world by the end of it.
First-round exits at both Wimbledon and the US Open hurt the Bulgarian, whose power game was severly lacking throughout 2018.
When he took on Millman last year, it was clear that, and the way he was able to control rallies with his groundstrokes, were his greatest attributes. After dropping the first set of that match, he came back to win a breaker in the second and then took the third pretty convincingly.
Dimitrov will be looking for a much better 2019 – one where he can live up to his potential. He started strongly enough with a strong win over Yoshihito Nishioka in straight sets, but taking on Millman will be a different challenge altogether.
Millman has built his game over the years on being able to stay in points with excellent court movement and good ball hitting.
That was all on display in 2018 as he moved through the rankings to finish at 38 after starting outside the top 200.
The skills in his game, and the tenacity to keep fighting were catalyst to his run through the US Open, where he made the quarter-finals and had something of a career-best win over Roger Federer.
He was scrappy after the US Open to end the season and again so in the first round of his home tournament, struggling, but eventually putting away Tennys Sandgren as his serve took over the third set in a 6-0 romp.
Prediction
Dimitrov still didn’t look his best in the first round, and whichever way this goes, it’s not going to be over quickly. I’m going to take Millman to reverse the fortunes of last year.
Millman in three sets.
Be sure to join The Roar for live coverage of this second-round encounter at the Brisbane International from 12pm – midday (AEDT) and don’t forget to get involved by dropping a comment in the section below as the action unfolds on centre court in Brisbane.
Start time: 12pm (AEDT)
Venue: Pat Rafter Arena, Queensland Tennis Centre
TV: Live, Nine Network
Online: Live, 9Now
Betting: Dimitrov $1.41, Millman $2.97
Overall record: Played 2, Millman 1, Dimitrov 1
Last meeting: 2017 Brisbane International 2nd Round – Dimitrov defeat Millman 4-6, 7-6, 6-3
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