John Millman: The man who beat Federer reveals the toughest part of it all
Unseeded Australian John Millman has caused a stunning upset at the US tennis open, downing Grand slam champ Roger Federer in four sets.
He’s the first Australian since Lleyton Hewitt in 2006 to progress this far at Flushing Meadows.
Millman beat Federer in front of a hostile New York crowd 3-6, 7-5, 7-6, 7-6 in a match that went for hours.
“History will record that John Millman beat Roger Federer yesterday. We will record that John Millman brought dignity, decency and modesty back to competitive sport,” says Alan Jones.
Millman tells Alan he “felt a sense of calmness… which isn’t normally the case”.
“Yesterday was a special day for me and one I’ll take with me for a long time.”
But the little-known Aussie tennis player has revealed the toughest part was actually getting there.
“The tough thing is about tennis is there’s actually so many good guys that are knocking on the door.
“If you’re a little bit off then you’re pretty quickly demoted to those lower tiers where you’re not playing for as much money at all and you really are paying to get by week by week… and every time you get injured you have to come up through that again.
“You really learn quite quickly if you love the game enough to stick at it.”
Click PLAY below to hear the full interview
Millman also thanks his parents for their continuous support.
“They’ve just been a pillar of support throughout my career and I love them to bits.
“They’re incredibly proud of my performance… I’m eternally grateful for them.”