By Adrianna Outlaw | Wednesday, September 22, 2021
John Millman edged Juame Munar 6-4, 6-7(5), 7-5 in a three hour, nine-minute epic to each his second straight Nur-Sultan quarterfinal.
Photo credit: Kazakhstan Tennis Federation/Astana Open Facebook
John Millman reinforced his reputation as marathon man in Nur-Sultan.
Reigning Astana Open champion Millman edged Juame Munar 6-4, 6-7(5), 7-5 in a three hour, nine-minute epic to reach his second straight Nur-Sultan quarterfinal.
More: McEnroe Aims to Build Champion From NYC
It was Millman's sixth straight win at the ATP 250-level tournament and four of those six wins have come in three-setters.
Today, the tireless 32-year-old Aussie relied on his stamina and fitness to prevail in a final set that featured five breaks in 12 service games. Millman broke at love for 6-5 then withstood a tight final game test to prevail.
“These long matches aren’t good in my old age, I tell you” Millman said in his on-court interview. “But look, it was such a physical battle out there.
"I thought the level was extremely good. I thought I improved from yesterday in terms of how I was playing. But Mr. Munar, he’s a tough competitor. His body probably let him down a little bit towards the end. I’ve got to tell you, my body wasn’t feeling all that great, either. It was such a physical match and just so happy to extend my stay here.”
Finland's Emil Ruusuvuori set up a round of 16 meeting vs. top-seeded Aslan Karatsev.
The 84th-ranked Ruusuvuori held a 6-2 lead when opponent Benjamin Bonzi retired today from their match after one set.
Seventh-seeded Laslo Djere defeated Italian teenager Lorenzo Musetti 6-4, 6-7(3), 6-4. Djere drilled nine aces and denied nine of 11 break points in a two hour, 48-minute win.
Djere will play either third-seeded Dusan Lajovic or Soonwoo Kwon next.
Ilya Ivashka broke served five times topping 280th-ranked Kazakhstan wild card Timofey Skatov 6-2, 6-3.
The eighth-seeded Ivashka will face either top seed Karatsev or Ruusuvuori for a semifinal spot.