Local fan favourite John Millman has exited the Australian Open following a courageous effort in his first-round match, going down in a gripping five-setter to Corentin Moutet.
Key points:
- Millman’s serve was broken twice by Moutet in the deciding fifth set
- Australian Alex Bolt defeated Norbert Gombos 6-2, 6-2, 4-6, 6-3
- Kimberly Birrell lost in straight sets to Canadian qualifier Rebecca Marino
But in more positive news for the Australian contingent at Melbourne Park, wildcard Alex Bolt reached the second round for the third straight year.
Millman had led two sets to one but the Frenchman fought back to force a deciding set, before winning 6-4, 6-7 (4/7), 3-6, 6-2, 6-3 in front of a small, but vocal crowd on Melbourne Park’s Court Three.
The crucial moment of the fifth set came in the seventh game with Millman serving at 3-3.
Moutet, ranked 80 in the world, broke the Australian’s serve and consolidated the break by holding to lead 5-3.
Millman, Australia’s second-highest ranked male player, at 38 on the ATP standings, served to stay in the match in the ninth game. But he was broken again, as Moutet iced his victory after three hours and 45 minutes on court.
Not since 2015 has Millman lost in the first round of his home major.
He came close to causing one of the upsets of the 2020 tournament in the third round when he pushed Roger Federer in a five-set thriller on Rod Laver Arena.
Bolt, who made the Australian Open third round in 2019, beat his higher-ranked opponent Norbert Gombos in four sets on Court Five.
The world number 174 dispensed of the 89th-ranked Gombos 6-2, 6-2, 4-6, 6-3.
Earlier at Melbourne Park, Kimberly Birrell lost in straight sets to Canadian qualifier Rebecca Marino.
Birrell was one of the Australians handed a wildcard into the Melbourne Park main draw and received a first-round match-up against an unheralded player, but Marino won through 6-0, 7-6 (11/9).
It looked like it would be a quick match out on court seven, as Marino tore through the first set in 23 minutes, but Birrell got back into the game, thanks mostly to Marino’s 42 unforced errors, which accounted for more than 70 per cent of the points won by Birrell.
Facing a woman ranked more than 400 spots ahead of her, the Gold Coast resident pushed Marino to a tiebreak at 6-6 in the second, after a service game that featured six deuces.
They went point for point in the breaker as well, until she finally succumbed on the 20th point.
Birrell simply lacked the power to threaten, serving no aces and managing just one winner to Marino’s 10 and 25, respectively.
But the Canadian world number 316 will want to shore up her game ahead of a likely clash with 19th seed Marketa Vondrousova in the next round.