Australian Open: John Millman loses classic to Roberto Bautista Agut

Tom Naghten

Australian Open: John Millman loses classic to Roberto Bautista Agut image

John Millman went down to Roberto Bautista Agut in the second round at Melbourne Park but the pair provided one of the matches of the tournament so far.

For the second straight match at this year's Australian Open , Bautista Agut had to overcome the disappointment of letting a two-set lead slip.

In the first round it was Andy Murray who fought back against the Spaniard only for Bautista Agut to rally and claim the fifth set.

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On Wednesday night, Millman dug deep after dropping the first two sets but fell just short of the third round, eventually going down 6-3 6-1 3-6 6-7 6-4.

The fired-up Queenslander even fought off four match points in the fourth set to send it to a fifth.

Unfortunately for the local crowd, a break in the middle of the final set proved the difference, with Bautista Agut able to hold serve and move into the third round meeting with Russian 10th seed Karen Khachanov.

In the other Australia vs. Spain match of the night, second seed Rafael Nadal made lightwork of Matt Ebden.

The Western Australian was always going to be up against it opposite the 17-time major champion, but he simply had no answers for Nadal's power, going down 6-3 6-2 6-2.

Nadal, 32, moves into the third round to face his third Aussie of the tournament, with Alex de Minaur overcoming Switzerland's Henri Laaksonon in a five-set battle.

De Minaur won the first two sets before Laaksonen fought back to level it and send it to a decider, though de Minaur's trademark grit saw him through to the third round clash with Nadal, winning 6-4 6-2 (7)6-7 4-6 6-3.

Nadal dispatched of James Duckworth in the first round.

Tom Naghten

Tom Naghten Photo

Tom Naghten is a senior editor at The Sporting News Australia where he's been part of the team since 2017. He predominantly covers boxing and MMA. In his spare time, he likes to watch Robbie Ahmat's goal against the Kangaroos at the SCG in 2000.