Davis Cup Qualifiers: John Millman produces extraordinary comeback to put Australia ahead 2-0 against Brazil

Nathan Williamson

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Davis Cup Qualifiers: John Millman produces extraordinary comeback to put Australia ahead 2-0 against Brazil image

Australian world number 43 John Millman has survived a major scare against 19-year-old Thiago Seyboth Wild to put Australia in a commanding position in their Davis Cup qualifying tie.

Seyboth Wild had the opportunity to serve the match out and even the tie, however, the heart and determination of the 30-year-old shown through, recording a 4-6 7-6(0) 6-2 victory to put Australia up 2-0.

Despite the disparity between the two in terms of rankings, Seyboth Wild came into the contest full of confidence, having won his first ATP Tour title in Chile last week.

And that confidence was on full display during the first set, immediately breaking Millman's first two service games to take a 5-1 lead.

However, his momentum was halted after a 30-minute delay due to an emergency in the stands.


This allowed Millman to fight back, breaking the Brazillian as he served for the set.

Despite this, the 19-year-old would eventually seal the first set, taking it 6-4 after just over an hour.


Seyboth Wild continued his impressive stroke-play in the second set, breaking once again in the fifth set to cruise ahead to a 4-2 advantage.

The world number 113 looked set to level the tie as he served for the match at 5-4.

However, Millman has made a career out of fighting until the final point, finding a way to break back and take the set to a tie-breaker.


From here it was all Millman, taking all seven points to win it 7-0 to send the match into a deciding set.


With both men trading service holds, the fifth game would end up being the deciding moment, with the Queenslander finding a way to break.

He would then win the next three games to secure the set and the match, sealing a remarkable comeback.



Australia will have the opportunity to seal the tie and book their place in the Finals in Madrid on Saturday, with doubles specialist John Peers and debutant James Duckworth taking on Marcelo Demoliner and Felipe Meligeni Rodrigues Alves.

 

Nathan Williamson