John Millman, 31, reacts to winning his maiden ATP title in Nur-Sultan

Australian tennis player John Millman, 31, said it was "incredible" and he felt "happy and relieved" after finally winning his maiden ATP title at the Astana Open in Nur-Sultan.

Millman, ranked at No. 45 in the world, delivered a big performance in the Nur-Sultan final as he saw off Frenchman Adrian Mannarino 7-5 6-1. 

The Australian was playing in his third ATP final as previously he was beaten by Italian Marco Cecchinato in the 2018 Budapest final and world No. 1 Novak Djokovic in last year's Tokyo final, respectively.

"It is incredible. I am so happy and relieved,” Millman said after winning his maiden ATP title in Nur-Sultan, per the ATP website. “I just feel very satisfied. It is just a pure moment of satisfaction… That was my third final, third time lucky I guess. These things aren’t easy to win and to do so at a place where I felt so comfortable all week, in terms of the hospitality, makes it really special. To win the inaugural Astana Open is special. I am so happy. It has been a big team effort and I am pumped.”

Millman praised Mannarino 

Mannarino was closer to winning the first set but failed to capitalize on his chances as Millman saved three break points in the ninth game and two more in the 11th game. 

Millman then realized his first break of the match in the 12th game to win a tight first set. 

Mannarino served out the second game of the second set to level the set at one game apiece but that was all from his him as Millman then claimed back-to-back breaks and won five games in a row to seal the win in style.

"I thought Adrian was playing great in that first set… Whenever you play Adrian Mannarino, it is always going to be a physical match,” Millman claimed. “He makes you work for every point and he is so stingy with his errors. You have to be so low and moving really well because his ball is not really getting up. He is a really good indoor hard court player."

”I had to fight off those early break points and I really managed to win that first set against the momentum of the match. After that, I saw the finish line was in sight. That was really pivotal, to fight off those break points and take that one opportunity at the end of the first set. With that, I managed to carry the momentum throughout the match.”

from Tennis World USA https://ift.tt/2JtxOGf