US Open 2018: Nice guy John Millman's mental toughness helped him stay on track despite injury-marred career

John Millman, Roger Federer vanquisher and now on the radar of perhaps the entire tennis world, is up now against another former World No 1 right on the back of his previous match. The name, however, would have been perhaps unfamiliar to most tennis watchers until Tuesday. Now, Millman finds himself not only at the centre of the US Open spotlight and the cynosure of all eyes, he has also to deal with the internal pressures and injury struggles so many others before him have seen. Indeed, Millman showed promise as a teenager, making his junior Slam debut at the Australian Open of 2006. 2013 was perhaps his breakout year — it saw Millman crack the top 200 in the singles rankings, and his win at Round 1 of that year’s Brisbane International saw him develop a significant fan following in his home country. Unfortunately for him, that year also saw him sustain a significant shoulder injury and by only May of that year, the injury troubled him so much that he remained unable to play until 2014. This perhaps is also when his career trajectory first crossed with then rising star Nick Kyrgios, who replaced him during his injury struggles. [caption id=“attachment_5119841” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Australia’s John Millman reacts after dropping a point against Roger Federer. AFP[/caption] The 9-to-5 grind: In fact, injuries have plagued Millman so frequently and so recurrently that he not only considered, but actively pursued an alternate career. During his break from the sport, Millman worked as a mortgage brokerage consultant in Brisbane — while still nursing and undergoing rehab for that injury. That should highlight the reality of tennis finances and just how expensive every aspect of play is — recovery perhaps the most of all. Millman recounted earlier this year that at a tournament with player Matt Barton, the pair playing at a Futures tournament in Korea, the pair “just couldn’t stomach any more of the tournament food, but we also couldn’t afford a taxi back to the hotel.” After slotting themselves into a stable paying career — one that tennis is not, unless you are at the top levels, many players might even have found themselves comfortable in that space. Indeed, Millman had considered retirement on several occasions during his senior career. In an article for Players Voice earlier this year, Millman wrote that while he initially found the term “battler” offensive, he finally realised what it meant, having “handled adversity and I’ve come out the other side of it.” But comfort and doubt both crept in for Millman, who was fresh off his second shoulder surgery when he got into the groove of his office job. At that time, he said, the biggest doubt in his head was success. “I thought I was playing some really good tennis at the time,” he said, “and I was ranked at 130 when I did my shoulder.” That self-doubt led him to consider retirement, and he described his city job as a “nice change of pace.” While “not being the most talented guy out there” (in Millman’s own words) might have discouraged another player, for Millman it became a chance to prove himself once again. “It wasn’t my time yet,” he said, and it was the little voice that told him this that made him postpone his plans for a retirement and only fuelled his drive to get back on the court. 2018: The Year of the Comeback Early last year, Millman suffered a significant groin injury, and again, had to sit out a number of 2017 tournaments. But 2018 has been a different year for Millman, who has played a packed calendar — and put in some great performances. The 29-year-old beat Canada’s Peter Polansky at Brisbane this year, and scalped a set off Grigor Dimitrov — once described as “Baby Federer” — in the next round. At Sydney too, the player progressed to Round 2, putting up quite the fight against his rival, second seed Gilles Muller. But perhaps the “big win” this year — at least before Federer, came against one-time Next Big Thing Borna Coric, whom Millman ousted in Round 1 of the Australian Open, before taking a convincing set off top 30 player Damir Dzumhur. His best overall performance on the ATP Tour so far came at the ATP 250 Hungarian Open, where he ousted the top seeded Lucas Pouille in straight sets, and seriously troubled French Open sensation Marco Cecchinato in the finals. Millman has been quite the sensation at Slams this year, and although he was unsuccessful in the end, he took Milos Raonic right to the edge at Wimbledon; the scoreline in favour of Raonic this year read 7-6(4), 7-6(4), 7-6(4). Now, Millman finds himself staring down at a battle he has already seen earlier this year. The Aussie is now scheduled to meet ‘Superhero on a Comeback Mission’ Novak Djokovic, who is off a solid number of titles this year — including the most recent Grand Slam of the year at Wimbledon and before it, the hard-court Cincinnati Masters. The pair of Millman and Djokovic met earlier this year at the grass-court Queen’s Club Championships, and indeed the affair was a decidedly one-sided one, with Djokovic taking a 6-2, 6-1 win. But if any two players know the power of mental fortitude, it is these two. Stepped up for his country Not initially drafted into Australia’s side for the side’s Davis Cup tie in what will be the last year of the Davis Cup in its current format, Millman found himself duty-bound earlier this year and stepped up to the plate. The mercurial and often indecisive Nick Kyrgios opted out of the team at the last minute citing injury concerns, leaving its captain, former No 1 Lleyton Hewitt, scrambling for choices to fill that spot. And then, in came Millman, who had already caught Hewitt’s eye at the US Open. Millman, no stranger to injury struggles himself, came through and will now lead the singles attack from the team from Down Under. Indeed, when the country is struggling for an idol after the many public struggles from the divisive Kyrgios, Millman is quite the breath of fresh air — and make no mistake, the “Millmania” — a term coined by the Australian media in 2013 — is real, and now no longer restricted to Australia alone. Humility, thy name is Millman Often described by journalists, fans and other players as “one of the nicest guys on tour”, Millman is aware that his success — and the subsequent media attention that comes with it — could well be gone just as quickly. Discounting his own selection on the Davis Cup side, Millman said following his match that “The camps are normally quite competitive and we will go out there to try to best prepare for what will be a tough tie,” Millman said. While many players are appreciative of their fan following, Millman takes it to the next level, applauding his fans after matches. On his Federer win After the relatively younger Australian took that win at Flushing Meadows on Tuesday, Federer admitted in a press conference something everyone watching him could sense throughout the match: how uncomfortable he was. Uncharacteristically for the World No 2, he had 10 double faults during that match, sprayed the court with unforced errors, and squandered multiple set points: two in the second set, and another in the third. In the midst of that heat and stress, it was Millman who eventually held his own — to see off a player he has himself admired, until fairly recently from far away. In an essay, Millman wrote of his immense admiration from the Swiss, saying “I get asked a lot what Feds is like. Just the other day I was having some drinks with mates and Roger’s long-time Swiss coach Severin Luthi was there. Ever since I played Roger in Brisbane he’s always been unbelievable to me, just so genuine. He’ll say hello and he’s always up for a chat.” Quite the foil to his compatriot Kyrgios, who can be found sulking on court, using profanity and having very public meltdowns, Millman is the quintessential “nice guy” — a fact oft-repeated by fans, journalists and players alike. Millman described himself in his essay as feeling like Indiana Jones. And truly, he just might be — one man fighting the good fight, taking on his own personal demons to work towards what he felt was right and waging his battles by himself. What Millman’s story highlights — something which the player himself has spoken about — is that overcoming one’s own mental barriers and being tough on the inside, is just as important as any other physical aspect of the game. What he said about it may indeed resonate with many, if not most of us: “I wasted a lot of time when I was 19, 20, 21 years old on too much self-doubt. I didn’t have 100 per cent belief in my ability. I know that now.”