John Millman’s rich vein of form has continued at the Shanhgai Masters tennis event, the Australian downing world No.21 Guido Pella to progress to the second round.
Fresh from his run from the qualifying rounds right through to the final in Tokyo, Millman took advantage of his special entry into the event with a 6-3 7-5 win.
Ranked 80th last week, the 30 year-old would not have qualified for the main draw but was rewarded for his efforts in Japan where he lost to world No.1 Novak Djokovic in the decider.
Millman, now at No.58 in the world, staved off five break points in the first set and converted one on the Argentine’s serve.
He saved a set point at 4-5 in the second before breaking Pella and serving out the match.
The Queenslander will take on vastly improved Andrey Rublev in the second round, the Russian a 6-4 7-6 (7-4) winner over Borna Coric.
Fellow Australian Alex de Minaur didn’t fare nearly as well, going down to John Isner 7-6 (7-1) 6-4 in his first round match.
De Minaur struggled with the towering Isner’s serve, the American not facing a break point in the match.
Isner took advantage of a poor tiebreak by de Minaur and rammed home his advantage by breaking the Sydneysider for the first time in the ninth game of the second set before serving out the match.
Other early first round winners included Lucas Pouille and Matteo Berrettini while Nikoloz Basilashvilli won through to the last 16.