Brisbane International: Grigor Dimitrov crushes John Millman’s hopes of another magic run

John Millman’s desire to have one last magic moment at the Brisbane International was terminated by in-form Grigor Dimitrov, but he didn’t go down without a fight.

John Millman of Australia plays a shot during his second round match against Grigor Dimitrov of Bulgaria at the Brisbane International tennis tournament at the Queensland Tennis Centre in Brisbane, Wednesday, January 2, 2019. (AAP Image/Dan Peled) NO ARCHIVING, EDITORIAL USE ONLY

John Millman’s desire to have one last magic moment at the Brisbane International was terminated by in-form Grigor Dimitrov.

It is the last Brisbane International, Millman, 29, expects to play, as Tennis Australia plans it to become a women’s-only tournament from 2020 and play ATP Cup matches in Brisbane and other cities in the week’s slot.

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The Brisbane right-hander was unable to sustain a sprinkling of the standard of tennis which helped torpedo Roger Federer at the US Open and was eliminated 6-3, 6-4 by world No.19 Dimitrov.

Millman was down a set and two breaks of serve at 1-4 in the second set when he lifted his standard of play to hold two points for a 5-4 lead.

John Millman fought hard but was no match for Grigor Dimitrov in the second round at the Brisbane International. Picture: AAP

But sixth seed Dimitrov peeled off eight of the next nine points to clinch a quarter-final berth.

A near capacity crowd of 4000 at Pat Rafter Arena appreciated the hometown favourite’s efforts.

“I’m always going to fight,’’ Millman said. “I had a lot of momentum, and then I thought I had a pretty unlucky break (to go behind 5-4 in the second set). I deserved to get broken the other two times.’’

The Australian No.3 had dragged Dimitrov, then the world No.3, to three sets after having held match point in their second-round match at Pat Rafter Arena last year.

When his career had been less established, Millman had taken Andy Murray to three sets on the same, favoured court and led Roger Federer by a set and a break of serve.

“I know what it was like last year and I didn’t want to make the same mistake,’’ Dimitrov said. “He fights super hard and he hit some beautiful shots when he was two breaks down. I kept good composure from 4-all.’’

Grigor Dimitrov cruised through to the quarter-finals. Picture: AAP

But Millman won only seven points in Dimitrov’s five service games in the first set.

Millman is a direct entry into next week’s Sydney International before going to the Australian Open from Monday week.

Millman, the world No.37, will not have one of the 32 seedings at the Australian Open after he was unable to gain additional ranking points in comparison to his 2018 Brisbane second-round exit on the 52-week rolling tally.

“I haven’t been seeded yet at a Grand Slam, but I’ve managed to put in some good performances, and even if I run into one of the seeds I’ll walk onto the court confident in my game that I can match it to nearly anyone,’’ he said.

Dimitrov will play world No.9 Kei Nishikori in the quarters after the Japanese star defeated American Denis Kudla 7-5, 6-2.

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