John Millman looks set to clinch spot on Australian Olympic team

JOHN Millman looks like he will clinch Olympic qualification after the rankings to be used for Rio Games entry were published.

John Millman looks set to clinch Rio qualification.

JOHN Millman looks like he will clinch Olympic qualification after the rankings to be used for Rio Games entry were published.

Millman’s ranking declined four places to No.66 after his French Open first-round exit.

This rankings list will be used by the International Tennis Association’s Olympic tennis committee in deciding the 56 direct men’s and women’s entries for the August tournament at the Rio Games.

The projected rankings cut-off will be in the mid-seventies and possibly lower because of dropouts and also rules that permit countries to place only four players among the event’s 56 direct entries in the Rio field.

John Millman looks set to clinch Rio qualification.

Millman does not fulfil the Olympic event qualifications of having played Davis Cup, but under ITF regulations, Tennis Australia will be able to appeal on behalf of Millman and perhaps Thanasi Kokkinakis for special consideration.

Millman, 26, is the top-ranked Australian man other than Nick Kyrgios and Bernard Tomic, who made themselves unavailable for Olympic selection, and told The Courier-Mail last month he would be willing to appeal to the ITF for a special entry.

Millman seems to have a watertight case because of the ITF’s qualification clause that gives special consideration to “a player (who) only reaches a ranking level sufficient for Davis or Fed Cup selection by his national association during the latter part of an Olympic cycle’’ of four years.

Kokkinakis, who played Davis Cup in each of the past two years, has not played in 2016 because of shoulder surgery and can cite a clause providing for a “player is injured or otherwise unable to compete in any authorised tennis tournament for a minimum of six months’’ or have a strong case for a singles wildcard.

Kokkinakis can claim an injury-protected of No.81 when he returns to the ATP, which will be at a European grass event.

Millman was to play his first match of the grasscourt on Wednesday morning (Qld time) in Stuttgart, Germany against France’s eighth seed Lucas Pouille.

It is also Roger Federer’s first tournament since he withdrew from the French Open with back pain.

Tomic is second seed this week for Rosmalen, a Dutch tournament in which he has a first-round bye.

Originally published as John Millman looks set to clinch spot on Australian Olympic team