Aussie Millman calls it a career: 'I left it all out there'

From the highest of highs to the lowest of lows, John Millman has experienced a lot during a 14-year professional career which ended on Thursday in qualifying at the Australian Open.

The 34-year-old’s storied journey featured one ATP Tour title, an upset against Roger Federer en route to the 2018 US Open quarter-finals, and joy whenever he represented Australia.

It is a career Millman looks back on with great satisfaction, ever grateful for the opportunities he crafted for himself through hard work, persistence and talent.

“Some of the highlights for me are actually knowing where I've come from to being able to play in the biggest tournaments,” Millman told ATPTour.com. “I remember playing in Spain when I was 18 or 19 and I had to win four qualifying matches to get about 80 euros. When you think back about that journey and to get to the top end, it's pretty special.

“For me the highlights were whenever I got to represent my country at Davis Cup and the Olympic Games. I really enjoyed that. I just hope, when it's all said and done, I know I wasn't necessarily the most talented player but I hope people enjoyed the journey and saw that I left it all out there. If they resonate with that and that story, then I've done my job.”

Millman reached a career-high No. 33 in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings in October 2015 and lifted a tour-level trophy in Astana in 2020. His only Top 10 win came against Federer in New York in 2018.

However, none of that seemed possible at the end of 2013, when Millman was forced to undergo a second surgery on his shoulder. Having flirted with the Top 100 earlier that year [No. 126], he dropped to No. 1193 in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings in 2014 and was struggling financially. A conversation with his mum provided the springboard for his comeback.

“After my second shoulder surgery I wasn't entirely sure if I was going to play tennis again,” Millman admitted. “I was battling with the rehab. I always go at things 100 per cent but I don't know if mentally I was at a 100 per cent. I was trying a bit of work in the city, not to do with tennis. I remember coming back for Christmas [2013]. I was probably four, five months post-surgery and we had a Christmas work party actually and it just hit me that I was pretty sad, pretty upset with things.

"I thought that I had more potential to give and I thought I could go a little bit more, but there were a lot of doubts. It was that night, I spoke to Mum, I'm not an emotional guy, I got emotional that night. I kind of made the switch that I wanted to give it one more crack. I remember throwing myself into the rehab and wanted to become a physical monster and I thought I did, but returning to Tour I had $6000 in the bank account.

"I had one trip to America playing three Challengers in Napa, Sacramento and Tiburon, a Californian swing. It literally came down to that. If I had no results, that was it. I had no more money left. Those tournaments were in September 2014. I got through them, quarters, semis, finals and went and won back-to-back Challengers and within nine or 10 months of that moment coming I was Top 100 in Wimbledon the next year."

Millman went on to great success, battling his body at times to give himself opportunities. In 2018 he lit up Arthur Ashe Stadium when he overcame then-World No. 2 Federer in four sets at the US Open.

“I played a really young kid in the first round, he won the 18s Nationals and he ended up being a pretty good player, Jenson Brooksby,” Millman said when reflecting on that quarter-final run. “After that I kind of relaxed and made this run at the US Open. The night match on Ashe against Roger, I was down a set and 3-5. Probably if I lose that set, we're not here talking about that one. But I managed to turn it around.

“It was very humid, very similar to the conditions I'm used to back home in Brisbane. It also helped that inadvertently Roger had always been really giving in his time with me. I'd hit with him multiple times after I played him in Brisbane, where we had a pretty good match and he was always someone, if he was looking for a hit - he wasn't short on hits - but every now and again he'd throw me a bone. For me, it's still Roger one of your heroes, but maybe that aura wasn't there just because I was a little bit more familiar with him.

“Hopefully I see myself as someone who never gives in and that was just one of those moments. Back against it, managed to turn the tide, win that set. The longer the match went on physically the better I felt. I think I split the sets and started off well in the third the crowd just flipped and became engaged. They weren't going for me, there were a couple but most against me. I held my nerve at the end, which is probably what I was most relieved about.”

_{^{Roger Federer & John Millman at the US Open in 2018. Photo: Getty Images}}
Having downed Federer, arguably the biggest moment of Millman’s career arrived at the ATP 250 in Astana in 2020, when he beat French lefty Adrian Mannarino in the final to win his first ATP Tour title.

“It was really important for me to win an ATP title in singles,” Millman said. “I was down match points first round of qualifying in Astana, so it kind of painted a picture of my career. Down but hopefully never out and then finally made that breakthrough in Kazakhstan, Astana. It probably meant even more to me because I was probably battling for a chunk of time during Covid. I'm someone that loves talking to people, that loves to experience moments and experience things and we were literally living in bubbles. Winning that was a massive moment for me. I don't really keep any of my trophies but I kept that one.”

Off court, Millman has developed strong relationships while on Tour. Alex de Minaur’s thoughts on the 34-year-old signify the impact the Aussie had.

“I think John Millman has been one of the most important people in my career,” De Minaur said. “He's been one of those guys that has paved the way, showed me exactly what it takes to be a tennis player, and the ultimate professional. He's got the values, the work ethic. Everything that you want as a human being and as a tennis player, he's got it. He's exactly the person that the younger generation should be looking up to. Because if the younger generation can have half of the attitude that Johnny Millman has, there will be a lot of great things coming up.”

_{^{Alex de Minaur & John Millman in 2019. Photo: Getty Images}}
Millman will spend the next chapter of his life studying at Queensland University of Technology and spending some time away from tennis, but hinted at a possible return one day.

“I think I would like to step away from tennis for a bit," Millman said. "I need to have a breather. I need to let things settle, have a break and maybe I find my way back to tennis. We'll see.”