John Millman put in a ruthless performance to start his Australian Open 2018 campaign on Monday, the 28-year-old dispatching ‘Next Gen’ prodigy Borna Coric 7-5 6-4 6-1 to soar into round two.
The world No.122 defied his ranking to fire 28 winners past the Croatian top 50 star en route to the straight-sets triumph on a packed Show Court 3.
“The conditions were tough and the points were very physical. I’m very happy because Borna has tremendous potential, he’s young and he’s already high in the rankings,” said Millman, who will tackle the resurgent Damir Dzumhur in the second round.
“It’s great to get through in straight sets, to get through in front of the home crowd was very special today.”
The 28-year-old broke at 6-5 in the first set and 5-4 in the second set, raising his game to steal pivotal advantages at the vital moments.
“It wasn’t as easy as it seems, but I think I’ve been playing decent tennis for a while,” added the Australian, who came back from groin surgery last year.
“Brisbane gave me a lot of confidence, even though I lost to Grigor (Dimitrov) in my second match. He’s one of the best in the world right now, and that gave me a lot of belief coming into my home Slam.
“I feel like five sets suits me, I can really sink my teeth into a match. These guys are in for a tough match because I’ll never back down.”
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Later on Monday night, Daria Gavrilova sauntered into the second round with a routine 6-1 6-1 win over Irina Falconi.
“I’m really happy with the way I played,” said the 23rd seed, building on her Sydney semifinal run last week. “I was just thinking about competing tonight (Monday).”
The 23-year-old, who matched her age with 23 winners to post a rapid 64-minute victory, is eager to ignore the hype surrounding her title chances at her home Grand Slam.
“I’m not putting any expectations on myself, neither is anyone in my team,” she said.
“I just go and fight for every point.”
Gavrilova, who has progressed to the fourth round in the past two Australian Open campaigns, meets Hobart champion Elise Mertens next.
While Millman and Gavrilova shone, Samantha Stosur stumbled, surrendering a match point before falling to world No.58 Monica Puig 4-6 7-6(6) 6-4.
Stosur, who has reached the fourth round twice at her home Grand Slam, struck 88 per cent of first serves to command an opening set with 10 winners on the board.
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The world No.41 led the second set with a 3-2 break lead, before a sumptuous lob from the Olympic champion helped restore parity to then force a tiebreak
Stosur fought back from 2-4 to match point at 6-5, but Puig teased a forehand error off the Australian’s racquet to prolong the contest, before an acute angled volley clinched a 70-minute set.
Tied at 3-3, Puig chased down a Stosur approach to laser a single-handed backhand down the line en route to the pivotal break, maintaining her advantage to seal her spot in the second round.
Earlier on Monday, Matt Ebden soared past 16th seed John Isner 6-4 3-6 6-3 6-3 to book a second round encounter with Alexandr Dolgopolov.
It was a clinical display from the world No.76, playing in his first major main draw since Melbourne 2016, converting all four break points against the serving prowess of the towering American.
Olivia Rogowska managed to edge past fellow Aussie Jaimee Fourlis 6-3 6-7(3) 6-2 to earn a second-round encounter with 15-year-old prodigy Marta Kostyuk.
“It’s great, I’ve been playing some pretty good tennis these past couple of weeks,” said the 26-year-old. “When I saw the draw I wasn’t expecting to be the favourite to win the match.
“I was really proud how I handled my routines. There were a fair few nerves, but when I lost that second set, I thought it was a clean slate and played a pretty solid third set to get over the line. Mentally it was a good day."
Rogowska, who ousted Fourlis in straight sets in Brisbane earlier this month, is delighted to utilise her wildcard opportunity.
“I’ve got nothing to lose now,” said the Melbourne resident, attempting to reach the third hurdle for the first time against Ukranian qualifier Kostyuk.
“The draws could be tougher, but I’m definitely not going to take her lightly. She’s young and obviously hitting the ball well and freely. She’s a very dangerous opponent, but I’ll fight.”
South Australian Alex Bolt looked to be on his way to a monumental win over world No.65 Viktor Troicki on Court 7 but was left heartbroken in a 6-7(2) 4-6 6-2 6-3 6-4 loss.
The 25-year-old was dictating the Serbian in the early stages of the match, with his power and speed proving to be pivotal, especially in the first set tiebreak.
However, it was Troicki who willed himself on, fighting back from the two set deficit to force a decider.
In the fifth it was Bolt who raced to a 3-0 lead and had two chances to increase the advantage to 4-0, but his 31-year-old opponent showed his experience to record a fighting win.
Wildcard Jason Kubler put in a valiant effort up against world No.11 Pablo Carreno Busta in a 7-5 4-6 7-5 6-1 battle.
Kubler, a former junior world No.1, has contended with a brutal run of knee injuries, but returned to the Australian Open for the first time since 2010 to defy his lack of Grand Slam experience to provide the 10th seed a stern test.
A last-ditch sliced lob glanced the baseline to chalk up an early break for the Brisbane based Aussie. However, Carreno Busta reeled off four successive games to clinch the opener.
The Spaniard failed to dissolve the Kubler resolve, with the duo locked on serve in the second set until the Australian sensed his chance at 5-4. The 24-year-old connected with a piercing backhand passing shot to help level the contest.
Following the rain delay Kubler catapulted a brace of forehand winners to lead 3-1, but Carreno Busta found the answers in a series of enthralling all-court exchanges to wrestle back the initiative and accelerate towards the second round.