An emotionally drained John Millman has expressed relief at keeping exciting teenager Alexei Popyrin at bay in their all-Australian first-round tussle at the Sydney International.
Millman earned a shot at second-seeded titleholder Gilles Muller with a 7-6 (7-4) 6-0 win over the 18-year-old Popyrin, the reigning French Open junior champion.
The Queenslander's victory came four days after he was unable to convert either of two match points in a tough three-set loss to world No.3 Grigor Dimitrov at the Brisbane International.
"A lot of emotions last week in Brisbane. Brisbane is just probably one of those places where when I play there and you're just a little bit flat when you finish," Millman said of his home-town tour event.
"But it's good to get that one out of the way today. Obviously, it's a bit of pressure, too, playing a young up-and-coming Australian player, a big talent, Alexei."
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Millman was Australia's only men's winner on Monday, with teenage wildcard Alex Bolt falling 5-7 7-5 6-4 to Lithuanian lucky loser Ricardas Berankis.
Brisbane semi-finalist Alex De Minaur opens his campaign on Tuesday against Spanish veteran Fernando Verdasco.
The winner will play seventh seed Damir Dzumhur for a place in the quarter-finals. The Bosnian advanced to the second round with a 6-1 6-4 defeat of German Jan-Lennard Struff.
Highly rated young Russian qualifier Daniil Medvedev upstaged German sixth seed Philipp Kohlschreiber 6-2 6-3 to also progress to the second round, before a heavy downpour forced a suspension of play at Olympic Park.
