AUSTRALIAN journeyman John Millman has pulled off one of the most stunning upsets in tennis history, defeating 20-time Grand Slam tournament winner Roger Federer in the US Open.
After losing the first set against the Swiss ace, Millman could have been forgiven for taking his racquet home – but the Queenslander dug deep and took the next two against the world number two.
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READ NOWThe fourth set went to a tie-breaker, but Millman held his nerve to take it, and the match, 3-6 7-5 7-6 7-6 (7-3), in front of a disbelieving Flushing Meadows crowd.
“He’s been a hero of mine and today he definitely wasn’t at his best,” the world number 55 said after the match.
“I felt like a bit of a deer in the headlights to begin with, Roger had it on a string and he was manipulating me around the court.
“The one thing I can control is the fight in me.
“I’ve always fought the fight out and that’s what it’s all about, revving myself up.”
Millman will now play Serbia’s Novak Djokovic in the quarter-finals.
