Chuncheon-si, Gangwon-do, South Korea, 18 August 2014 | tennis.com.au

John Millman has taken a big step back in his recovery from a serious shoulder injury with victory at the ITF Futures event in Chuncheon, Korea.

The Queenslander battled to a 6-3 6-7(4) 7-6(5) triumph over sixth seed Jose Statham of New Zealand in the final, his first tournament victory since winning the Kyoto Challenger in March 2013.

“Absolutely spent after nearly a four hour battle. Thanks for support,” he tweeted.

Millman was forced to miss 11 months of competition due to a shoulder injury necessitating surgery, the second shoulder injury of his career.

Playing his last match before the surgery at the Rome Challenger in May 2013, it was five months before Millman even returned to the practice court.

Gradually rebuilding his strength and taking his first steps back to competitive tennis via the Asia-Pacific Tennis League in late 2013, Millman finally returned to the tour in April this year, enjoying some success with quarterfinal finishes at three Futures events in Asia.

His latest triumph is expected to provide him with a valuable boost in the rankings – he currently sits outside the world’s top 1000.

He peaked at world No.126 in April 2013.