Saville, Millman one step away
Luke Saville and John Millman each stand within just one win of the Wimbledon main draw after second-round qualifying victories on Wednesday.
London, UK, 25 June 2015 | Matt Trollope
Luke Saville and John Millman have each moved to within one match win of the Wimbledon main draw after second-round qualifying victories on Wednesday.
Later on Wednesday, fellow Aussie John-Patrick Smith joined the pair in the final round, yet compatriots Jason Kubler and Ben Mitchell fell in tense three-setters.
> READ MORE: Smith rewarded for persistence
Three more Aussies – Ben Mitchell, Jason Kubler and John-Patrick Smith – will contest their second-round matches later on Wednesday.
Saville reached the final round for the second straight year – taking his winning streak at Roehampton to five – thanks to a 6-4 6-4 victory over Dutchman Thiemo de Bakker.
Saville broke serve in the ninth game of the second set with some stellar passing shots and lobs off his backhand wing, and then saved five break points in the final game to close it out.
> follow the Wimbledon qualifying live scores
“It wasn’t easy; sort of struggled to hold that whole second set. He had quite a few break points. Don’t think I got tight – I just think he played some good points,” Saville said.
“I was pretty relieved when I finally won that last point; I’m happy with my effort.
Having qualified for Wimbledon last year, Saville has continued to flourish on grass, and hopes to draw on his experiences from 12 months ago when he takes on fifth-seeded Italian Luca Vanni.
> view the Wimbledon men’s qualifying draw
“There’s really good memories here. When I came back this year, I sit in the same spot in the tent, I do all the same routines, it feels like last year … London as well, I seem to have played all my best tennis (here). Definitely in the juniors I played great here and now in the seniors I’m playing well,” Saville said.
“The job’s not done yet, got one more to go. I’ll recover now and focus on tomorrow.”
Later on Wednesday, John Millman escaped with a three-set win to progress to the final round of Wimbledon qualifying for the first time in his career.
Millman, the 15th seed in qualifying, stormed back to beat Frenchman Tristan Lamasine 4-6 6-1 6-4.
“I think I came out a bit too passive … I did have chances in the first to get on top; I had a fair few break points and I couldn’t convert,” the Queenslander said.
“So I tried to be a bit more aggressive in the second and third.”
Should Millman win his final match on Thursday – against young Frenchman Enzo Couacaud – it would be the first time the 26-year-old has qualified for the main draw of a Grand Slam.
Twice previously – at the Australian and US Opens in 2010 – he reached the final round of qualifying before falling.
He said it would be hugely significant to achieve such a milestone at Wimbledon.
“It’s such a special tournament; you dream of playing not at the Bank of England tennis club (Roehampton), you dream of playing on site,” he laughed.
“It would be a dream come true to qualify. I’ve still got a best-of-five-set match to go. So hopefully I can get it done. I’m going to give it my all out there and leave no stone unturned.”