Sofia, Bulgaria, 28 September 2021 | Leigh Rogers

Sofia, Bulgaria

John Millman has made a perfect start to his campaign at the Sofia Open in Bulgaria.

The eighth-seeded Australian scored a 6-2 6-4 opening-round win against Swede Mikael Ymer, defeating the world No.85 in one hour and 27 minutes.

Millman fought back from a 2-4 deficit in the second set, winning the final four games of the match.

The world No.55 now faces either Italian veteran Andreas Seppi or Ukrainian Illya Marchenko in the second round. The 32-year-old Aussie is looking to advance to his second ATP quarterfinal in as many weeks, having also reached the final eight in Nur-Sultan last week.

Millman is one of three Australians in the Sofia Open men’s singles draw this week.

Alex de Minaur received an opening-round bye as the No.3 seed, while James Duckworth is still to play his first-round match against Finland’s Emil Ruusuvuori.

Aussies in action – Sofia

RESULTS
Men’s singles, first round
[8] John Millman (AUS) d Mikael Ymer (SWE) 6-2 6-4

COMING UP
Men’s singles, first round
James Duckworth (AUS) v Emil Ruusuvuori (FIN)

Men’s singles, second round
[3] Alex de Minaur (AUS) v Marcos Giron (USA)
[8] John Millman (AUS) v TBC

Men’s doubles, first round
[4] Luke Saville (AUS)/John-Patrick Smith (AUS) v Andre Goransson (SWE)/Hugo Nys (MON)