12 September 2017 | Tennis Queensland

Sam Stosur may have been sidelined for the US Open this year, but Queensland fans still had plenty to cheer with third round appearances from both Ash Barty and John Millman.

For Millman, it was an impressive return after a year that has been plagued with injury. The 28 year old fighter was contesting the Open on an injury-protected ranking, arriving at Flushing Meadows as No.235 in the world.

His first round win against fellow Aussie Nick Kyrgios, an example of just how hard Millman is willing to fight on the big stage, and just how formidable he can be with his body in check.

Millman’s second round was a straight sets win over Tunizia’s Malek Jaziri, leaving him the last standing Australian in the men’s side of the tournament.

Millman eventually lost 7-5 6-2 6-4 to tough German Philipp Kohlschreiber.

“I could walk off the court and say I was a little bit sore or whatever but, at the end of the day, physically I felt really good and I got beat by a guy who just played a little bit better than me.

“To be honest, I thought the whole match was pretty high quality. I really tried to back myself when the time was there to do so and I have to continue doing that.

“But I really think my game is at a good level right now and this week has been so good for that.”

Meanwhile, Ash Barty also had her best result at the US Open, with the 21-year-old going down to American Sloane Stephens -who went on to win the tournament – in the third round.

“Sloane played a really good match and sort of took control and took me out of it a little bit,” said Barty.

“But I had a lot of opportunities and I couldn’t quite consolidate on a few, especially early.

“She definitely deserved to win more than I did. A former top-15 player, she’s obviously riding a very big wave of confidence at the moment so it was always going to be tough.”

Barty’s focus now is on a swing of doubles tournaments with partner Casey Dellacqua (AUS).

“I’ve got two tournaments in Asia that we’ll target and hopefully play well at and Case (Casey Dellacqua) and I are very close to the doubles champs so hopefully we can consolidate that, maybe this week.

“But if not, we’ll keep working, keep striving and it’s just exciting to be able to start where we are with the Australian summer.”

In doubles, John Patrick Smith (QLD) also had a fantastic run at the US Open, playing with Nicholas Munroe from the United States.

The pair made it all the way to the quarterfinals, where they lost to top seeds John Peers (AUS) and Henri Kontinen (FIN).

Smith also qualified for the main round in singles at the US Open, falling to Italy’s Thomas Fabbiano.