Alexander Zverev shrugs off Australian Open crowd to power past John Millman

Alexander Zverev defeated Australian John Millman in his opening match at the Australian Open.
Photograph: James Gourley/REX/Shutterstock

Alexander Zverev needed no reminding of the last time he played John Millman at a grand slam. “Five and a half hours, five sets – he’s a very difficult player to beat,” he said before his second-round match against the Australian.

That match was the third round at Roland Garros in 2020, when the then 89th-ranked Millman rallied from two sets down and pushed him to five stanzas in a thriller that frustrated Zverev to the point of smashing his racket on to the ground.