Local crowd favourite John Millman says his serve underpinned his stoic four-set win over Feliciano Lopez in their first-round encounter at the Australian Open.
Millman got on top of Lopez early in their clash in front of a boisterous crowd inside Margaret Court Arena, before going on to win 6-1, 6-3, 4-6, 7-5 in just under three hours.
He joined wildcard Aleksandar Vukic as the Australians through to the second round of the men's draw, with Thanasi Kokkinakis and James Duckworth having both exited the tournament.
Millman will next face third seed Alexander Zverev, who defeated fellow German Daniel Altmaier in straight sets, 7-6 (7-3), 6-1, 7-6 (7-1), in the feature men's match of the evening session on Rod Laver Arena.
The 32-year-old Millman said enjoying some early dominance on his serve helped set up his win over the veteran Spaniard Lopez.
"I started off really well," Millman said.
"I don't think Feliciano served particularly well, and obviously that's one of his big strengths in the first two sets, but then he really started to turn it on with his serving and hitting his spots in sets three and four.
"So when that happens, I had to look after my service games. I did that pretty well for most of the match, apart from the third set, and just created enough opportunities to eventually capitalise on one of them to close it out."
The 89th-ranked Millman said he was still managing a back complaint, which hampered his 2021 season.
"I've been battling with a back (complaint) for a couple of years now," he said.
"Obviously for those following French Open, it put me out of the French Open and I wasn't quite fit at the US Open either.
"That's a bit disappointing when you're on the road and obviously I have to bring a level of physicality to my matches to win.
"So it's one of those things I'm trying to manage to the best of my ability, but unfortunately week to week, you just don't quite know how it is feeling and how it will be going."
There were reports a fight broke out in the crowd inside Margaret Court Arena following Millman's victory.
Millman did not condone violence among spectators, but he appreciated the support he received during the match.
"The crowd was a bit rowdy, I think everyone's had a couple of drinks and enjoyed themselves," Millman said.
"It's so nice, after being away for such a long year, 11 months, and to have some home crowd support, I'll take it any day of the week.
"I know it was rowdy, but the last 11 months, normally when you're playing away, you don't really have that support at all.
"So I'll take the support. Obviously I encourage everyone to keep their hands and feet to themselves, but hopefully I can get a bit of a rowdy crowd that gets behind me in my next one."
