Millman set for monster payday after Federer upset

John Millman once had to pull on a suit, sit inside an office and work the calculators to make sure his bank account was ticking over while injury put his tennis career on pause.

After his upset win over Roger Federer to reach the US Open quarter-finals, the 29-year-old might not have to worry about numbers for quite some time.

Millman is guaranteed a prize of AU$660,000 – the biggest payday of his life – and he’ll reach a career-high ranking with a leap into the world’s top 40.

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It’s a big if, but if he defeats Wimbledon champion Novak Djokovic to reach an unlikely semi-final, Millman will pocket $1.3 million and overhaul Nick Kyrgios to become Australia’s No.1 player.

The remarkable turn of events is a far cry from working in finance throughout 2014 as he waited to see if his troublesome body would recover from a serious shoulder operation.

“It was definitely a change of pace, putting on a suit and going to work,” Millman told the Canberra Times in 2015.

“It’s not always guaranteed you come back from a torn labrum. Your shoulder’s a pretty vital part of tennis and I literally had to build it up from scratch again.

“I have a massive team who got me back playing, and every time I walk on court I want to do them proud. It took my mind off tennis for a little bit and gave me something else to focus on.

“It’s not the easiest thing we do, playing tennis, but I’ve been doing it for so long and I do realise more than ever how lucky I am to do what I do.”

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His maiden appearance in the main draw of a grand slam was a first-round loss at the 2013 Australian Open, and it would be two and a half years before he finally notched his first win.

It was one to savour – a straight-sets victory over No.19 seed Tommy Robredo.

Nothing in his career, however, compares to his win over Federer, who said he was beaten up by Millman and battered by the brutal New York heat and humidity.

“I was just happy that the match was over,” Federer said after falling to the unfancied Australian in one of the great US Open boilovers.

In one of the few times in his unparalleled 1424-match career, Federer all but raised the white flag as he struggled to cope with Millman’s relentless counter-attacking and crushing humidity that has turned the US Open into a survival of the fittest.

“It was very hot tonight … just one of those nights where I guess I felt I couldn’t get air,” the 20-time major winner said after relinquishing a one-set lead in his 3-6 7-5 7-6 (9-7) 7-6 (7-3) fourth-round loss at Flushing Meadows.

“There was no circulation at all. I don’t know, for some reason I just struggled in the conditions tonight. It’s one of the first times it’s happened to me,” he said.

“Yeah, it’s uncomfortable. Clearly just keep on sweating more and more and more and more as the match goes on. You lose energy as it goes by.

“But John was able to deal with it better. He maybe comes from one of the most humid places on earth, Brisbane. I knew I was in for a tough one.”

Gracious in defeat, Federer suspects Novak Djokovic might also be in for a tough one on Wednesday when the 13-time major champion is next to run into Millman in what will be the Queenslander’s maiden grand slam quarter-final.

“I love his intensity,” Federer said of Millman, his summer hitting partner in Switzerland earlier this year.

“He reminds me of David Ferrer and those other guys that I admire a lot when I see them, when I see how they train, the passion they have for the game. I love his intensity.

“He’s got a positive demeanour about himself on and off the court.

“I think he’s got a great backhand that he can protect very well down the line and cross-court. When you attack there in the wrong way, he will punish you, punish you every time for it.

“Then he has options, now especially where it’s a bit slower, to return in and return back. I think against Novak, he just has to bring it again, try to worry Novak, hope for another hot day, maybe.”

with AFP