John Millman's sad announcement after first-round loss at Wimbledon
John Millman has revealed his tennis career is coming to a close and he may have played his last match at Wimbledon on Monday.
The Aussie veteran suffered a first-round exit with a 6-3 2-6 6-3 6-4 loss to Miomir Kecmanovic on the opening day at the grass-court grand slam, then revealed his distinguished career is coming to an end.
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The 33-year-old told AAP that he hopes he hasn't played his last Wimbledon campaign but conceded his battered body can only take so much.
"Obviously I enjoy playing out here but definitely there's a used-by date," Millman said.
"And when that comes, I think I'll put the feet up a little bit, play a little golf and I look forward to it actually.
"I look forward to when I can kind of rest the body.
"I've got a fair few labral tears in my hip and I've had back problems for a long time now.
"It's just one of those things, tennis is a physical sport. There's a lot of wear and tear on the body."
Millman remains the only Australian player to have beaten Roger Federer at a grand slam this century, and is desperately hoping to play the US Open in August - the scene of his famous triumph in 2018.
"So I think I'll at least extend it up until then, and if I can get some good results and the body holds together, then we'll see what happens," he said.
Asked if the Australian Open could prove his swan song, Millman said: "We'll see.
"To be honest, I just haven't given it much thought. I literally have for a long time taken it one block at a time and I am relatively satisfied with the fact that I've given it a good nudge.
"But if you can get a run in the big tournaments, you want to be playing them. And if I do, we'll be having the same conversation then."
Federer victory not John Millman's career highlight
Millman's extraordinary victory over Federer in the fourth round at Flushing Meadows sent the popular Queenslander into the only grand slam quarter-final appearance of his career.
He almost shocked the 20-time grand slam champion again at the Australian Open in 2020, falling in a fifth-set super-tiebreaker that he led 8-4.
The only other Australian to topple the Swiss legend at a major was Pat Rafter at the 1999 French Open, when Federer was a teenager and making his debut at grand slam level.
Yet Millman, the World No.89 who peaked at No.33 in October of 2018, doesn't rank his career-defining victory over the World No.1 as his highlight.
"There's been other things that I probably hold a little bit higher than that match, which sounds probably a little bit silly," he said.
"Whenever I've got to represent the country - obviously Davis Cup, but also the Olympics. I love playing the Olympics.
"And qualifying here at Wimbledon for the first time in 2015 was one of my favourite moments.
"I mean, back then I never knew what type of career I was going to have.
"That's right up there with one of my best feelings I've had in tennis."
Millman joined a number of his compatriots to exit Wimbledon on the opening day, with Thanasi Kokkinakis the only Aussie to advance.
James Duckworth lost in four sets to Andy Murray, Max Purcell went down in a five-set epic against Adrian Mannarino, while Maddison Inglis couldn't extend her run from qualifying.
with AAP
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