First round in Melbourne – Hüsler bites his teeth on stubborn Millman – Sport

• Marc-Andrea Hüsler (ATP 51) fails in the 1st round of the Australian Open in 5 sets at the tireless local hero John Millman (ATP 140).
• After more than 4 hours, the 7: 6 (10: 8), 5: 7, 7: 6 (6: 2), 2: 6, 3: 6 defeat of the Swiss is sealed.
• For Hüsler it is the 3rd defeat in the starting round in the 3rd participation in the main draw of a Grand Slam tournament.

It just doesn’t want to happen (yet) with Marc-Andrea Hüsler’s first victory at a major tournament. Like last year in Wimbledon (against Hugo Grenier/FRA) and at the US Open (Denis Shapovalov/CAN), the Zurich native lost out in 5 sets in the first round of the Australian Open 2023. This time, Hüsler’s conqueror is John Millman.

Tireless local hero

Confidence was still high when Hüsler showed an almost flawless tie-break in the 3rd set and won the 2-1 set lead. It has been known on the tour for many years that Millman should never be written off.

The Australian continued to fight for every point gained and from the 4th round also began to read Hüsler’s serves better. While the Swiss could hardly find any solutions to opposing service, Millman Hüsler was increasingly having problems with his service games.

With 2 breaks, Millman confidently forced the decisive set. And in this, too, the local hero clearly had the staying power. Driven by the frenetic Australian crowd on the rather small Court 3, the 33-year-old managed the crucial break to make it 3-1 with a passing ball.

Hüsler was no longer able to create a break chance. After 4:05 hours, the world number 140 used her 3rd match point to advance to the 2nd round.

The disappointment in the Swiss was noticeable after the end, but he didn’t blame himself too much: “I had the feeling that I had played well for a long time. It was a game at the top level for both of them, in the end Millman was a bit better, »said the Zurich player. The fact that he not only had Millman against him, but also the audience, was a special experience: “That will help me in the future,” Hüsler is sure.

deserved success

Especially towards the end of the game, it was noticeable that Hüsler still lacks experience on the Grand Slam stage. The 26-year-old couldn’t keep his level consistently high for more than 4 hours. Millman didn’t shoot his opponent off the field with winners, but involved Hüsler in lengthy rallies in the decisive phase, which the Australian mostly won.

Hüsler thus missed a great opportunity, because in the second round there would have been a duel with Daniil Medvedev (ATP 8).