Millman Upsets Gasquet In Winston-Salem

John Millman scored a milestone win at the Winston-Salem Open on Thursday, downing top seed Richard Gasquet 7-5, 6-3 to move into his maiden ATP World Tour semi-final. The 92-minute win also marked the first time Millman has beaten a player in the Top 15 of the Emirates ATP Rankings. The Aussie, who reached a career-best No. 60 in the Emirates ATP Rankings in May, is currently ranked No. 81.

“No matter what level, every tournament I go in to compete, to do my best and to win,” said Millman, who is taking part in the event for the first time. “To be honest, at the start of the week I was a bit busted physically because of the long weeks at the Olympics and in Cincinnati. But now I’m moving great and I’m hitting the ball really well. It’s a treat to be here. The conditions are great and suit my game well.

“Gasquet is a top player. Playing and beating him is very satisfying. Every week that I’m playing an ATP World Tour event, I gain more confidence that I can compete at this level, and I’m proud of that,” the 27-year-old Millman, who broke the Frenchman five times during the match, said. “Everyone remaining in the tournament is an accomplished player. Every win is a bonus for me right now.”

Millman will next face Pablo Carreno Busta, who topped Andrey Kuznetsov 6-4, 6-3. The Spaniard fired nine aces and saved all seven break points faced to advance in 85 minutes. Millman beat Carreno Busta in the first round of the ATP World Tour Masters 1000 event in Miami earlier this year. It was the pair’s lone previous FedEx ATP Head2Head meeting.

No. 2 seed Roberto Bautista Agut is safely through to the semi-finals after beating Yen-Hsun Lu 6-3, 6-2. Bautista Agut did not face a break point in the 61-minute win and broke Lu three times. The Spaniard improved to 3-0 in the pair’s FedEx ATP Head2Head rivalry and has yet to drop a set against the man from Chinese Taipei. The 28 year old is seeking a third ATP World Tour title in 2016, having prevailed in Auckland and in Sofia.