Millman earns tilt at Raonic

TENNIS: Australia’s John Millman has set up a showdown with 2016 finalist Milos Raonic in the second round at Wimbledon after overcoming a line-call dispute to down dogged Italian Stefano Travaglia.

Saving Australia from a firstday Wimbledon wipe-out, Millman battled back from a set down to advance with a 6-7 (6-8) 6-3 7-5 6-2 victory after Jordan Thompson, Jason Kubler, John-Patrick Smith and Ajla Tomljanovic all bombed out in the first round.

Millman, 29, was livid after letting a 4-1 first-set lead slip and took his frustrations out on a line umpire before regrouping to prevail after two hours and 45 minutes on court.

“I thought I probably wasn’t getting the rub of the green and this is high-stakes stuff,” Millman said.

“So I’m happy with how I composed myself and managed to get back into it with a bit of momentum and got through it.”

After drawing Rafael Nadal in the first round last year, Millman has returned to the All England Club with a career-high ranking of No.56 in the world after a rare injury-free run.

Having also played eventual champion Andy Murray in round three two years ago, the Queenslander isn’t daunted by the prospect of a show-court match-up with Raonic – a 7-5 6-0 6-1 winner over British wildcard Liam Broady – and the 13th seed’s thunderous serve.

“I feel as though I’m playing good enough tennis to make a real match of it,” Millman said.

“Everyone’s here to be beaten and we’ve seen that all year and we’ve seen it at the World Cup too. Some of these big boys fall.

“I’m going to go out there with confidence ... I’m going to give it a good crack and see if I can progress.”

Aussie seeds Nick Kyrgios, Ashleigh Barty and Daria Gavrilova, along with Samantha Stosur, Matt Ebden, Bernard Tomic, Alex de Minaur, James Duckworth and Alex Bolt, were scheduled to open their campaigns overnight.