Paris, France, 29 September 2020 | Leigh Rogers

John Millman predicted his opening-round showdown with Spain’s Pablo Carreno Busta at Roland Garros would be a battle – and he was right.

Their match ended after 11.30pm in Paris. The late finish was enhanced by a two-hour rain delay at the start of play on day two and some long matches played earlier on Court 14.

After two hours and 16 minutes on court, the No.17-seeded Carreno Busta closed out a 6-3 6-2 7-5 win.

Millman had his chances in the third set, building a 5-2 lead. But after being broken in the eighth game while serving for the set, the momentum dramatically changed. Millman lost 14 of the next 16 points, allowing the 29-year-old Spaniard to regain control.

Carreno Busta showed the form that helped him reach the US Open semifinals earlier this month, firing 34 winners to the Australian’s 24.

“He’s been playing some really good tennis lately. You could see a guy there that’s got full confidence in his game right now,” Millman conceded.

“I was trying to weather the storm for a fairly large part of that time, to be honest.”

It is Millman’s fifth consecutive loss in the opening round at Roland Garros, where he has had a luckless run with his draws.

Earlier today, fellow Australians Aleksandar Vukic and James Duckworth were both beaten in their opening round matches.

It was the end of a dream run for Vukic, a 24-year-old from Sydney who earned his Grand Slam main draw debut as a qualifier.

READ MORE: Vukic’s winning run ends

It means Alexei Popyrin and Marc Polmans are the last two Australian men left in the singles draw. They play their first round matches on day three.

Two Australian women – Astra Sharma and Daria Gavrilova – have advanced to the second round.

ROLAND GARROS
Aussies in action, day two results:

Men’s singles, first round
[17] Pablo Carreno Busta (ESP) d John Millman (AUS) 6-3 6-2 7-5
[Q] Pedro Martinez (ESP) d [Q] Aleksandar Vukic (AUS) 7-5 6-4 6-0
Tommy Paul (USA) d James Duckworth (AUS) 6-2 6-3 6-2