Aussie John Millman reached his second ATP 500 quarter-final of the year on Thursday, defeating South African Lloyd Harris 6-3, 6-2 in just 69 minutes to make the last eight at the Rakuten Japan Open Tennis Championships.

“I was really happy with how I played. I knew Lloyd was going to have a tough backup. That match yesterday, I watched,” Millman said. “Obviously I’m a massive admirer of fellow countryman Alex de Minaur [whom Lloyd beat] and I watched that game and it was so physical, so I really wanted to reduce those unforced errors, make Lloyd have to work for every single point and try to neutralise that serve, because we know it’s a cannon.”

Millman has found good form over the past month. The 30-year-old advanced to the quarter-finals in Winston-Salem and won an ATP Challenger Tour trophy in Kaohsiung. Although he has lost in the first round twice during that span, those defeats came against eventual US Open champion Rafael Nadal and Zhuhai winner Alex de Minaur.

“I got to play a match here [on Colosseum] in qualifying against Tatsuma, so I kind of knew what to expect. It’s quite blustery. When you actually get onto the court, you feel a wind there that you might not feel from the stands or outside,” Millman said. “But it’s a nice court, it’s set up very nicely. The amount of the support they get out there, a lot of the seats are filled up and that makes it a good atmosphere to play tennis in.”

In the next round, Millman will face a familiar foe in Japan’s Taro Daniel. Daniel won the pair’s only previous FedEx ATP Head2Head meeting last year, but Millman has won by identical 6-1, 6-3 scorelines below tour-level.

“What makes him such a good tennis player is how much of a competitor he is. He’s been ultra competitive and so impressive in his first couple of rounds against Borna Coric and then beating Jordan Thompson today,” Millman said. “So I’m expecting a really tough, physical match. That’s what you expect when you play Taro and hopefully I can produce some good tennis.”

Millman and Daniel are good friends off the court. They even had dinner at an Indian restaurant in Tokyo before the start of this event.

“Taro is a very good friend of mine. We’ve played each other a fair amount of times, but not just that. Whenever we’re at tournaments, we’re looking to hit together or have dinner together,” Millman said. “He’s a very good friend, but you put friendships aside when you go out there and compete.”

“What makes him such a good tennis player is how much of a competitor he is. He’s been ultra competitive and so impressive in his first couple of rounds against Borna Coric and then beating Jordan Thompson today,” Millman said. “So I’m expecting a really tough, physical match. That’s what you expect when you play Taro and hopefully I can produce some good tennis.”

Millman and Daniel are good friends off the court. They even had dinner at an Indian restaurant in Tokyo before the start of this event.

“Taro is a very good friend of mine. We’ve played each other a fair amount of times, but not just that. Whenever we’re at tournaments, we’re looking to hit together or have dinner together,” Millman said. “He’s a very good friend, but you put friendships aside when you go out there and compete.”