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John Millman admits he's struggled on the ATP Tour this year but will enjoy a return to the Astana Open as defending champion.
John Millman hopes returning to the scene of his lone ATP Tour title win can help remove the "sour taste in his mouth" that's built during a season of injury and disappointment.
The world No.43 Australian made history as the winner of the inaugural Astana Open last year, beating Adrian Mannarino, Fernando Verdasco, Tommy Paul and Frances Tiafoe along the way.
He will return as fifth seed to Kazakhstan and faces a qualifier in the first round later this week.
"I won't lie. It has been a really challenging year for me," Millman said of a 14-20 record this year that includes 0-3 in grand slams.
"When I have been fit, I feel like I've played some pretty good tennis.
"Maybe the results don't show that but when I was fit I felt great.
"I started off the year not great by my standards, and also trying to wrap my head around the fact I would be away for 12 months.
"I didn't do a great job about that."
The Brisbane favourite opted for an extended training block in Spain but hurt his back and was forced to miss the French Open, while he was still hindered by bone bruising in his foot suffered at the Olympics before a first-round US Open exit.
"That is two of the four slams where I felt like I was a bit underdone and that is disappointing," Millman, 32, said.
"Because when you get to my age, and when you put in the effort I do to keep my body in a good place and develop my game, to not be 100 per cent for those big tournaments leaves a sour taste in the mouth."
Returning to Nur-Sultan could be the tonic though, Millman admitting it was nice to arrive as a defending champion after winning 12 titles at the lower Challenger level.
"It was massive for me; there have been plenty of good players who have gone on to not break through and lift a title at the ATP level," he said.
"It was, mentally, a really challenging year for everyone (dealing with COVID-19), so to be able to do it like that, I was proud of, because it really tested your resilience.
"It was the culmination of a lot of hard work and resilience."
Australian Open semi-finalist Aslan Karatsev is top seed for the tournament that will also feature in-form Australian James Duckworth.
