Beijing, Beijing, China, 9 October 2015 | tennis.com.au

John Millman had American sixth seed John Isner on the ropes at the China Open before succumbing in three sets on Thursday.

The Queenslander led by a set and a break and served for the match when leading 6-5 in the second, only to drop serve, and ultimately the match, 4-6 7-6(5) 6-4.

“I was lucky to be honest. He outplayed me the first two sets for sure. I was able to get back in the match with him serving for it and that certainly turned it around,” Isner said.

“I was missing some balls out there, it’s pretty slow, heavy and low bouncing conditions but I just tried to make him work. Fortunately for me he missed some shots. I think he threw in his only double fault of the match in that game and I was able to convert.

“The tiebreaker was tough but I had the momentum from that point and was able to carry that through into the beginning part of the third set.

“He (Millman) is very solid. He seems to me like he’s a really hard worker and he’s a really nice guy. He’s just solid, his backhand’s very good and he moves extremely well.”

Isner will face world No.1 Novak Djokovic in the quarterfinals.