Wimbledon’s strict all-white clothing policy forced John Millman to send his father on an emergency undies run before the Australian’s gripping loss to hard-hitting Milos Raonic.

Millman had a less-than-ideal warmup before taking Raonic to three tiebreaks in a 7-6 (7-4) 7-6 (7-4) 7-6 (7-4) second-round defeat when officials informed him his colourful underwear was too bright for his shorts.

It required his father Ron, known in tennis circles as “The Fox”, to make a mad dash to a local shop to find smalls more suitable for the tastes of the All England Club.

The affable Queenslander revealed earlier this week his father was on strike one after he left him waiting for two hours after an unsuccessful attempt to negotiate London’s public transport system from Heathrow airport.

However, after coming to his rescue, he said The Fox’s punishment has been downgraded to half-a-strike.

“I don’t know where he got [the underwear] from, but he walks everywhere. He walks here every day from Clapham,” Millman said.

“The Lotto pants this year are really thin, which is good for us, it feels like you are playing naked out there.

“I shouldn’t say this, but I have worn those undies, or similar types, for the last few years.

“But this year they came down hard, as they do. But The Fox delivered. Good man, he has rubbed half a stroke off.”

Millman held up well to a serving barrage from Raonic, who leads the championships with 52 aces.

One thunderbolt from the 2016 finalist eclipsed the 236kph mark – just shy of the record 238kph hurled down by giant American Taylor Dent in 2010.

Raonic’s serve proved invaluable with 32 aces against Australian Millman. Photo: AAP

Raonic crunched 32 aces, in a match dominated by serve with Millman very much holding his own with both players being broken just once.

“I thought I served pretty well, missed one or two in the tiebreak and that was the difference,” he said.

“I thought he returned well. He picked up one or two from his toes.

“But that is tennis. I knew it was going to be a tough game and I did everything I could out there.”

Millman is set to leave London with a new career-high ranking of 51 when the new standings are released next week, but left thinking of what could have been with a kinder draw.

“The way I have been hitting the ball … I honestly felt I could beat a good few guys that are left in the draw,” the 29-year-old said.

“That’s not me being cocky or confident. I just thought there was a lot of guys that I could beat. I just come up against a pretty tough test in the big Canadian.”

Federer cruises into third round

Roger Federer was back making a style statement with his dazzling tennis in the second round. Photo: Getty

Meanwhile, defending champion Federer was at his breathtaking best as he crafted 48 exquisite winners during a 90-minute 6-4 6-4 6-1 victory against Lukas Lacko on Wednesday, that seemed more an exhibition of his shot-making than a charge towards a record ninth Wimbledon title.

Federer will next face either Croatian Ivo Karlovic or Germany’s Jan-Lennard Struff for a place in the fourth round.

“I played very well again, I felt good out there, less nerves than in the first round, which is normal,” he said after racking up his 93rd Wimbledon win.

“I am happy with how I am hitting the ball and concentration on my own service games and I am able to mix it up on return. I needed to put him away and I was able to do that and I am very happy.”

In the women’s draw, seven-time champion Serena Williams moved up a gear to beat Bulgarian qualifier Viktoriya Tomova 6-1 6-4, while her elder sister Venus Williams turned up the heat after getting off to a rocky start and defeated Romania’s Alexandra Dulgheru in just under two hours.

Elsewhere, Karolina Pliskova proved too strong for Victoria Azarenka in the battle of former world No 1s, prevailing 6-3 6-3 in 72 minutes to enter the third round at Wimbledon for the first time in her career.

The Czech world no.8 had lost in the second round at the All England Club for five straight years since 2013.

-AAP