Gilles Müller
Gilles Müller is a retired tennis player from Luxembourg. He is a two-time Grand Slam quarterfinalist and the most successful male tennis player in the history of his country. Müller won two titles on the ATP World Tour and achieved a career-high ATP singles ranking of world No. 21 on 31 July 2017. He was known for his powerful left-handed serve and excellent net skills. Following his retirement, Müller was appointed as Luxembourg's Davis Cup team captain.
Career
Junior tennis
In 2001, the year in which he would turn pro, Müller reached the final of the Boys' Singles at the 2001 Wimbledon Championships, where he was defeated by Roman Valent of Switzerland. Müller also won the Boys' Singles final at the 2001 US Open, defeating Taiwan's Yeu-Tzuoo Wang. He finished the year 2001 as the world No. 1 junior, posting a singles record of 72–26 throughout his junior career.2004–2005 and success against top players
Starting 2004 ranked 193, Müller had several victories over top players, including Andre Agassi in the semifinals of the 2004 Legg Mason Tennis Classic in Washington, D.C., Rafael Nadal in the second round of the 2005 Wimbledon Championships, and Andy Roddick in the first round of the 2005 US Open. He reached two ATP finals during that time span, losing to Lleyton Hewitt at the Washington Open in 2004 and to Andre Agassi at the LA Open in 2005.Müller led the Davis Cup team to a surprise victory against Finland in February 2004.
2008: First Grand Slam quarterfinal
At the 2008 US Open, Müller, ranked 130 at the time, had to go through the qualification tournament. He reached the main draw and advanced to the quarterfinals of a Grand Slam tournament for the first time in his career, earnining a win over fifth-seeded Nikolay Davydenko in the fourth round. He lost to defending and eventual champion Roger Federer in straight sets.2009–2013 and injuries
On 19 January 2009, Müller beat Spaniard Feliciano López in an epic four-hour, 24-minute match in the first round of the 2009 Australian Open. His run in the tournament ended in the third round by the eighth-seeded Juan Martín del Potro.In September 2011, he advanced to the fourth round of the US Open, losing to Rafael Nadal, whom he had already lost to in the third round of Wimbledon earlier that same year.
Müller registered his 100th singles win by defeating Australian Marinko Matosevic in Atlanta. He also reached the Atlanta Open final, losing to Andy Roddick after the American came back from one set and one break down to win what would be his last final on the ATP World Tour.
Müller's final match in 2013 was at the 2013 French Open where he lost in round 1 to Roberto Bautista Agut. He finished the year at No. 368 in the world rankings after missing the second half of the season with an elbow injury.
2014: Back inside the top 50
In January, Müller returned to playing tennis and competed mostly on the Challenger Tour, winning five titles.Müller qualified for the 2014 Wimbledon Championships where he lost to Roger Federer in the second round.
Müller lost in the first round at the US Open to Paul-Henri Mathieu.
Müller lost to Federer in the first round of the 2014 Swiss Indoors before falling in the qualifying rounds of the Paris Masters. He finished the season with a ranking of No. 47 and was elected Luxembourg's Sportsman of the Year.
2015: Breaking the top 40
Müller began 2015 at the Aircel Chennai Open, where he made the quarterfinals, losing to eventual champion Stan Wawrinka. He then competed in the Sydney International losing in the semifinals to Viktor Troicki, the eventual champion. He put together his best Australian Open campaign to date, losing in the fourth round to world No. 1 and eventual champion Novak Djokovic. His performance during the entire month saw him crack the top 40 for the first time in his career on 2 February.He had a strong showing in Rotterdam, defeating David Goffin and Grigor Dimitrov, and then lost to Wawrinka in the quarterfinals. However, he fell out of the top 50 for the first time of the year on 11 May because he didn't defend his titles on the Challenger Tour.
Müller had a strong start to the grass court season, reaching the semifinals of the Topshelf Open as well as the quarterfinals at Queen's, beating defending champion Dimitrov for the second time in two meetings since the beginning of the year. He then lost to eventual champion Andy Murray.
This was followed by a semifinals appearance at the 2015 BB&T Atlanta Open, where he eventually lost to Marcos Baghdatis in three sets.
He also reached the quarterfinals of the Moselle Open in addition to the semifinals of the Rakuten Japan Open Tennis Championships.
Müller finished the season with a world ranking of No. 38 and was elected Luxembourg's Sportsman of the Year for the second year in a row.
2016: Fourth and fifth ATP finals
He started 2016 by reaching the semifinals of both the Sydney International and the 2016 Garanti Koza Sofia Open.At the 2016 Ricoh Open, he reached the final, losing to the defending champion Nicolas Mahut in straight sets. At the 2016 Aegon Open Nottingham, he reached the semifinals, falling to second-seeded Pablo Cuevas of Uruguay.
He advanced to the final of the Hall of Fame Tennis Championships, losing to second-seeded Ivo Karlović in three sets.
Müller represented Luxembourg in singles at the 2016 Summer Olympics, winning in the first round against Jerzy Janowicz and then beating Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in the second round before losing to Roberto Bautista Agut.
At the 2016 Swiss Indoors, Müller defeated Grigor Dimitrov in the first round and then went on to reach the semifinals, falling to Kei Nishikori in three sets.
He finished 2016 with a ranking of No. 34 and was again elected Luxembourg's Sportsman of the Year.
2017: Career-best year
Müller finally won his maiden ATP World Tour title at the 2017 Sydney International, over a decade after his first final. He saved a match point in the first round against Alexandr Dolgopolov. This came less than a week after he lost in the men's doubles final of the 2017 Brisbane International, playing alongside Sam Querrey.He also made the final of Estoril, losing to Pablo Carreño Busta in what was his first ATP final played on clay. This resulted in him reaching a singles ranking of 26.
Then, at the 2017 Ricoh Open aged 34, Müller set up the oldest ATP World Tour tournament singles final in 41 years against Ivo Karlović, aged 38. He won the match in two straight tiebreaks, claiming his second ATP World Tour title in the process.
Despite being ranked 26 in the world, Müller's excellent form on grass in the last 12 months saw him earn a seeding of 16th at Wimbledon, where he made the quarterfinals after defeating world No. 2 Rafael Nadal in a five-set thriller, winning in 4 hours and 48 minutes. The Luxembourger would subsequently have his run at The Championships ended by the eventual runner-up Marin Čilić, who beat him in another match that went five sets, after Müller experienced physical fatigue during the 5th set.
After reaching a career-high singles ranking of 21 on 31 July and ending the season ranked world No. 25, he was elected Luxembourg's Sportsman of the Year for the fourth year in a row.
2018: Final season
Müller entered an ATP tournament as a defending champion for the first time in his career at the 2018 Sydney International, ousting John Millman before subsequently losing to Benoît Paire. He then reached the third round of the 2018 Australian Open, ultimately bowing out to Pablo Carreño Busta in four sets.Müller announced on 16 July that he would retire at the end of the season. He played his last match on the ATP World Tour at the 2018 US Open, losing in a five-setter to Lorenzo Sonego in the first round.
National representation
Davis Cup
Müller competed in 30 ties after he was first nominated in 2000. Out of 73 matches, he won 56 and lost 17, which made him Luxembourg's most successful Davis Cup player. Following his retirement in 2018, Müller was appointed as Luxembourg's Davis Cup team captain.Olympic Games
Müller qualified for the Olympic Games twice: in London 2012 and in Rio 2016, reaching the second round at the former and the third round at the latter.ATP career finals
Singles: 8 (2 titles, 6 runner-ups)
| Result | W–L | Date | Tournament | Tier | Surface | Opponent | Score |
| Loss | 0–1 | 2004 Legg Mason Tennis Classic – Singles| | Washington Open, US | International | Hard |  Lleyton Hewitt | 3–6, 4–6 |
| Loss | 0–2 | 2005 Mercedes-Benz Cup – Singles| | Los Angeles Open, US | International | Hard |  Andre Agassi | 4–6, 5–7 |
| Loss | 0–3 | 2012 BB&T Atlanta Open – Singles| | Atlanta Open, US | 250 Series | Hard | Andy Roddick | 6–1, 6–7, 2–6 |
| Loss | 0–4 | 2016 Ricoh Open – Men's Singles| | Rosmalen Championships, Netherlands | 250 Series | Grass |  Nicolas Mahut | 4–6, 4–6 |
| Loss | 0–5 | 2016 Hall of Fame Tennis Championships – Singles| | Hall of Fame Tennis Championships, US | 250 Series | Grass |  Ivo Karlović | 7–6, 6–7, 6–7 |
| Win | 1–5 | 2017 Apia International Sydney – Men's Singles| | Sydney International, Australia | 250 Series | Hard |  Dan Evans | 7–6, 6–2 |
| Loss | 1–6 | 2017 Estoril Open – Singles| | Estoril Open, Portugal | 250 Series | Clay |  Pablo Carreño Busta | 2–6, 6–7 |
| Win | 2–6 | 2017 Ricoh Open – Men's Singles| | Rosmalen Championships, Netherlands | 250 Series | Grass | Ivo Karlović | 7–6, 7–6 |
Doubles: 2 (2 runner-ups)
| Result | W–L | Date | Tournament | Tier | Surface | Partner | Opponents | Score |
| Loss | 0–1 | 2015 BB&T Atlanta Open – Doubles| | Atlanta Open, US | 250 Series | Hard | Colin Fleming | Bob Bryan Mike Bryan | 6–4, 6–7, |
| Loss | 0–2 | 2017 Brisbane International – Men's Doubles| | Brisbane International, Australia | 250 Series | Hard | Sam Querrey | Thanasi Kokkinakis Jordan Thompson | 6–7, 4–6 |
ATP Challengers and ITF Futures titles
Singles: 15
| No. | Date | Tournament | Surface | Opponent | Score |
| 1. | 9 April 2001 | Kuwait City, Kuwait | Hard |  Hermes Gamonal | 4–6, 7–6, 7–6 |
| 2. | 11 February 2002 | Glasgow, United Kingdom | Hard |  Maximilian Abel | 7–6, 7–6 |
| 3. | 22 April 2002 | Montego Bay, Jamaica | Hard | Julien Cassaigne | 6–3, 7–6 |
| 4. | 26 August 2002 | Florianópolis, Brazil | Clay |  Rodrigo Monte | 3–6, 7–6, 6–1 |
| 1. | 21 July 2003 | Valladolid, Spain | Hard | Iván Navarro | 6–4, 6–3 |
| 2. | 19 April 2004 | Napoli, Italy | Clay | Arnaud Di Pasquale | 7–6, 6–7, 6–1 |
| 3. | 28 June 2004 | Córdoba, Spain | Hard | Nicolás Almagro | 6–1, 6–2 |
| 4. | 7 April 2008 | Humacao, Puerto Rico | Hard |  Iván Miranda | 7–5, 7–6 |
| 5. | 26 May 2008 | Izmir, Turkey | Hard |  Kristian Pless | 7–5, 6–3 |
| 6. | 5 June 2011 | Nottingham, Great Britain | Grass | Matthias Bachinger | 7–6, 6–2 |
| 7. | 2 April 2014 | Guadalajara, Mexico | Hard | Denis Kudla | 6–2, 6–2 |
| 8. | 27 April 2014 | Shenzen, China | Hard |  Lukáš Lacko | 7–6, 6–3 |
| 9. | 4 May 2014 | Taipei, Taiwan | Carpet | John-Patrick Smith | 6–3, 6–3 |
| 10. | 11 May 2014 | Gimcheon, South Korea | Hard |  Tatsuma Ito | 7–6, 5–7, 6–4 |
| 11. | 20 July 2014 | Recanati, Italy | Hard |  Ilija Bozoljac | 6–1, 6–2 |
Doubles: 4
| No. | Date | Tournament | Surface | Partnering | Opponents | Score |
| 1. | 6 August 2001 | Luxembourg City, Luxembourg | Clay |  Mike Scheidweiler |  Steve Adamson Raoul Snijders | 6–4, 6–3 |
| 1. | 21 June 2004 | Andorra la Vella, Andorra | Hard |  Aisam-ul-Haq Qureshi |  Santiago González Alejandro Hernández | 6–3, 7–5 |
| 2. | 12 September 2010 | Saint-Rémy-de-Provence, France | Hard | Édouard Roger-Vasselin |  Andis Juška Deniss Pavlovs | 6–0, 2–6, |
| 3. | 30 September 2012 | Orléans, France | Hard |  Lukáš Dlouhý |  Xavier Malisse Ken Skupski | 6–2, 6–7, |