The 21st century
Luxembourg · born Luxembourg City, 1983 · left-handed · 's-Hertogenbosch champion 2017 and Wimbledon quarter-finalist
All playersBack to the rankings
3
Grass tour finals: 's-Hertogenbosch 2016 and 2017, Newport 2016
15-13
Fifth set of his win over Rafael Nadal, Wimbledon 2017
QF
Best Wimbledon result, 2017
2
ATP singles titles, both in 2017
21
Career-high ranking, 31 July 2017
Gilles Müller was born in Luxembourg in 1983 and turned professional in 2001, the year he reached the Wimbledon boys' final and won the US Open boys' title. A left-hander with a heavy serve and a liking for the net, he made his ATP debut on grass as a wildcard at 's-Hertogenbosch in 2002. He reached his first tour final in Washington in 2004 and beat Andre Agassi on the way, and as a qualifier reached the quarter-finals of the 2008 US Open, where he lost to Roger Federer.
An elbow injury in 2013 nearly ended his career. He came back in 2014 through the Challenger circuit and, in his thirties, played the best tennis of his life. In 2017, after five defeats in ATP finals, he won his first title in Sydney in January and his second on grass at 's-Hertogenbosch in June, then reached the Wimbledon quarter-finals. He rose to No. 21 that July. He played Davis Cup for Luxembourg from the age of 16, carried his country's flag at the 2016 Olympics, and retired after the 2018 US Open. He later became Luxembourg's Davis Cup captain.
| 's-Hertogenbosch 2017 | Fourth seed; beat third seed Ivo Karlović 7-6(5), 7-6(4) in a final without a break point, with 22 aces. At 34 and 38, they played the oldest ATP final since Ken Rosewall beat Ilie Năstase in Hong Kong in 1977 |
|---|---|
| Grass finals lost | 's-Hertogenbosch 2016: lost to Nicolas Mahut 6-4, 6-4. Newport 2016: lost to Karlović 6-7(2), 7-6(5), 7-6(12) after holding three match points; the deciding tiebreak was reported as the longest in the Open Era |
| Wimbledon 2017 | Seeded 16th, ranked 26th. Beat the second seed Rafael Nadal 6-3, 6-4, 3-6, 4-6, 15-13 in four hours 48 minutes on No. 1 Court, then lost a five-set quarter-final to Marin Čilić after tiring in the fifth set |
| Nadal at Wimbledon, the first time | In 2005 he beat Nadal, then the fourth seed and world No. 3, 6-4, 4-6, 6-3, 6-4 in the second round |
| Boys' singles 2001 | Lost the Wimbledon boys' final to Roman Valent 3-6, 7-5, 6-3 |
| 's-Hertogenbosch (Rosmalen) | ||
|---|---|---|
| 2017 | Men's singles Rosmalen Grass Court Championships | |
Leading grass titles only: the grass majors, tour-level grass events since 1968 and the leading grass championships before 1968. † single source; ‡ sources disagree. Roll of champions
"We have to finish this now or otherwise we're going to come back tomorrow"
The person behind the player.
Wimbledon 2017 · No. 1 Court
The Nadal match is also remembered for its start. Jumping to warm up before walking on court, Nadal misjudged the height of a doorway and hit his head; cameras caught it, and both players seemed to find it funny. Nadal later came back from two sets down before losing the fifth set 15-13.
Source: Wimbledon Compendium 2025's-Hertogenbosch, June 2017
After a final against Ivo Karlović in which neither man earned a break point, Müller joked: "I think we should make a suggestion to the ATP that we just start with the tie-break next time!"
Source: Tennis Tour Talk2013 to 2014
An elbow injury in 2013 almost ended his career. The time off let him work on his fitness, and from 2014 he played full seasons without breaks. After beating Nadal in 2017 he said: "I have a lot of confidence in my body now, which I didn't have before."
Source: Reuters, via The StarSydney, January 2017
He had lost every ATP final he had played before Sydney in 2017, where he beat Dan Evans for his first title and celebrated with his three sons on court.
Source: Lob and SmashWimbledon 2001
At 18 he reached the boys' singles final at Wimbledon and led Roman Valent of Switzerland by a set before losing 3-6, 7-5, 6-3. Two months later he won the US Open boys' title.
Source: Wimbledon Compendium 2025Free membership: player news, the grass court Atlas, the rankings and the grass season calendar.
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