It is rare that a match concludes with a standing ovation, but Gilles Muller’s epic 6-3, 6-4, 3-6, 4-6, 15-13, win over two-time champion Rafael Nadal will be embedded in the tournament’s history forever.
Two-time champion Nadal faced the prospect of once again experiencing further misery at SW19. The last time he reached the quarterfinals at Wimbledon was in 2011. In Monday’s fourth round, he faced Muller, a fast-serving player from Luxembourg that always poses a threat on the grass. It wasn’t the smoothest of starts for Nadal, who managed to bang his head on the door frame whilst warming up for the tie.
The action just keeps on coming…
Listen to Nadal v Muller live on the @WimbledonChnl: https://t.co/Nz6gLgRdnr #Wimbledon #ManicMonday pic.twitter.com/rGlqWv5XRs
— Wimbledon (@Wimbledon) 10 July 2017
Nadal continued to have a sore head, but it wasn’t due to banging it. It was because of Muller’s swift start to the match. In under one-and-a-half hours, he found himself trailing by two sets. As alarm bells start to ring, the mood of Nadal’s camp darkened.
Nadal has fought back from two-sets down twice before at Wimbledon, but the last time was in 2007. Seeking a third, a break in his favor midway through the third set revitalised the Spaniard, who celebrated why a large shout of ‘vamos’ along with a first-pump. Suddenly it was no longer Muller closing in on his first Wimbledon quarter-final at the age of 34, but Nadal staging an heroic comeback as he clinched the third set.
Spirits were lifted further midway through the fourth set after a Muller backhand slammed into the net, rewarding Nadal his second break of the match. Rapidly gaining momentum, the fourth seed took proceedings into a final set after completing a love service game with the help of an error from his opponent. Despite Nadal’s resurgence, Muller never stopped believing.
“I didn’t feel like I was playing bad in the third and fourth set. I just told myself to keep it up and if it is not happening, he is just too good. At the end it is just a few points here and there. It is tough to say what made the difference at the end.” Said Muller.
Cheered on by a highly animated crowd, both men remain resilient. Nine games went by before Muller was on the crisp of a sensational victory. A Nadal double fault elevated the underdog to two match points at 5-4. They were both same in style with a Nadal ace down the line followed by a nifty serve out wide.
As both men refused to budge, the crowd was left sitting on the edge of their seats. 24 places separate them in the Emirates rankings, but on Court 1 they were inseparable. The 135-minute final set was pulsating, breathtaking and encapsulated everything that is special about Wimbledon and five-set matches. 92 minutes after his first match point, 34-year-old Muller scored the biggest win of his life after a Nadal forehand drifted long.
“It was a long match. I was two sets up, I played really well in the first two sets and then Rafa stepped it up. At the end it was just a big battle and I mean I had match point. I believe had four and didn’t make them. It was getting really tough.” Muller recalled.
“I was watching the sky, I had a feeling it was going to be over pretty soon.”
12 years after he first defeated Nadal at SW19, Muller will play in his maiden quarterfinal. In the last eight, he faces Marin Cilic, a player he has lost to on two previous occasions.
