“There is no point in running, you have to start on time.” Alexandre Müller took up the famous moral of La Fontaine's fable in a post on X (formerly Twitter) in the wake of his first title on the ATP circuit on Sunday in Hong Kong. A particularly happy choice of words as far as he is concerned, the role of the turtle suited him this week since he systematically raced behind his opponents But also in his career since his patience and determination finally paid off. Opening his list to 27. years is not trivial, especially in this way.
After Arthur Ashe in 1975 and Alexander Bublik last year, Müller became the third player in history to have won a tournament by systematically losing the first set. But how did he do it, especially after taking a slap at the start this Sunday? “We don't change a winning tactiche replied to L’Équipe, not without malice. We lose the first set and then we let go. At the beginning, he stepped on me, he took the ball early, I didn't have time to play. I tried to keep my back, to stay calm, to use more intensity. All it took was three mistakes on his part, a little break for me and the match changed. Hang on and wait for the little gap to rush in… In fact, there was no panic.“
I hope to find many more
Such serenity is astonishing. Especially since Müller is not used to finals, at least on the ATP circuit. It was only his second, a little less than two years after narrowly losing the first in Marrakech after which he entered the Top 100. During the first part of his career, the Frenchman was above all a player of the Challenger circuit where he won three titles. Achieving it on the ATP Tour is something else and he could have been paralyzed by the stakes and this rare opportunity.
“When I went to bed last night (Saturday, Editor's note) and I made lots of films about the final, it gave me shivers of excitement in bed. And finally, you win, you are moved on the court thinking of all the efforts and sacrifices over many years. But there you go, it's not at all an end in itself, it's a title and I hope to find many others“, he again confided to our colleagues. By his own admission, Müller had made a mountain out of this first title. And unquestionably, he had reached a milestone in his tennis journey.
Müller – Son: The highlights
Video credit: Eurosport
A fighter forged by daily pain
But stopping there, being satisfied with it, would not be like him. If he was able to turn the situation around this Sunday, it is obviously first and foremost because he had already done so several times in recent days. He even saved two match points in the second round, which may have contributed to giving him this feeling, if not of invincibility, at least that everything was possible. But if he has not given up, it is also and above all because his life is a daily battle against Crohn's disease, a chronic inflammatory condition of the intestine which causes him to lose a lot of energy. Hell for a top athlete, which he nevertheless learned to tame.
“I'm a hard worker in everything I dohe insisted again. When I set out to do something, I do it thoroughly. It's not always easy to enjoy work. It would be a lie to say that I smile every day when I'm in tough times. We must succeed, even when it is hard, in remembering why we work every day.”
If the supposed mental weakness of French tennis players is a cliché that has a hard core, Alexandre Müller is the perfect counter-example. Nothing came easily to him. Everything he had, he had to conquer. And far from satisfying him, this first trophy should give him many other ideas.
