What a story and what character! At 27, Alexandre Müller won his first title on the ATP circuit on Sunday in Hong Kong. And he did it in style: as in each of his matches in this tournament, he was able to reverse the trend against the returning Kei Nishikori (2-6, 6-1, 6-3) in 1h43 of play in final. The Frenchman becomes the third player in the Open era after Arthur Ashe and Alexander Bublik to win a trophy after systematically losing the first set. He will be 56th in the world on Monday.
French Tennis can have a smile on its face, from the first week of the 2025 season. Not the most anticipated, Alexandre Müller opened the year with a bang with a coronation. And the native of Poissy had a lot of merit this Sunday as he had no say in the first round. Totally dominated by a rediscovered Kei Nishikori who played at crazy speed camped on his baseline, he could have sunk after this entry uppercut. But far from panicking, he gradually gained momentum.
It must be said that Müller had survived much worse earlier in the week by saving two match points in the 2nd round against Miomir Kecmanovic. And perhaps he also felt that this week was his. Still, the Frenchman was methodical. He first took full advantage of Nishikori's big drop in speed in the second act. Because if the Japanese has regained his former tennis brilliance, the weight of years (35) and injuries was felt in his inability to maintain the intensity of the first round.
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