How Federer became Muller’s unexpected golf partner

Alexandre Muller was out for a round of golf last November when he noticed he was playing behind one of his former ATP Tour practice partners.

The Frenchman hit with Roger Federer on a couple of occasions before the Swiss great retired from tennis in 2022. As chance would have it, the pair was reunited on the fairways of Dubai.

“We practised [on Tour] before, but I never played him in a match unfortunately,” Muller told ATPTour.com. “He had a tee time 10 minutes before mine, so I was behind him for nine or 10 holes. For the last few holes, I was with him, because the guy in front of him was a bit slow, so every time at the beginning of the hole I was with him, and we were talking a little bit. It was cool.”

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Muller said he and Federer kept the tennis chat to a minimum, but the Frenchman was full of praise for his new playing partner’s golf game. He also light-heartedly suggested that Federer was busy preparing for an 18-hole duel with another now-retired former World No. 1.

“We were talking about golf. He was playing great,” said Muller. “He is practising a lot, I think he wants to beat Rafa!”

Back to tennis and the BMW Open by Bitpanda, where Muller will on Monday aim to upset top seed, two-time champion and home favourite Alexander Zverev. The 28-year-old Muller, who won his maiden ATP Tour title in Hong Kong in the first week of the 2025 season, is ready to spoil the party on the Munich event’s first day of main-draw action as a newly upgraded ATP 500.

“I think the crowd are going to be for him, for sure,” said Muller, who lost his only previous Lexus ATP Head2Head meeting with Zverev in straight sets at the 2024 US Open. “It’s going to be a great battle, I hope. I’ve had some time to practise here, and we will see tomorrow.”

It will not be the first time Muller has had the feeling of ‘playing away’ against a home favourite in 2025. In Rio de Janeiro in February, he stunned an expectant home crowd by downing fast-rising #NextGenATP star Joao Fonseca 6-1, 7-6(4) in the first round. Muller went on to reach the championship match in Brazil, his first at ATP 500 level.

“I was proud of myself. It was a difficult match,” reflected Muller on his victory against Fonseca. “Everyone was against me, and in South America I think it is even more difficult [because of the loud atmosphere]. It was a great match from myself, and a great tournament in the end because I reached the final.”

Muller will be No. 40 in Monday’s edition of the PIF ATP Rankings, just one spot shy of the career high he hit on 7 April. After years grinding to reach the Top 100 — which he did for the first time in April 2023 — and then more time spent ensuring he stayed there, his Hong Kong and Rio de Janeiro runs suggest a player ready to take the next step. Yet Muller says his recent progress has not come from doing anything differently.

“It’s not different on the court. A little bit off the court with more media and things, but I’m the same guy, the same player,” he said. “I’ve just been playing great since the beginning of the year. I think it’s always important to have a great start, and that was the case for me [in Hong Kong]. Of course, now there is some confidence in my game, so I’m just trying to continue the way I’m playing and the way I’m working and trying to do it every week.”

So what of Muller’s prospects for the European clay season? He enters with a 5-3 record on the surface so far in 2025, according to the Infosys ATP Win/Loss Index, while he will also look to build on earning his maiden main-draw win at his home major of Roland Garros in 2024.

“I think clay is my best surface,” said Muller. “I played a lot on it since I was very young and with my forehand, which has a lot of spin, it is better on clay. I won Hong Kong, so I can play good on hard court too, but clay is my best surface.”