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Comeback king Muller tops Nishikori, lifts maiden Tour title in Hong Kong

Frenchman rallied from a set down in all five of his matches at ATP 250
January 05, 2025
HKCTA
Alexandre Muller overcomes Kei Nishikori to win the title in Hong Kong. By Andy West

After digging deep all week at the Bank of China Hong Kong Tennis Open, Alexandre Muller is an ATP Tour champion for the first time.

The Frenchman on Sunday overcame Kei Nishikori 2-6, 6-1, 6-3 to lift the trophy at the hard-court event, earning himself a spot on an exclusive list in ATP Tour history. With his comeback victory against the former World No. 4 Nishikori, Muller became just the third man in the Open Era to win a tour-level title having lost the opening set in every match he played (after Arthur Ashe at the 1975 WCT Finals and Alexander Bublik in Montpellier last year).

“Thank you everyone for the support tonight. It’s been an amazing week for me, losing the first set in all the matches,” said an emotional Muller in his on-court interview. “I have no words. I’m sorry, I just won the match, but thank you everyone.”

The 27-year-old Muller completed comebacks against Marc-Andrea Huesler, Miomir Kecmanovic, Arthur Fils and Jaume Munar en route to his second ATP Tour championship match, in which he weathered a strong start from Nishikori to accelerate to a one-hour, 43-minute triumph.

“In all the matches I tried to be calm between points and keep my energy, because it was a tough week for me,” said Muller. “I want to thank Kei, because he is an amazing player. I’m so happy for him that he can play without injuries, so good luck for the rest of the season.”

Muller struggled to stick with Nishikori in the opening set of the pair’s maiden Lexus ATP Head2Head meeting. The Japanese star, who was chasing his first tour-level crown since 2019 after an injury-plagued few years, sealed the first break of the match in the fifth game with a searing backhand winner and reeled off three consecutive games after that to ease to the first set.

Nishikori’s level barely dropped from there, but it did not prove enough to deny Muller from mounting an inspired comeback. The Frenchman was rock solid from the baseline and showed deft touch at the net to race to the second set, before he clinched the decider with a four-game streak from 2-3. As Nishikori netted a backhand on match point, Muller fell to his knees with emotion before embracing his opponent at the net.

Muller finished the match having converted four of eight break points he earned, according to Infosys ATP Stats. The Frenchman, whose lone previous Tour final came in Marrakech in 2023, is set to rise 11 spots to a career-high No. 56 in the PIF ATP Rankings on Monday as a result of his title run.

Despite defeat, Nishikori can reflect on another positive week in his bid to return to the game’s elite. The 35-year-old, a 12-time tour-level champion and former US Open finalist, will rise 32 spots to No. 74 on Monday, the first time he has been inside the Top 100 since June 2022.

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