The Hindu : Sport / Tennis : Muller aiming to break into top twenty

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Monday, Jan 02, 2006

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Sport - Tennis

Muller aiming to break into top twenty

S.V. Sriram

Chennai: Fans at the Chennai Open might not get the chance to cheer for Rafael Nadal at this year's edition. But they may do well to have a look in at a certain 6'5" left-hander from Luxembourg who answers to the name of Gilles Muller.

For Muller was one of the few to have beaten the Spaniard in the season gone by. The year 2005, in fact, was a reasonably good one for Muller, a year in which he broke into the top 100 and also had some pretty decent runs.

Talking to the The Hindu after a strenuous practice session at the Nungambakkam SDAT stadium here on the eve of the Chennai Open, Muller talked about his plans for the year ahead.

Back from injury

"It is always tough to start the new year, especially after a break of two months. I had an injury scare at the end of the last season. Nothing serious, a nerve in the neck was blocked and that affected my left arm also (his playing arm)," said Muller.

"Thankfully that's behind me and I'll have a good season. I'm not putting too much pressure on myself. My main and immediate aim is to break into the top 50 and from there into the top 20, hopefully by the year-end. The important thing is to start the new year well, both physically and mentally. The last half of 2005 was very good for me, especially after Wimbledon where I advanced to the third round. I played really well in Los Angeles, where I reached the final, and in Bangkok where I made the quarterfinals," he said.

Role model

For one who models himself on the lines of Pete Sampras, Muller has set himself some targets. Consistency, Sampras' forte for one, ranking right there at the top.

"Consistency is what I'm looking at. Last year, I beat a couple of big players, like Nadal, Andy Roddick, Radek Stepanek, etc. But after playing really well in one match, I could not carry on in the same vein in my next. It is no good playing well for one match or one week. The idea should be to play consistently well over the whole season. I need to beat the top players consistently. There is no point in my career graph showing big troughs and spikes. I prefer a much steadier career graph. Of course, you can't always keep winning," he added with a smile.

"As for my game, I want to improve in every department. Especially my serve. I did improve on that last year, which is reflected in my better showing, but I can still do better than that," Muller said.

"Then there is my general physical conditioning and speed on court. The latter is not one of my better traits. I should surely improve on that if I have to make a serious mark. But the tennis season is so crowded and hectic. We get anywhere between four to six weeks off per season, which is not enough to really get back to the drawing board and work on your game. But I'm only 22 and have still time to improve," added Muller.

On Sampras and Agassi

For that he just has to look at his role models, Agassi and Sampras. He said as much, "They both are such great players. Not only that, but great human beings as well. Just look at Agassi. He has done so much in life. He was at the top of his game, then was down in the dumps and then amazingly pulled back to be at the top again. That speaks volumes about his character, his inner strength.

"As for Sampras, what can you say? Just when you think he is down, he comes up with amazing shots to take the game away. That's phenomenal," said Muller.

Hopefully the coming season will see Muller carry on his form from 2005 and get results, consistently like his idols.

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