Nadal beaten by relentless Muller in fourth-round epic

LONDON (Reuters): Rafael Nadal’s hopes of a third Wimbledon crown sank with the setting sun as Luxembourg’s Gilles Muller returned to haunt the Spaniard with a nerve-jangling 6-3 6-4 3-6 4-6 15-13 victory in a fourth-round classic on Monday.

Spain’s Rafael Nadal waves as he walks off court after losing his fourth round match against Luxembourg’s Gilles Muller at Wimbledon in London, Britain. REUTERS

12 years after first getting the better of Nadal on the All England Club lawns – since when his career has trundled along in unspectacular fashion – 16th seed Muller stood firm in 135-minute fifth set of interminable tension.

Nine times in that heart-pounding decider, 31-year-old French Open champion Nadal served to stay alive.

Men of lesser resolve than the 34-year-old Muller would have cracked – but the left-handed serve-and-volleyer was relentless in pursuit of victory and it was 15-times grand slam champion Nadal who succumbed when asked to walk the tightrope for the 10th time at 13-14.

Luxembourg’s Gilles Muller celebrates winning the fourth round match against Spain’s Rafael Nadal - REUTERS

A miss-hit forehand gave Muller two more match points and this time there was no escape for Nadal as another error off his trusty weapon ballooned over the baseline.

Muller stood motionless for a few seconds, taking in the enormity of his victory as the Court One crowd which has spent the past two hours on the edge of their seats, rose as one.

There was little doubt he deserved the ovation.

He outplayed Nadal in the opening two sets and then, after weathering a ferocious fightback, made the running in the fifth when his baseline craft matched Nadal’s.

He struck 30 aces and 95 winners as he moved on to a quarter-final with Marin Cilic – his second in majors after reaching the last eight at the 2008 US Open.

“I’m just glad it’s over,” Muller, who was cheered on from the stands by Prince Felix of Luxembourg, said.

“I did really well in the first two sets, then Rafa stepped it up. It was a big battle. When I had the last two match points, I thought I just had to give it a shot.

“Somehow in the end I made it.”

Nadal has now failed to get past the fourth round since losing the 2011 final to Novak Djokovic, whose match against Adrian Mannarino was postponed to Tuesday because of the late-running drama taking place on Court One.

Since then Nadal has lost to the likes of Lukas Rosol, Steve Darcis and Nick Kyrgios but this year, having claimed a 10th French Open, the Spaniard arrived at Wimbledon in peak form and fitness and looked a good bet for the title.