Gilles Muller beat Daniel Evans 7-6(5), 6-2 on Saturday at the Apia International Sydney to capture his first ATP World Tour title. It was an emotional moment for the 33-year-old Luxembourg native, who had gone 0-5 in his previous ATP World Tour finals.

ATPWorldTour.com spoke to Muller after his victory in Sydney. 

How does it feel to be holding your first ATP World Tour singles trophy at the age of 33?

It feels great for many reasons. I’ve been waiting for this a long time. I’ve lost five finals before, so my biggest dream and goal was to win a title. Finally it’s here, so it’s great. It’s a lot of weight off my shoulders now.

What does it mean to be the first player from Luxembourg to win a title? 

To be honest, it doesn’t mean that much because I’m the first player from Luxembourg to do a lot of things. [Laughs]. It’s obviously nice to win the title and bring the trophy back home to Luxembourg. There are a lot of people who are really happy for me and have been waiting for this for a long time.

What was it like to receive the trophy from Rod Laver?

It was amazing. I wasn’t expecting that. It was like being in a movie, standing there on Centre Court, getting the trophy from Rod Laver, having my boys watch this. It was very emotional and an unbelievable week for me.

You saved a match point at the beginning of the week. How does that play into the victory?

That just shows what you can do when you keep working and keep believing in yourself. I came into the tournament not feeling great, not playing very well. I fought very hard on every point and at the end of the week, I was there with the title.

What were some of the things you worked on during the off-season?

I’m always working hard physically and taking a lot of time to get into really good shape. I was working on my serve, working to be aggressive from the baseline and come into the net. Just the usual stuff. I’m 33, so I’m not going to change stuff at that age.

You finished last season with your best Emirates ATP Ranking of No. 34. Do you have a ranking goal in mind for this season?

For me, it’s important to try my best and give 100 per cent, and then I’m confident I can improve that ranking by the end of the year. I’m already going to improve it anyway after this, but I think I can go even higher.

Is there anybody who has helped you get to this point that you’d like to mention?

There are many people. The only people I’d like to thank are the team I’ve had around me for the past two or three years and have really been helping. My coaches, Alex and Benjamin. My physical trainer, Frank. Both of my agents, Hugo and Jack. And then obviously my family, my wife and my two boys. They’ve always been behind me. It’s very tough sometimes to leave them behind at home for a couple of weeks. They make a lot of sacrifices and it’s nice to give something back to them.

Who were some of the players that you admired growing up?

Andre Agassi was probably the player I followed most. I played him twice in my career and even beat him once, which is a nice moment for me. 

The question has Albert Ramos-Vinolas stumped. Why, nine years after turned professional, is the 28 year old suddenly playing his best tennis?

He didn’t switch coaches – Ramos-Vinolas, like Rafael Nadal, still works with his boyhood coach. Ramos-Vinolas didn’t drastically change his style of tennis, either.

But there’s no question his tennis has improved. In 2016, Ramos-Vinolas won his first title at the SkiStar Swedish Open in Bastad. The left-hander also reached his first hard-court final at the Chengdu Open and hiked to a career-high No. 26 in the Emirates ATP Rankings in October.

“I don’t know why this year I had the better results. I cannot tell you one thing,” Ramos-Vinolas told ATPWorldTour.com last season. “Maybe experience but I don’t know. I think I’m doing more or less the same from before. It’s difficult to explain why now I’m playing better.”

Whatever the reason, the ATP World Tour veteran has company. In recent years, more and more players are finding their best tennis late in their careers. During the 2016 season, the average age of an ATP World Tour champion was almost 29. Ten years ago, it was 24. More proof: Last season, 14 titlists had already celebrated their 30^th birthday. In 2006, exactly zero champions had turned the big 3-0.

The trend can be seen throughout the Top 100. In 2016, a record 39 players aged 30 and older finished in the Top 100. Of those 39 players, nearly a third of them – 12 – were tying or at their career-best year-end Emirates ATP Ranking.

“Being 31 now isn’t like 31 10 years ago,” Brad Gilbert, a former Top 10 player and former coach of Andre Agassi, Andy Roddick and Andy Murray, told ATPWorldTour.com.

Gilbert labels the phenomenon “The Agassi Effect”. When the American reached the 2005 US Open final at the age of 35, Gilbert said, “All of a sudden guys were like, ‘You know what? If you take care of yourself, you can do good work in your 30s.’”

In the past decade, players have learned how to take care of themselves better, and increased prize money has helped them add crucial members, including physiotherapists and trainers, to their teams. But current and former ATP World Tour champions say there’s more to winning late in your career than simply taking better care of your body.

Big-match experience and more confidence helps players win more semi-final Saturday matches. Off the court, players learn how to manage their schedule during an 11-month season that’s played on six different continents.

“The experience over the years, it does help being out there, being more relaxed,” said Aussie Mark Philippoussis, who won 11 ATP World Tour titles and reached No. 8 in the world.

Reaching Their Career-Best Year-Ending Emirates ATP Ranking In Their 30s

*Tied career-best year-end Emirates ATP Ranking 

American James Blake won 10 ATP World Tour crowns, seven of which came after his 26^th birthday. One of the biggest differences in Blake’s game as he aged was his self-confidence during big moments, he said.

For example, at 5/6 in the third-set tie-break, the 20-year-old Blake might have tried something new to surprise his opponent. But the 26-year-old Blake knew better; he stuck with what had been working all matchlong.

“You know how to handle the pressure. You know your best game,” Blake said. “It’s not that you’re any more talented at that age, it’s just that you’ve figured out how to get the most out of your talent.”

Older players also don’t panic as quickly as less-experienced players, said Andy Roddick, a former World No. 1 and five-time ATP World Tour Masters 1000 champion.

Say someone plays a lights-out first set and wins 6-2 in 25 minutes. A tour newcomer across the net might be a little more impressionable and wide-eyed.

Whereas a more experienced opponent might sit back and think, “OK, let’s take his best shot. Let’s see if he can keep producing it for another hour and half,” Roddick said. “You learn to get hit in the chin… You’re a little bit calmer in the face of adversity.”

Steve Johnson learned a version of that lesson last year during his first ATP World Tour title run. About two weeks before Johnson won the Nottingham crown, he had been hit in the chin by 18-year-old Stefan Kozlov 6-3, 6-4. Kozlov had won one prior ATP World Tour match before beating Johnson in 86 minutes.

But the 26-year-old Johnson didn’t panic and start making changes in his game. He trotted out for his next match and upset then-No. 10 Richard Gasquet at The Queen’s Club to earn his first Top 10 win and start a 20-7 stretch, which included the Nottingham title.

“I’m just much more calm now,” Johnson said weeks after upsetting Gasquet. “Tennis can change with one point really – the momentum can shift, that’s all it’s going to take. So I think it’s something that I’ve learned… At least internally, I stay very calm and know that maybe even if I’m down and the guy is serving for the match, I know in my heart that I’m still going to find a way to get through this and find a way to win.”

30 and Older Champions In 2016

The American has also learned how to manage a season on tour. During his first couple of years, towards the latter half of the season, Johnson said he felt burnt out and exhausted. But last year, in August through October, he felt fresh.

“I really feel like I’m starting to really get the feel of it,” he said. “At the end of the year, there’s a lot of big tournaments, where there’s still a lot of points on the board. So to be fresh and to be healthy at those times is very important.”

All of these explanations together probably explain how Spain’s Ramos-Vinolas had his best season last year. But his countryman Alex Corretja, a 17-time ATP World Tour titlist, has a few more reasons why Ramos-Vinolas turned his career around in 2016.

Corretja likely knows best, too. He worked with Ramos-Vinolas for a couple of months during the 2014 off-season. Most parts of Ramos-Vinolas’ game have improved, Corretja said, including his serve, forehand and his movement.

But the left-hander has also matured, a common trait among ATP World Tour players who have success later in their careers. “He wasn’t controlling himself as much as he does now, and I think that’s why he feels like he’s a better player,” Corretja said.

It happens to a lot of players, Corretja said: They know what mistakes they’re making, they stop repeating those mistakes, and the results follow.

“You’re a better man. You leave the kid behind you,” Corretja said. “It’s a privilege to be a tennis star on the ATP. You need time to realise that. Some of them, they realise that later in their careers. But it’s better late than never.”

World No. 3 Milos Raonic was left wondering whether one member of the press corps was fully engaged at the top of his pre-tournament Australian Open press conference in Melbourne Saturday. The Canadian was expecting to be asked about the addition of Richard Krajicek, but he was unprepared for how it went down.

Here’s the first question of the media conference:

Q. Why did you change your coach to Krajicek?

MILOS RAONIC: It was just a timing of how things went. I feel like for me to make the steps I want, especially forward, specifically with that focus, you have these two guys that move very well laterally. I don’t think I’m ever going to be the best guy from the baseline by any means, especially not against them. If I’m going to take it to them, it’s by coming forward. So I wanted to improve in that aspect.

But, here’s where it got weird. Second question…

Q. Why did you add Richard Krajicek to your staff?

MILOS RAONIC: That’s the same exact question.

Ever the gentleman, Raonic at least made the best of the situation, expanding on his original answer. His focus on moving forward is designed in part to improve his record against Andy Murray and Novak Djokovic, the two players who have stopped him at the Australian Open the past two years.

“No, it’s really to help me be more efficient going forward. I believe you have these two guys that are phenomenal right now at the top of the game covering the baseline. It’s really hard to get by them, especially with the way they move. I can’t expect to move like they do. I think I’ve got to be at least 20, 25 pounds heavier than them. It’s going to be about moving forward.

“I think Richard could really help me in being more aggressive, more forward orientated, and more efficient when I’m able to get myself coming in.”

Raonic finished 2016 at a career-high No. 3 in the Emirates ATP Rankings after a strong showing at the ATP Finals in London, where he pushed Novak Djokovic to 7-6, 7-6 in the group stage and held match point against Andy Murray in the semi-finals. But after pushing Murray to five sets in the Melbourne semi-finals last year, Raonic has 720 points dropping after the Australian Open and is under pressure to stay ahead of No. 4 Stan Wawrinka and No. 5 Kei Nishikori.

Raonic, who fell to Grigor Dimitrov in his title defence in Brisbane in the first week of the season, will play shotmaker Dustin Brown in the first round.

A slew of American #NextGenATP stars have successfully advanced into the main draw of the Australian Open, with Frances Tiafoe, Noah Rubin, Reilly Opelka and Ernesto Escobedo taking their spot among the 16 final-round qualifying winners on Saturday.

Second seed Tiafoe survived a marathon 3-6, 6-0, 7-5 match against fellow American Tim Smyczek. Both players held serve throughout the final set until Tiafoe finally broke Smyczek in the last game to wrap up the win. This is the first time that the 18-year-old has come through qualifying at a Grand Slam.

In an all-teen battle, Opelka came through 7-6(4) 6-3 against Norwegian Casper Ruud to secure his first Grand Slam main draw appearance. The American reached his first ATP World Tour semi-final last August in Atlanta and has jumped over 600 spots in the Emirates ATP Rankings over the past six months.

No. 21 seed Escobedo rallied from a set down to defeat Yuki Bhambri of India, 6-7(2), 6-2, 6-4, while Rubin scored an emphatic 6-2, 6-4 win over Evgeny Donskoy of Russia. This is the first time that both Escobedo and Rubin have qualified for a Grand Slam.

Other players to prevail on Saturday include #NextGenATP star Andrey Rublev of Russia, and former Top 10 players Radek Stepanek and Jurgen Melzer. Stepanek was the top seed in qualifying.

Those who qualified will be hoping to land in the all-qualifier matchup in the opening round of the main draw, while the least ideal placement would see them take on No. 17 seed and four-time champion Roger Federer.