Muller Upsets Zverev In Den Bosch

Fourth seed Gilles Muller kept up his top form on Saturday in s’-Hertogenbosch, storming into another final at the Ricoh Open by upsetting second seed Alexander Zverev 7-6(5), 6-2.

“It was definitely one of my best matches this season. I played very well from the beginning. Everyone knows Sascha is a tough player and has already won some big tournaments, so I’m very happy to get through,” said Muller. “It’s true that I’m one of the older guys on tour, but I’m having my best time this year. I’ve been injury-free the past few years and able to play a full schedule, so that has helped me a lot.”

In a battle of veterans, Muller will contest the championship match against third seed Ivo Karlovic, who prevailed in a big-serving battle over top seed and fellow Croatian Marin Cilic 7-6(4), 5-7, 7-6(2). Karlovic moves into his 18th ATP World Tour singles final (8-9) and seventh on grass (3-3). 

“It was a great match. I was struggling this year, so it’s nice to make another final,” said Karlovic. “Hopefully the final against Gilles is a good match also.”

Muller and Karlovic are even in their FedEx ATP Head2Head at 1-1, with both matches coming last year on grass. Muller prevailed in their semi-final in ‘s-Hertogenbosch, but Karlovic turned the tables in the Newport final.

The 34-year-old Muller is through to his third ATP World Tour final of the season, winning his first title this January in Sydney (d. Evans) and finishing runner-up in Estoril (l. Carreno Busta). His success led to reaching a career-high Emirates ATP Ranking of No. 26 on 6 May.

Muller has continued to excel at this event. He was a runner-up last year (l. Mahut) and semi-finalist in 2015 (l. Goffin).

“I’ve played here many times,” said Muller. “I can travel here by car and my family is here, so it’s a really nice tournament for me.”

Karlovic evens his FedEx ATP Head2Head with Cilic at 3-3. The big-serving Croatian’s previous best result this year was a pair of quarter-finals in Doha and Budapest. The 38 year old is also just 14 aces shy of 12,000 after hitting 29 in his victory over Cilic.

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Muller and Zverev held serve throughout the first set to force a tie-break. Zverev grabbed an early mini-break, but the fourth seed went on a four-point run from 2/4 down. A strong serve on his second set point gave Muller the early advantage.

The Luxembourg native poured it on in the second set, firing a forehand passing shot to earn the first break of the match and lead 2-1. An aggressive forehand approach at 4-2 earned him a double break. Muller fired an ace on his first match point to wrap up the contest in one hour and 24 minutes. 

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Both Cilic and Karlovic held serve throughout the first set, but Cilic’s first double fault of the match gave Karlovic a 2/0 lead. The third seed rode that momentum to a one-set advantage. Cilic earned the first break of the match at 5-5 in the second set after a Karlovic volley floated long, and the top seed ultimately forced a decider.

Cilic bravely saved a match point at 5-6 in the final set with an overhead winner to force another tie-break. However, he hit a forehand error early on to give Karlovic a 2/0 lead. That lead was extended further after a forehand winner from Karlovic gave him a 5/1 advantage. The third seed hit a backhand volley winner on his first match point to prevail in two hours and 43 minutes.