"What I like is my solidity," Muller savors his prestigious victory against Zverev

Alexandre Muller pulled off a remarkable feat in the round of 16 of the ATP 500 tournament in Hamburg. The French player, ranked 40th in the world, won in a nail-biting finish against Alexander Zverev, the tournament's No. 1 seed, in the latter's birthplace (6-3, 4-6, 7-6 in 2h41).

In the quarterfinals, Muller will face Félix Auger-Aliassime, who defeated Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard in straight sets. In a press conference, the winner of the Hong Kong tournament at the start of the season reflected on his success against Zverev.

"I don't know if it's an important victory. We'll see later. But it's a victory that feels good. I beat my 'best ranking,' after a match where it was very hard to play well today, with a lot of wind.

We did what we could, both of us, and I'm happy to have won. It was necessary to find a good balance between aggressiveness and not taking too many risks with the sidelines.

I tried to stay focused, even after losing the break in the third set. A tennis match is never all smooth, it’s made of internal rollercoasters.

But you must not get scattered. Today, given the playing conditions, if you get scattered, it's over. What I like is my solidity, my forward game which is getting better and better, although there's still a lot to improve.

I volley very well, but now I would like to be able to attack a little more flat to hurt the opponent even more. My level of play has been good since the beginning of the season, I am consistent, I am in the matches, I gain experience and there are lots of areas that are improving," Muller explained to L’Équipe after the match.