Will it be 25 in 2025 for Novak Djokovic? Well, if that historic 25th Grand Slam title comes at Wimbledon, he’ll match Roger Federer’s record of most titles at the event (8). He came this close last year and the year before that, but was thwarted on both occasions by Carlos Alcaraz.
In fact, this year, too, the road to his 25th Grand Slam title might have to go through Carlos Alcaraz, but it starts with Alexandre Muller, as per Roland Garros’ tweet on June 27. The Frenchman has become quite popular for defying odds his whole life to become a Top 50 ATP player. So, let’s get to know the French star and his tennis story so far.
Alexandre Muller’s journey on the court in a nutshell
Born on February 1, 1997, in Poissy, France, Muller was introduced to tennis when his family moved to Meyrargues, a small village in France. There was a hard court at the place they moved to. Having refurbished it, his father, who had no history with the sport, began playing with him.
Soon, as a little Muller would start winning against his father, it would be a sign that the Frenchman was destined for the bigger stage. But fate didn’t make it easy, though. Alexandre Muller has been fighting Crohn’s Disease all his life. It is a chronic inflammatory bowel disease, and so severe it was that the doctors had asked Muller to stop playing tennis or any other sports altogether. However, the 28-year-old has kept on chasing his passion, taking cortisone to manage the disease.
With such a fateful condition, his journey on the court would be more challenging than others. But like Novak Djokovic, Alexandre Muller is the definition of overcoming setbacks. And in 2023, he broke into the Top 100 after multiple positive results that year. It started with his impressive run in the ATP 250 in Doha when he defeated World No. 34 Botic Van De Zandschulp in straight sets to reach the quarter-finals on the ATP tour for the first time.
Credits – Instagram@alex2mumu
Then, at the 2023 Grand Prix Hassan II in Marrakesh, he would reach the final. And the run saw him take some big names down. Richard Gasquet and Francesco Passaro were followed by top seed Lorenzo Musetti in the Quarter-final clash. In the semi-finals, Muller beat Pavel Kotov before falling to Roberto Carballes Baena in the Final. But Alexandre Muller was making the progress he always wanted.
In 2024, Muller then got his first win against a top 10-ranked player at the time of playing. Beating Andrey Rublev at the Rome Masters, Muller didn’t just claim his first top-10 player win, but he also stopped Rublev’s 7-match win streak, which included the Madrid Masters triumph. But that’s not the only time, though. The Frenchman got his 2nd win against a World top-10 player in 2025, when he won against Alexander Zverev in the Hamburg Open in 3 sets.
Muller’s trait for mounting a fightback also made him a champion on court. And in some fashion, we might add. In January this year, Muller won his maiden tour title in Hong Kong by beating Kei Nishikori in 3 sets. But this Championship win was special. Because Muller won every match after losing the first set, becoming only the third player to achieve such a feat in the Open Era.
Alexandre Muller is yet to progress past the 2nd round in Grand Slams. But there is fight in the 28-year-old. What we have to see is how he deals with the massive challenge that is Novak Djokovic.
How does Novak Djokovic’s 1st-round opponent fare on the grass?
Muller is going to participate in the 5th Wimbledon in 2025. Before this, he had a record of 3 wins and 4 losses. His run in 2024 ended in the 2nd round when he was beaten by Daniil Medvedev in 4 sets. And it doesn’t get any easier this time, does it? Djokovic is always battle-ready and preparing for what’s to come. But Alexandre Muller can use his experience to see if he can find some cracks in the great one’s defense.
Djokovic and Muller met in the 2023 US Open when the Serb defeated the Frenchman 6-0, 6-2, 6-3. We never said it would be easy. But Muller relishes it, too. Back in 2023, talking about his impending meeting with the 4-time US Open Champion, Muller had this to say to ATPTour.com: “Everybody knows the game of Djokovic. He’s very solid, returns amazing. Moving amazing. So a lot of amazing things. Difficult to say something bad about his game. But I will try my best.”
Well, Muller’s preparations for the grass season saw him go to Mallorca and Halle. Although he didn’t get much success, he got plenty of experience to put to use on Wimbledon courts. In April this year, he reached his career-best World Ranking of 39, and beating Novak Djokovic will earn him points that will help him in that regard. But more importantly, it will be a victory to remember.
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