Muller puts Luxembourg on tennis map

By Larry Fine

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Qualifier Gilles Muller became the first player from Luxembourg to reach the fourth round of a grand slam when he squeezed past Spanish 18th seed Nicolas Almagro 6-7 3-6 7-6 7-6 7-5 at the U.S. Open on Sunday.

Two days after staging his first comeback from two sets down to knock out Germany's Tommy Haas, the 130th-ranked Muller produced another inspired performance to replicate the feat in just under four hours on a scorching day on Grandstand court.

Though aware that he had achieved a first for a player from Luxembourg, Muller said he was not caught up in that pursuit.

"It's a nice thing. But on the other hand I don't want to focus on goals on having a record in Luxembourg, because there's not many players in front of you," he said.

"I'm the first one actually to do everything. I mean, that's not my goal, to be the best in Luxembourg."

By reaching the last 16, the 25-year-old Muller has won three successive matches at tour level for the first time since July 2005.

Muller acknowledged a feeling of accomplishment.

"Especially because I'm also coming through quallies. My first round in the quallies I almost lost because I was flying in late from Istanbul because I played a challenger over there," he told reporters.

Muller said he arrived in New York on a Sunday night, practiced on Monday and played on Tuesday, winning his first qualifying match 7-5 in the third.

"I could have lost that match, and now I'm still here two weeks after," Muller said. "I wasn't having that much confidence, because I lost in the quarter-finals in the challenger the week before."

He beat French wildcard Laurent Recouderc in the first round of the main draw and then felt he had " nothing to lose".

"I'm playing Tommy Haas. I mean, he's a great player. I went on court and I played terrible the first two sets. I said, 'Come on, man. You have nothing to lose. Why are you playing so tight?'

"Then I started playing better. Now I know I can turn around matches. That gave me a lot of confidence, and I can beat those guys."

Muller, the 2001 junior Flushing Meadows champion, will next face Russian fifth seed Nikolay Davydenko.

(Additional reporting by Pritha Sarkar)

(Editing by Pritha Sarkar)