Alexandre Muller credits practice with ‘best player’ Jannik Sinner for strong performance after reaching Rio Open final

World No.1 Jannik Sinner, after clinching eight ATP titles in 2024, trained with Alexandre Muller during the off-season.

Alexandre Muller credits practice with ‘best player’ Jannik Sinner for strong performance after reaching Rio Open final

Alexandre Muller practiced with Jannik Sinner during the off-season (Images via X)

Alexandre Muller has come close to his second ATP title of this season as he reached the final of the Rio Open. He is scheduled to lock horns with Sebastian Baez on Sunday (February 23).

Before setting up the clash with the Argentine fifth seed, Muller overcame Francisco Comesana 7-5, 6-7(3), 6-3. Following his win, when asked how he has been producing strong performance this season, the Frenchman credited it to World No.1 Jannik Sinner.

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I practiced with the best player in the world during the off-season. I think that helped.

Alexandre Muller said at the press conference

Muller clinched his first title of the season at the Hong Kong Open right after the off-season with a three-set win over Kei Nishikori. It was also his career’s first ATP title.

FS Video

After withdrawing from the ASB Classic, he suffered a first-round Australian Open exit. Following a Challenger tournament and another opening-round exit in Buenos Aires, Muller beat 2024 Next-Gen ATP Finals champion Joao Fonseca in an emphatic fashion to kick-start his Rio Open campaign.

Nick Kyrgios takes jibe at Jannik Sinner after Alexandre Muller’s complaint

En route to the Rio Open final, Alexandre Muller beat Tomas Martin Etcheverry in the Round of 16 but the match didn’t end before midnight. What irritated Muller the most was when he met a doping control official after the match.

Jannik Sinner (12)
Jannik Sinner (Image via ATP/X)

Doping test when we finish at midnight .. come on .. @atptour.

Alexandre Muller wrote on X

Nick Kyrgios came across that tweet and took a sarcastic dig at Jannik Sinner. He advised Muller to follow what Sinner did to defend himself when he tested positive for the banned anabolic steroid clostebol.

Just say you ‘don’t know’ and that it was completely your teams fault if there are steroids in there.

Nick Kyrgios wrote

Check out the posts here:

Kyrgios has been censuring the three-time Grand Slam champion since it was revealed that Sinner failed the drug test and faced no harsh punishment. The Aussie also strongly reacted to the three-month doping ban Sinner received due to the fault of his team’s negligence.

The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) surprisingly reached a settlement with Sinner. Instead of a ban of between one and two years, he will be on the sidelines for three months and could be back at the Italian Open once his ban lifts on May 4.

Sinner was last seen in action at the Australian Open where he emerged triumphant with a straight-set win over Alexander Zverev, following which, he chose not to defend the Rotterdam Open. Kyrgios too was last seen in action at Melbourne Park where he played both singles and doubles (with Novak Djokovic).