Mueller Delivers Once More at Open

After Being Two Sets Down, Luxembourger Produces Another Upset Special

FLUSHING MEADOWS, N.Y., Aug. 31 -- The last time the world of tennis heard from Gilles Mueller was here at the U.S. Open three years ago, when he famously pulled off the first-round upset that robbed Andy Roddick of his "mojo."

"Then I had a tough time after that," said Mueller, whose world ranking plummeted from 70th at the end of 2005 to 149th entering this season.

But on Sunday, Mueller returned from obscurity by engineering another crushing upset, rallying from two sets down to topple No. 18 Nicolas Almagro in a grueling five-setter that took more than four hours. With the 6-7, 3-6, 7-6, 7-6, 7-5 victory, Mueller became the first player, male or female, from the tiny European nation of Luxembourg to reach the fourth round of a Grand Slam event.

"To be honest, I was already happy when I qualified," said Gilles, who had to win three matches in order to reach the main draw. "That was already a good thing for me."

In other action, second-seeded Roger Federer turned in his most impressive performance of the tournament, beating Radek Stepanek, 6-3, 6-3, 6-2. Without the signs of sloppiness that plagued him in the second round, Federer needed little more than half an hour to put away each set.

"I did feel good today," said Federer, who avenged a loss to Stepanek this year.

After winning match point, Federer briefly extended his index finger toward the sky, just a second before the song "Still the One" blared over the loudspeakers for the third time in the last week.

Meanwhile, No. 2 Jelena Jankovic also showed signs that her game is nearing top form. Jankovic, who joked earlier in the week about making her mother sit through close matches, didn't provide too much stress on Sunday. After falling behind in the first set, she looked dominant in beating Caroline Wozniacki, 3-6, 6-2, 6-1.

"It's little by little every day I feel that I'm getting better and better," she said. "Physically-wise, I feel that I'm moving much better. My condition is getting better and better."

But on a breezy day that mostly went according to script, it was Mueller who provided the most entertaining match, battling the favored Almagro before a grandstand court crowd that erupted when the underdog finished his masterpiece.

Mueller leaped into the air, pumped his fists and rolled onto his back, staying on the court for a few moments of disbelief.

Only a few weeks ago, the 25-year-old was getting bounced from events in the minor league Challenger circuit. But by rallying against Almagro, Mueller completed his second comeback in this tournament from two sets behind.

"The whole year already I'm playing challengers, and I'm fighting to win matches there," said Mueller, who until this tournament had never come back from an 0-2 set deficit. "Now I'm here. I went through qualifying and I'm winning three matches in the main draw. It's pretty amazing. It's tough to realize, actually."

Mueller's already slim chances at making noise in the U.S. Open were almost sunk before he even stepped on the grounds.

Mueller started the summer by taking a pair of Challenger victories in Puerto Rico and Turkey -- his first tournament victories in four years. But after struggling to advance past the early rounds of several more tournaments, the 6-foot-5 lefty with an imposing serve started entertaining thoughts of leaving behind the life of a journeyman pro.

His victories have earned him less than $75,000 this season, an amount that can go quickly for Challenger circuit regulars, who must foot their own travel bills.

"Pretty much every week you're losing money because you have more expenses than you are earning," Mueller said.

The low point came after a disappointing quarterfinals loss at a tournament in Istanbul.

He arrived in New York with his confidence shaken, and with only one day to practice before playing the first match of his qualifier against 218th-ranked Lamine Ouahab.

"I could have lost that match," said Mueller, who rallied from a set down against Ouahab. "And now I'm still here two weeks later."

After beating Almagro, text messages and voice mails came flowing in, just as they did when Mueller stunned Roddick in 2005, the upset that inspired an entire advertising campaign.

That time, he stayed up all night answering each message and faded quickly in the second round. But the experience has taught him how to handle the situation this time around.

"I'm not answering anymore," said Mueller, who will face fifth-seeded Nikolay Davydenko in the round of 16. "It makes you tired. I don't want to lose focus. I'm not done yet."