Muller puts Luxembourg on tennis map

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.

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

The 2001 junior Flushing Meadows champion will next face Russian fifth seed Nikolay Davydenko.

(Reporting by Pritha Sarkar, editing by Larry Fine)