Muller learns benefits of shelving respect

By Larry Fine

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Gilles Muller said on Thursday the key to his surprising run at the U.S. Open was setting aside his respect for higher-ranked players.

Muller's campaign ended with a 7-6 6-4 7-6 loss to four-times champion Roger Federer in the quarter-finals yet Luxembourg's greatest tennis product pressed the world number two in their Arthur Ashe Stadium match.

"I think a lot of players have too much respect for him," Muller said about tackling the challenge of playing Federer.

"I mean, he's a nice person outside of the court, and he's a good player, so everybody has a lot of respect for him.

"But on the court, nobody should have respect for him. You just go out there to win no matter who is on the other side."

Muller was not directing that approach solely to Federer. The 25-year-old qualifier ranked 130th in the world used the same thinking all through the tournament to become the first player from Luxembourg to reach a grand slam quarter-final.

He came from two sets down to record wins over former world number two Tommy Haas of Germany and 18th seed Nicolas Almagro of Spain. He also ousted world number five Nikolay Davydenko of Russia to earn his meeting with Federer.

"I think I learned a lot," Muller said. "What I learned is that I know how to deal with a lot of situations, which I couldn't do before.