France's Alexandre Muller lifted his first ATP Tour title by beating Kei Nishikori 2-6, 6-1, 6-3 in the final of the Hong Kong Open on Sunday.
Muller won in 1hr 43min to end the Japanese player's bid for a first ATP Tour title in six years.
Comeback king Muller became just the third man to win a tour-level title having lost the opening set in every match he played during the tournament.
Congratulations to #BOCHKTO2025 Singles Champions: Alexandre Muller! 🎾🤴@atptour #ThisIsTennis#BOCHKTO #ATP #HKCTA #HKTS#ConnectEveryExcitement #BOCHK #CSTB #MMarkEvents #MajorSportsEventsCommittee #MSEC pic.twitter.com/jFmwWb7brs
— Bank of China Hong Kong Tennis Open (@Hkto_mens) January 5, 2025
"Thank you everyone for the support tonight," said the Frenchman, who is projected to rise 11 places in the world rankings to a career-high 56th on Monday.
"It's been an amazing week for me, losing the first set in all the matches," he added.
"I have no words, I'm sorry, I just won the match, but thank you everyone."
Nishikori, 35, who reached the US Open final in 2014, raced through the first set at Victoria Park in just 33 minutes but ran out of steam to lose in 1hr 43min.
The moment Alexandre Muller defeated Nishikori 2-6 6-1 6-3 to secure his maiden tour-level title 🏆@Alex2Mumu #BOCHKTO pic.twitter.com/CDscW3NVSU
— Tennis TV (@TennisTV) January 5, 2025
It was the injury-plagued Nishikori's 27th tour-level final and his first since winning in Brisbane in 2019.
The former world No 4 Nishikori has emerged from years of injuries, including major hip surgery, to roll back the years in a fairytale run to the Hong Kong final.
A wildcard at the tournament, he beat third-seeded Karen Khachanov, former top 10 player Cameron Norrie and Denis Shapovalov on the way to the last four.
Müller d. Kei Nishikori 2-6 6-1 6-3 in Hong Kong
— The Tennis Letter (@TheTennisLetter) January 5, 2025
Let me paint a picture for you
Alexandre had never won a title
He came back from a set down in every match this week
Today, at age 27, he seized his moment
✅1st tour level title
All you can do is be happy for this man
🇫🇷❤️ pic.twitter.com/re7G7qBKOu
He will return to the top 100 for the first time since June 2022 on Monday.
"I want to thank Kei, because he is an amazing player," said the 27-year-old Muller.
"I'm so happy for him that he can play without injuries, so good luck for the rest of the season."