There's clearly a problem

Muller is just a shadow of his former self right now..

After a heavy defeat in Stockholm, I thought it was mostly his opponent who played well and that the matchup didn’t suit Muller. I was ready to trust him in Basel in faster conditions but with a matchup that should be kinder to him. In the end there was no match—he got shut down by a very good Brooksby. What disappointed me most was the Frenchman’s fitness: he looked gassed from the very first games, after every slightly long point. He consistently refused the fight and tried to keep things short, going for very tough shots. I don’t know if it’s an injury leaving him out of shape or just general fatigue related to his illness/season; in any case, it’s been several tournaments now where he can’t handle the intensity at all, and for that reason I don’t see how I could bet on him tomorrow. Sure, we’re in Paris, it’s a special tournament and the crowd will help him hang in a bit more than usual, but honestly I don’t buy it at all. The conditions aren’t very fast, the bounce is low, everything points to Nakashima being able to maneuver this match well too. The American is still moving well at this end of the year and when he loses, it’s to good players. He’s turned a corner in how he manages this kind of match: he’s much cleaner and more solid than before, less dependent on his serve too—in short, he’s become a benchmark for solidity (at his level), and to beat him you have to play at a good level.