Gilles Muller with his wife, Alessia Fauzzi Muller, and their two children in January 2017.
Luxembourg tennis player Gilles Muller, who is still searching for his first Grand Slam title at Wimbledon, is married to Alessia Fauzzi Muller. The couple have two young children.
Muller stunned the crowd at Wimbledon, beating Rafael Nadal in a five-set thriller that lasted over four hours. Last year, Muller did’t make it past the second round.
The 34-year-old Muller turned pro in 2001, but didn’t win his first ATP World Tour title until the 2017 Sydney International tournament in January. He is the 26th ranked player in the world, according to his ATP World Tour bio. He’s participated in all four Grand Slam Singles tournaments, reaching the fourth round in the 2015 Australian Open and 2017 Wimbledon.
Muller is easily the most successful Luxembourgish tennis player. He was born in Schifflange, a town in the south-western part of the tiny country. Liuxembourg is a tiny landlocked country that borders Germany, Belgium and France. Its capital, Luxembourg City, is one of the three official capitals of the European Union.
Here’s what you need to know about Gilles’ wife and family.
1. The Couple Have Been Married Since 2010 & Have 2 Children
GettyGilles Muller and his children.
Wort.lu reports that the couple have been married since July 2010, although they have known each other since 2001. They have two children, Lenny and Nils. Lenny is six years old and Nils is four years old.
The family lives in Leudelange, a town in Southwwestern Luxembourg.
2. Alessia & Their Sons Went to Australia to See Muller Win His First ATP Tour Title
When Muller finally won his first ATP World Tour title in January in Sydney, his family traveled to Australia to cheer him on. After the victory, Muller broke into tears, reports Stuff.co.nz.
“Wow, what a night, I’ve waited a long time for this,” Muller said as he was handed the Sydney International Trophy after beating Dan Evans of the U.K. “I’m sorry. It just means so much to me to win the first time on the ATP in front of my boys and my wife.”
“They’ve always been behind me,” Muller told ATPTourWorld.com after his win. “It’s very tough sometimes to leave them behind at home for a couple of weeks. They make a lot of sacrifices and it’s nice to give something back to them.”
3. Muller Says Their Children Have Motivated His Tennis Play
GettyGilles Muller with his wife, Alessia Fauzzi Muller, and their two children in January 2017.
After winning in Sydney, Muller told Australia’s ABC News that it meant so much to his family.
“It’s been a great ride … I was waiting a long time, played my first final in 2004,” Muller said. “My kids are a big motivation for me to play tennis.”
The victory was sweet for Muller, who had played in six ATP Tour finals before he finally won. His first final was back in 2004.
After his win in Sydney, Muller reached the finals of the 2017 Estoril Open in Portugal in May. He also got knocked out of the Monte Carlo Masters by Andy Murray in April.
However, Muller did win his second ATP Tour tournament just weeks before Wimbledon. He beat Ivo Karlovic at the Rosmalen Championships in the Netherlands.
4. Muller’s 2013 Season Ended Early Thanks to an Elbow Injury
Three years into Muller’s marriage, his tennis career suffered a blow when he had an elbow injury, which forced him to miss the second half of the 2013 season. He Was ranked No. 368 at the end of the season.
As Tennis World USA reports, Muller told the press in January that he didn’t want his sons disappointed by their father, so he persevered. He returned to tennis in 2014 and climbed back up the rankings.
“When I had my big injury in 2013, one of my motivations was to keep playing so they’d see what their dad was doing,” Muller said in January.
In his interview with ESPN in 2011, a year that was also marred by injuries, Muller said he’s always dreamed of playing in big tournaments.
“As a kid I dreamed of playing in those big tournaments, and when I was there I took it for granted, which was a pretty bad mistake,” Muller told ESPN. “Now I know how hard it is to get there and I don’t want to just give it away. That’s what I did when I was younger, give it away.”
5. Muller Was Named Luxembourg’s Sportsman of the Year for 2 Consecutive Years
GettyGilles Muller.
Alessia’s husband has been named Luxembourg’s Sportsman of the Year for two consecutive years. Wort.lu reports that Muller won the fan-voted poll along with cyclist Christine Majerus. They also won in 2015, so the 2016 award was the third award for each of them.
Of course, this award didn’t mean much, compared to the victory in Sydney.
“It means a lot. Like you can see, I was pretty emotional out there on the court,” Muller told ATP World Tour.com. “For the past two or three years, it was probably my biggest goal to win a title. I always dreamed of that, and I was so close last year… So I was very scared and worried that I was going to be one of those players who never win a title. Now I have it, and it just feels great.”
Muller also participated in the 2012 and 2016 Summer Olympics, but didn’t medal.
Muller is the first Luxembourg player to win an ATP title, but since he’s so often the “First Luxembourg Player” to do something, it isn’t that big a deal to him.
“To be honest, it doesn’t mean that much because I’m the first player from Luxembourg to do a lot of things, Muller told ATPWorldTour.com. “It’s obviously nice to win the title and bring the trophy back home to Luxembourg. There are a lot of people who are really happy for me and have been waiting for this for a long time.”