Gilles Muller Quietly Into Semifinals of Atlanta Tennis Championships

NORCROSS, Georgia - Just about everything Gilles Muller does on the tennis court is quiet.

From his long, looping groundstrokes that hit the sweet spot of his Wilson frame, to the way he moves his 6'4" body around the court with barely a screech coming off his sneakers.  Add to that Muller's quiet demeanor, rarely muttering a peep to anyone, and it's an even starker contrast to the grunts and groans one usually hears in the ranks of professional tennis.

Muller did show some quiet emotion, though, in the form of a fist pump as he defeated No. 2 seed Kevin Anderson 7-6(3), 7-6(3) Friday, surviving the hot, sticky conditions at the Atlanta Tennis Championships.  Muller seemed to handle the conditions better than Anderson and served the best he has all week.

The lefty from Leudelange, Luxembourg has quietly hovered in the top 100 of the ATP men's rankings for about six years now, largely unnoticed by the masses. After this showing in Atlanta, his current world ranking will approach its career high of No. 59.

How is Muller doing it? With good old fashioned hard work. "I've been injured on and off for years, so I spent 2010 getting my ranking back and working hard physically," expressed Muller. "Now it is paying off."

This will be Muller's best result of 2011 no matter what happens beyond this point. He reached the third round at Wimbledon and the quarters in Johannesburg, but he felt he has played better than his results. "I've been playing well all year, actually," Muller chuckled.

"I'm getting used to the Atlanta heat now, because I struggled in my first match," Muller added.  

Muller will be playing in hot conditions again on Saturday, with his semifinal slated for 1 p.m.