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Gilles Muller outlasts Rafael Nadal in Wimbledon showdown

By Harry Floyd

LONDON, ENGLAND - JULY 10: Gilles Muller of Luxembourg serves during the Gentlemen's Singles fourth round match against Rafael Nadal of Spain on day seven of the Wimbledon Lawn Tennis Championships at the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club on July 10, 2017 in London, England. (Photo by David Ramos/Getty Images)
LONDON, ENGLAND - JULY 10: Gilles Muller of Luxembourg serves during the Gentlemen's Singles fourth round match against Rafael Nadal of Spain on day seven of the Wimbledon Lawn Tennis Championships at the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club on July 10, 2017 in London, England. (Photo by David Ramos/Getty Images) /
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Gilles Muller reaches the quarterfinals at Wimbledon for the first time in his career. He outlasts Rafael Nadal in a five-set epic showdown.

Gilles Muller took just under five hours to defeat the French Open champion Rafael Nadal. The Spanish tennis star will have to wait until next year to try for another title at Wimbledon.

The Luxembourgian veteran defeats Nadal 6-3, 6-4, 3-6, 4-6, 15-13.

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It was a four hour and forty seven minute match in the Wimbledon men’s singles fourth round. The match lasted so long that Novak Djokovic’s fourth round meeting was pushed until Tuesday.

Muller took an early 2-0 set lead over Nadal before the Spanish superstar roared back to even up the match. Then, the two went at a non-stop back and forth fifth set.

Gilles Muller remained calm throughout the fifth set showdown to win 15-13.

As for Nadal, it is a disappointing end to his time at Wimbledon this year. He was a strong contender for the title after such a fantastic start.

Muller is the current world No. 26 on the ATP World Tour. He does have two titles on the year. At 34-years-old, he appears to be experiencing a resurgence on tour, having won both the Sydney and Ricoh Open.

Related Story: Andy Murray: 10th straight Wimbledon quarterfinals

Up next for Gilles Muller is seventh seed Marin Cilic. The Croatian tennis star is a former US Open champion. This year at Wimbledon makes four consecutive quarterfinals appearances for Cilic. He will be the favorite going into their match, but as we saw against Nadal, anything can happen on the court.

Also seeing wins Monday were Swiss superstar Roger Federer and defending champion Andy Murray. Both top seeds won their fourth round matches in straight sets. Despite the matchups getting more and more difficult at Wimbledon, both Federer and Murray appear able to combat anyone who challenges them. Muller will need to play his best the rest of the week if he hopes to win his first ever men’s singles Grand Slam title.

Stay tuned to see how the action unfolds at Wimbledon 2017.

Next: Top 10 Men's Singles Players in Open Era

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