sometimes, lightning does strike twice

no, i am not talking about usain bolt.

who is gilles muller? you probably have no idea. (but then again, you also probably don't know who kim kirchen and frank schleck are, either.)

unless, of course, you were watching the u.s. open on that fateful day in 2005. as andy roddick took the court against a 22-year-old from schifflange, luxembourg, little did he know what he was in for. three tiebreaker-determined sets later, roddick had lost his mojo and a small nation in europe had found a bit of non-GDP-related glory.

muller went on to lose to then-doubles partner robby ginepri - who is also half-luxembourgish - in 2005, and he faded pretty quickly from the international tennis spotlight. had he used up his 15 minutes of fame?

apparently not. today, after having won three matches in the qualifying tournament and held off laurent recouderc of france in the first round, muller overcame a 2-6, 2-6 start to come from behind and shock grizzled veteran tommy haas in five sets, using his strong serve and a willingness to try and paint the lines - he had 75 unforced errors in the match - to propel himself into the third round for the the first time in his brief flushing meadows history.

in the next round, he will face either californian sam warburg or 18th-seeded nicolas almagro of spain, neither of whom have been into the fourth round at the open. might the fireballer from luxembourg continue to surprise his opponents?

we here at poop on boozer will certainly be watching.