90 Seconds With…Nicolas Müller

Nicolas Müller in the Tournament of Champions against Mohamed Elshorbagy (L)
Nicolas Muller in the Tournament of Champions against Mohamed Elshorbagy (L)

Squash Magazine: How many languages do you speak?
Nicholas Müller: Five or six—Swiss German, German, English, French, I used to speak Latin, I can get by in Spanish, so…seven.

SM: Are there certain situations that you use each language?
NM: Always. I always pretend to not speak the language, see what they say, then just jump in eventually.

SM: What are your favorite things about Switzerland?
NM: The chocolates and Roger Federer.

SM: Have you ever met Federer?
NM: I have. He’s a very nice guy. He came to me and introduced himself, actually. I was playing on the squash court with my coach, and because he used to play as a kid, he sat and watched us play. My string broke, so I went outside and he came up to me and introduced himself as Roger. So I said, “I know, I’ve seen you before Roger.” He’s a nice guy.

SM: What do you miss most about Switzerland when you travel?
NM: The tap water. Just being able to turn on the tap and drink water that’s better than the bottled waters.

SM: What are your favorite tournaments?
NM: The ToC is one of my favorites. I love playing tournaments in Malaysia, just because I hardly ever lose when I’m in Malaysia. In the first three tournaments I played in Malaysia, I won all three of them. They call me the king of Malaysia.

SM: Greatest moment on a squash court?
NM: Must have been when I beat Amr Shabana in Qatar three or four years back.

SM: Best squash match you’ve ever seen?
NM: It must have been the world finals this year between Ramy and Elshorbagy. Just the way Ramy had been out because of injury and won it. The amount of pace that was in that match was out of this world.

SM: Favorite movies of all time?
NM: I love the Lord of the Rings movies, and anything Liam Neeson.

SM: If you could change one thing about the squash world, what would it be?
NM: Make it Olympic.