Thomas Muster

Country	Austria
Residence	Leibnitz, Austria
Born	2 October 1967 (1967-10-02) (age 43) Leibnitz, Austria
Height	180 cm (5 ft 11 in)
Turned pro	1985
Plays	Left-handed (one-handed backhand)
Career prize money	$12,252,511
Singles
Career record	622–273 (69.79 %)
Career titles	44
Highest ranking	No. 1 (12 February 1996)
Current ranking	No. 1008 (1 August 2011)
Grand Slam results
Australian Open	SF (1989, 1997)
French Open	W (1995)
Wimbledon	1R (1987, 1992, 1993, 1994)
US Open	QF (1993, 1994, 1996)
Doubles
Career record	56–91
Career titles	1
Highest ranking	94 (7 November 1988)
Grand Slam Doubles results
Australian Open	1R (1989, 1990)
US Open	2R (1986)

Thomas Muster (born 2 October 1967 in Leibnitz, Styria) is a former World No. 1 tennis player from Austria. One of the world's leading clay court players in the 1990s, Muster won the 1995 French Open and at his peak was known as "The King of Clay." In addition he won eight Masters 1000 series titles placing him sixth on the all time list. Muster is one of only three players to win Masters titles on 3 different surfaces (clay, carpet, and hard court).

Career

Muster first came to prominence when he reached the final of the French Open junior tournament and the Orange Bowl juniors tournament in 1985. He turned professional later that year and won his first tour title at Hilversum, (Netherlands) in 1986.

In 1988, Muster reached six tour finals, winning four of them. He finished the year ranked in the world's top 20 for the first time.

Early in 1989, Muster became the first Austrian to reach the semifinals of the Australian Open and, shortly after that, the first Austrian to be ranked in the world's top 10. In March, he defeated Yannick Noah in the semifinals of the Lipton International Players Championships in Key Biscayne, Florida (now known as the Sony Ericsson Open) to set up a final match with World No. 1 Ivan Lendl. But in the hours that followed that semifinal victory, Muster was struck by a drunk driver, severing ligaments in his left knee and forcing him to default the final. He flew back to Vienna to undergo surgery. With the aid of a special chair designed to allow him to practice hitting balls while recovering from knee surgery, Muster returned to competitive tennis just six months later.

Muster's comeback continued in 1990, when he won three titles on clay (among which the Italian Open, defeating Andrei Chesnokov in the final) and one on hardcourts; he was runner-up in three tournaments, and reached the semifinals of the French Open. He also helped Austria reach the semifinals of Davis Cup, where they were eliminated 3–2 by the United States despite Muster winning both his singles rubbers against Andre Agassi and Michael Chang. For these achievements, Muster was named the ATP Tour's "Comeback Player of the Year."

Muster was selected Austrian Sportsman of the Year in 1990 and 1995.

Muster won two more titles in 1991 and three in 1992 (all on clay courts).

In 1993, he reached nine tournament finals, winning seven of them. He won 55 of 65 matches on clay.

Muster won three clay court titles in 1994. He also beat Michael Stich of Germany in a first round Davis Cup tie in Graz. Muster won the five-set, 5 hour 25 minute match 12–10 in the final set. The match was the longest professional tennis match in the world that year.

In 1995, Muster won 12 tournament finals in 14 attempts. Between February and June, he won 40 consecutive clay court matches (the longest winning streak on the surface since Björn Borg had won 46 in 1977–79). He clinched his second Italian Open, defeating Sergi Bruguera 3–6, 7–6, 6–2, 6–3. At the French Open, Muster won his first and only Grand Slam singles title, when he defeated former champion Michael Chang in the final 7–5, 6–2, 6–4. Muster is the first, and to date, the only Austrian to win a grand slam singles title. Muster had a 65–2 win-loss record on clay during 1995. Although his record on other surfaces was less impressive, a late season victory over Pete Sampras on a fast indoor carpet gave him an outside chance at finishing the year number one; however, Sampras finished the year at #1.

Muster continued to rack-up clay court victories in 1996. He won seven tournaments, six of them titles he successfully defended after winning them in 1995. His win-loss clay court record in 1996 was 46–3. This made his 1995–96 record on the surface 111–5–the best two-year clay court record since the open era began in 1968. In February, Muster attained the World No. 1 ranking. He held the ranking initially for just one week and then regained it for five weeks in March and April. He has a poor record on lawn (having never passed the Wimbledon 1st round), but had success on hardcourts, reaching two Australian Open semi-finals and three US Open quarter-finals.

Muster achieved his best results on hard courts in 1997. He won two hard court titles, including the Lipton International Players Championships – the same tournament where his career had nearly ended just eight years earlier—by defeating Sergi Bruguera in the final, after Bruguera had defeated Pete Sampras in the semifinals. Muster was the runner-up at the ATP Masters Series event in Cincinnati, and reached the semifinals of the Australian Open and the ATP Masters event in Indian Wells. At both Cincinnati and the Australian Open, Muster lost to Pete Sampras in straight sets. He compiled a 29–8 win-loss record on hard courts while slumping to 9–9 on clay.

Muster reached his last top-level tournament final in Estoril (on clay) in 1998. That year, Muster mounted one last deep run at Roland Garros where he reached the quarter-finals before falling to Spaniard Felix Mantilla in four sets. The Austrian opened 1999 with a strong showing at the Australian Open warm-up event in Sydney, but he struggled mightily in the next few months, eventually disappearing from the tour after an opening round exit at Roland Garros to Nicolas Lapentti. He remains the only World No.1 singles player of the Open Era who has never won a match at Wimbledon.

Muster only lost one Davis Cup singles match on clay during his career, to Goran Ivanišević in 1997. He won 29 Davis Cup singles matches on that surface and 38 overall, far more than any other Austrian.

Muster and Roger Federer hold the ATP record for most singles titles in a calendar year (12).

When he stopped playing tennis in 1999, Muster moved to his home in Noosa Australia and married television presenter Jo Beth Taylor in 2000. The couple lived on a 90 acre estate complete with helipad and had one child (Christian). They divorced in 2002. Muster then moved back to Austria, where he has served as coach of the Austrian Davis Cup team and established a brand named Toms that has included apparel, wine, and bottled water.

On 16 June 2010 Muster announced his comeback to professional tennis by playing a Challenger tournament in Braunschweig in July 2010. He lost in the first round as well as in the following 3 Challenger tournaments in Kitzbühel, Como and Rijeka. Eventually, in his fifth Challenger tournament in Ljubljana, he won the first comeback match which brought him back into the ATP singles ranking list as number 988. Subsequently, Austrian tennis experts discussed whether his mental fortitude would be sufficient to bring him back into the top 100 in 2011, at age 43.

On day 13 September 2011, Muster won his second match after his come back in the Todi Challenger against fifth seed from Argentina, Leonardo Mayer 4-6, 7-5, 6-2. His next opponent was countryman Martin Fischer, who Muster lost 6-0, 2-6, 7-6(2).

Equipment

Muster played with Austrian manufactured Head, Kneissl and then Kneissl Tom's Reach tennis racquets during his first Pro Tour era. He continued to use Kneissl Tom's Reach on the Champions Tour. He began making a comeback to the Pro Tour using Head, then switched to Babolat and went back to Head again, always using Adidas clothing.

Grand Slam and Masters Series finals

Grand Slam finals

Singles: 1 (1–0)

Outcome	Year	Championship	Surface	Opponent in the final	Score in the final
Winner	1995	French Open	Clay	Michael Chang	7–5, 6–2, 6–4

Masters Series finals

Singles: 10 (8–2)

Outcome	Year	Championship	Surface	Opponent in the final	Score in the final
Runner-up	1990	Monte Carlo	Clay	Andrei Chesnokov	7–5, 6–3, 6–3
Winner	1990	Rome	Clay	Andrei Chesnokov	6–1, 6–3, 6–1
Winner	1992	Monte Carlo	Clay	Aaron Krickstein	6–3, 6–1, 6–3
Winner	1995	Monte Carlo	Clay	Boris Becker	4–6, 5–7, 6–1, 7–6(8–6), 6–0
Winner	1995	Rome	Clay	Sergi Bruguera	3–6, 7–6(7–5), 6–2, 6–3
Winner	1995	Essen	Carpet	MaliVai Washington	7–6, 2–6, 6–3, 6–4
Winner	1996	Monte Carlo	Clay	Albert Costa	6–3, 5–7, 4–6, 6–3, 6–2
Winner	1996	Rome	Clay	Richard Krajicek	6–2, 6–4, 3–6, 6–3
Winner	1997	Key Biscayne	Hard	Sergi Bruguera	7–6(8–6), 6–3, 6–1
Runner-up	1997	Cincinnati	Hard	Pete Sampras	6–3, 6–4

Career finals

Singles: 55 (44–11)

Outcome	No.	Date	Championship	Surface	Opponent in the final	Score in the final
Winner	1.	4 August 1986	Hilversum	Clay	Jakob Hlasek	6–1, 6–3, 6–3
Winner	2.	11 July 1988	Boston	Clay	Lawson Duncan	6–2, 6–2
Winner	3.	1 August 1988	Bordeaux	Clay	Ronald Agénor	6–3, 6–3
Winner	4.	15 August 1988	Prague	Clay	Guillermo Pérez-Roldán	6–4, 5–7, 6–2
Runner-up	1.	19 September 1988	Barcelona	Clay	Kent Carlsson	6–3, 6–3, 3–6, 6–1
Winner	5.	26 September 1988	Bari	Clay	Marcelo Filippini	2–6, 6–1, 7–5
Runner-up	2.	24 October 1988	Vienna	Carpet	Horst Skoff	4–6, 6–3, 6–4, 6–2
Runner-up	3.	3 April 1989	Miami	Hard	Ivan Lendl	W/O
Winner	6.	8 January 1990	Adelaide	Hard	Jimmy Arias	3–6, 6–2, 7–5
Winner	7.	12 March 1990	Casablanca	Clay	Guillermo Pérez-Roldán	6–1, 6–7(6–8), 6–2
Runner-up	4.	30 April 1990	Monte Carlo	Clay	Andrei Chesnokov	7–5, 6–3, 6–3
Runner-up	5.	7 May 1990	Munich	Clay	Karel Nováček	6–4, 6–2
Winner	8.	21 May 1990	Rome	Clay	Andrei Chesnokov	6–1, 6–3, 6–1
Winner	9.	17 June 1991	Florence	Clay	Horst Skoff	6–2, 6–7(2–7), 6–4
Winner	10.	16 September 1991	Geneva	Clay	Horst Skoff	6–2, 6–4
Winner	11.	27 April 1992	Monte Carlo	Clay	Aaron Krickstein	6–3, 6–1, 6–3
Winner	12.	15 June 1992	Florence	Clay	Renzo Furlan	6–3, 1–6, 6–1
Winner	13.	31 August 1992	Umag	Clay	Franco Davín	6–1, 4–6, 6–4
Runner-up	6.	18 January 1993	Sydney	Hard	Pete Sampras	7–6(9–7), 6–1
Winner	14.	1 March 1993	Mexico City	Clay	Carlos Costa	6–2, 6–4
Winner	15.	14 June 1993	Florence	Clay	Jordi Burillo	6–1, 7–5
Winner	16.	21 June 1993	Genova	Clay	Magnus Gustafsson	7–6(7–3), 6–4
Winner	17.	9 August 1993	Kitzbühel	Clay	Javier Sánchez	6–3, 7–5, 6–4
Winner	18.	16 August 1993	San Marino	Clay	Renzo Furlan	7–5, 7–5
Winner	19.	30 August 1993	Umag	Clay	Alberto Berasategui	7–5, 3–6, 6–3
Winner	20.	3 October 1993	Palermo	Clay	Sergi Bruguera	7–6(7–2), 7–5
Runner-up	7.	25 October 1993	Vienna	Carpet	Goran Ivanišević	4–6, 6–4, 6–4, 7–6(7–3)
Winner	21.	28 February 1994	Mexico City	Clay	Roberto Jabali	6–3, 6–1
Winner	22.	2 May 1994	Madrid	Clay	Sergi Bruguera	6–2, 3–6, 6–4, 7–5
Winner	23.	20 June 1994	Sankt Pölten	Clay	Tomás Carbonell	4–6, 6–2, 6–4
Winner	24.	6 March 1995	Mexico City	Clay	Fernando Meligeni	7–6(7–4), 7–5
Winner	25.	10 April 1995	Estoril	Clay	Albert Costa	6–4, 6–2
Winner	26.	17 April 1995	Barcelona	Clay	Magnus Larsson	6–2, 6–1, 6–4
Winner	27.	1 May 1995	Monte Carlo	Clay	Boris Becker	4–6, 5–7, 6–1, 7–6(8–6), 6–0
Winner	28.	22 May 1995	Rome	Clay	Sergi Bruguera	3–6, 7–6(7–5), 6–2, 6–3
Winner	29.	12 June 1995	French Open	Clay	Michael Chang	7–5, 6–2, 6–4
Winner	30.	26 June 1995	Sankt Pölten	Clay	Bohdan Ulihrach	6–3, 3–6, 6–1
Winner	31.	24 July 1995	Stuttgart Outdoor	Clay	Jan Apell	6–2, 6–2
Runner-up	8.	7 August 1995	Kitzbühel	Clay	Albert Costa	4–6, 6–4, 7–6(7–3), 2–6, 6–4
Winner	32.	14 August 1995	San Marino	Clay	Andrea Gaudenzi	6–2, 6–0
Winner	33.	28 August 1995	Umag	Clay	Carlos Costa	3–6, 7–6(7–5), 6–4
Winner	34.	18 September 1995	Bucharest	Clay	Gilbert Schaller	6–3, 6–4
Runner-up	9.	23 October 1995	Vienna	Carpet	Filip Dewulf	7–5, 6–2, 1–6, 7–5
Winner	35.	30 October 1995	Essen	Carpet	MaliVai Washington	7–6(8–6), 2–6, 6–3, 6–4
Winner	36.	11 March 1996	Mexico City	Clay	Jiří Novák	7–6(7–3), 6–2
Winner	37.	15 April 1996	Estoril	Clay	Andrea Gaudenzi	7–6(7–4), 6–4
Winner	38.	22 April 1996	Barcelona	Clay	Marcelo Ríos	6–3, 4–6, 6–4, 6–1
Winner	39.	29 April 1996	Monte Carlo	Clay	Albert Costa	6–3, 5–7, 4–6, 6–3, 6–2
Winner	40.	20 May 1996	Rome	Clay	Richard Krajicek	6–2, 6–4, 3–6, 6–3
Winner	41.	22 July 1996	Stuttgart Outdoor	Clay	Yevgeny Kafelnikov	6–2, 6–2, 6–4
Winner	42.	16 September 1996	Bogotá	Clay	Nicolás Lapentti	6–7(6–8), 6–2, 6–3
Winner	43.	17 February 1997	Dubai	Hard	Goran Ivanišević	7–5, 7–6(7–3)
Winner	44.	31 March 1997	Miami	Hard	Sergi Bruguera	7–6(8–6), 6–3, 6–1
Runner-up	10.	11 August 1997	Cincinnati	Hard	Pete Sampras	6–3, 6–4
Runner-up	11.	13 April 1998	Estoril	Clay	Alberto Berasategui	3–6, 6–1, 6–3

Singles

Note: These events were designated as the 'Masters Series' and the 'ATP Tour World Championships' only after the ATP took over the running of the men's tour in 1990.

Private life

Thomas Muster was married to Jo Beth Taylor, an Australian television personality, from 2000 to 2005. They have a son, Christian, who was born in 2001. In 2010, Muster married Caroline Ofner and they have a daughter, Maxim, born in 2009. Thomas Muster lives in Styria, a province in Southern Austria and also has a villa on the Adriatic Sea in Croatia.

1. ^ Muster, King of Clay, Gets His Slam Crown
2. ^ Back In The Swing
3. ^ http://www.addictiveentertainment.com.au/celebrities.htm
4. ^ http://www.oe24.at/leute/oesterreich/Thomas-Muster-heiratet-heute/817612

Thomas Muster (Achievement precedessor & successor) Awards and achievements Preceded by Rudolf Nierlich Austrian Sportsman of the year 1990 Succeeded by Stephan Eberharter Preceded by Thomas Stangassinger Austrian Sportsman of the year 1995 Succeeded by Andreas Goldberger Sporting positions Preceded by Andre Agassi Pete Sampras World No. 1 February 12, 1996–February 18, 1996 March 11, 1996–April 14, 1996 Succeeded by Pete Sampras Pete Sampras

Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) World No. 1 singles players Ilie Năstase (1973/1974 - 40 w) · John Newcombe (1974 - 8 w) · Jimmy Connors (1974/1983 - 268 w) · Björn Borg (1977/1981 - 109 w) · John McEnroe (1980/1985 - 170 w) Ivan Lendl (1983/1990 - 270 w) · Mats Wilander (1988/1989 - 20 w) · Stefan Edberg (1990/1992 - 72 w) · Boris Becker (1991 - 12 w) · Jim Courier (1992/1993 - 58 w) Pete Sampras (1993/2000 - 286 w) · Andre Agassi (1995/2003 - 101 w) · Thomas Muster (1996 - 6 w) · Marcelo Ríos (1998 - 6 w) · Carlos Moyá (1999 - 2 w) Yevgeny Kafelnikov (1999 - 6 w)  · Patrick Rafter (1999 - 1 w) · Marat Safin (2000/2001 - 9 w) · Gustavo Kuerten (2000/2001 - 43 w) · Lleyton Hewitt (2001/2003 - 80 w) Juan Carlos Ferrero (2003 - 8 w) · Andy Roddick (2003/2004 - 13 w) · Roger Federer (2004/2010 - 285 w) · Rafael Nadal (2008/2011 - 102 w) · Novak Djokovic (2011 - 11 w) ATP rankings began on August 23, 1973 · (year first held/year last held - number of weeks (w)) · current No. 1 in bold, as of September 12, 2011