Web Quotableonline.com Frasescelebres.org Greatbookscollection.org

Thomas Muster (born October 2 1967, in Leibnitz,
Austria) is a former World No. 1 professional
tennis player from Austria. At his peak, he was
known as the "King of Clay". He was undoubtedly
one of the finest clay court players that the game
has produced.

Muster first came to prominence as an outstanding
junior player who reached the finals of the French
Open Juniors and the prestigious Orange Bowl in
1985. He turned professional later that year, and
won his first tour title at Hilversum
(Netherlands) in 1986.

In 1988, Muster qualified for 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 semi-finals at Australian Open and,
shortly after that, the first Austrian to be
ranked in the world's Top 10. Everything seemed to
be going exceptionally well for Muster in March
that year when he defeated Yannick Noah in the
semi-finals of the prestigious Lipton
International Players Championships in Key
Biscayne, Florida to set up a final match-up with
the then-World No. 1 Ivan Lendl. But in the hours
that followed that famous semi-final victory,
Muster was struck by a drunk driver, severing
ligaments in his left knee and forcing him to
withdraw from the final against Lendl. He flew
back to Vienna to undergo surgery. With the aid of
a special chair designed to allow him practice
hitting balls while recovering from his knee
surgery, Muster was incredibly able to return to
competitive tennis just six months later.

Muster's comeback continued in 1990, when he won
four titles (three on clay and one on hardcourts),
was runner-up to three further tournaments, and
reached the semi-finals at the French Open. He
also helped Austria reach the semi-finals 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
Association of Tennis Professionals|ATP Tour's
'Comeback Player of the Year'.

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

In 1993 he reached nine tournament finals, winning
seven of them. He was the tour's leading clay
court player that year, winning 55 out of 65
matches on the surface.

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

1995 was undoubtedly the best year of Muster's
career, and the year in which he came to be
recognised as being among the truly dominant
players in the game. He won 12 titles from 14
final appearances. Between February and June he
won 40 consecutive clay court matches (the longest
winning streak on the surface since Björn Borg
had won 44 in 1977-79). The French Open that year
saw Muster finally claim his first (and only)
Grand Slam (tennis)|Grand Slam title, when he
defeated former champion Michael Chang in straight
sets in the final 7-5, 6-2, 6-4. Muster was
undoubtedly the world's premier clay court player
in 1995, winning 65 matches on the surface while
losing just two. However his record on other
surfaces was notably less impressive.

1996 saw Muster continue in a similar vein,
racking up clay court victories. He won seven
titles that year (six of them titles he
successfully defended after winning them in 1995).
His clay court record in 1996 was 43 wins and only
three defeats. This made his overall 1995-96
record on the surface 111-5 – the best two-year
consecutive clay court record since the Open Era
began in 1968.

In February 1996, 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-April. Muster remains one of the most
controversial World No. 1s because almost all the
victories he achieved to attain the ranking were
won on clay courts. He completely dominated the
clay court game in 1995-6, but was eminently
beatable on all other surfaces. However the sheer
number of matches and tournaments he had won
earned him the ranking points that saw him join
the elite group of players to have been officially
ranked at the very top of the sport.

1997 ironically saw Muster achieve his best
results on hard courts. He claimed two hard court
titles that year and finished runner-up in a
third. He compiled a 29-8 record on hard courts
that year, while strangely being only 9-9 on clay.

Muster reached his last top-level tournament final
(on clay) in 1998. He retired from the
professional tour in 1999. 

Muster is largely remembered as a single-surface
player, though he enjoyed occasional successes on
other surfaces. His victory at the 1995 French
Open and his attainment of the World No. 1 ranking
were undoubtedly the highlights of his career. His
commanding dominance of the clay court game in
1995-6 must also be considered among the great
achievements in the history of the game.

When his playing career finished, Muster moved to
Australia and lived on a large farm with his wife
and child. He has since moved back to Austria,
where he has served as coach of the Austrian Davis
Cup team and established an apparel brand called
'Toms'.


==Biggest Victories==
* 1 - French Open 1995
* 1 - Miami Masters 1997
* 3 - Monte Carlo Masters 1992, 1995, 1996
* 3 - Rome Masters 1990, 1995, 1996


==External links==
*
http://www.atptennis.com/en/players/playerprofiles
/default2.asp?playersearch=thomas+muster Official
ATP Profile 


Tennis World Number Ones (men)