Thomas Muster

Thomas Muster (; born 2 October 1967) is an Austrian former professional tennis player. He was ranked as the world No. 1 in men's singles by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP). Muster won 44 ATP Tour-level singles titles, including the 1995 French Open and eight Masters titles. One of the world's leading clay court players in the 1990s, at his peak he was called "The King of Clay". He is the first Austrian to win a major singles title, followed by Dominic Thiem at the 2020 US Open.

Tennis career

Juniors Muster first came to prominence when he reached the final of the French Open junior tournament and the Orange Bowl juniors tournament in 1985.

Pro tour Muster played his first matches at the top-level in 1984, as a junior player, at the age of 16. In 1984, he played his first match for Austria in the Davis Cup. He also played at the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles, and in two tournaments on Austrian soil, the clay-court event in Kitzbühel and the indoor carpet event in Vienna.

Muster turned professional in 1985, regularly playing in Challenger tournaments throughout the year, winning in Belo Horizonte, as well as continuing to play in many top-level tournaments. Muster won his first top-level tournament at the Dutch Open in Hilversum in 1986.

In 1988, Muster reached six top-level tournament finals, winning four of them, in Boston, Bordeaux, Prague and Bari. Muster finished the year ranked 16th in the world.

Early in 1989, Muster became the first Austrian to reach the semifinals of the Australian Open, eventually losing in four sets to world No. 1, Ivan Lendl on a very hot day. Shortly after that, he became the first Austrian to reach the world top 10. On the night of 31 March 1989, he defeated Yannick Noah in five sets in the semifinals of the Lipton International Players Championships in Key Biscayne, Florida, to set up a final against Lendl. However, in the early hours of 1 April 1989, just hours after his semifinal victory, he was struck by a drunk driver, severing ligaments in his left knee and forcing him to default the final. Muster 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, he returned to competitive tennis in September 1989.

Muster's comeback continued in 1990, when he won three top-level tournaments on clay (including the Italian Open, defeating Andrés Gómez in the semifinals and Andrei Chesnokov in the final) and one title on hardcourt. Muster reached the semifinals of the 1990 French Open, losing in straight sets to the eventual champion, Andrés Gómez. He also helped Austria reach the semifinals of the Davis Cup, where they were eliminated 3–2 by the United States, despite winning both of his singles rubbers against Michael Chang and Andre Agassi. That year, he was named the ATP Tour's "Comeback Player of the Year."

In 1990, Muster won the Austrian Sportsman of the Year award. He won two more top-level tournaments in 1991, and three more in 1992 (all on clay courts), with the biggest of these titles being the 1992 Monte Carlo title, where he defeated Aaron Krickstein in the final. In 1993, Muster won seven titles. Muster's win–loss record on clay in 1993 was 55–10, although he failed to win any of the four big clay-court events of the year.

At both the 1992 and 1993 French Opens, Muster was defeated by the reigning French Open and Australian Open champion Jim Courier. At the 1994 French Open, he won his second round match against Andre Agassi in five sets but was then defeated by the serve-and-volley play of Patrick Rafter in the next round, with Rafter's four set victory denying Muster a match against the reigning French Open champion Sergi Bruguera.

Muster won three clay-court titles in 1994. In March 1994, he defeated Michael Stich of Germany in a first round Davis Cup tie in Graz, 6–4, 6–7, 4–6, 6–3, 12–10, after saving a match point when trailing at 7–8 in the fifth set. Despite Muster's win over Stich bringing Austria level at 2–2 in the tie, it was Germany who eventually won the decisive fifth rubber.

In 1995, Muster enjoyed the best year of his career winning 12 tournaments, with 11 of those tournaments won on clay-courts. Between February and June 1995, Muster won 40 consecutive matches on clay (the longest winning streak on the surface since Björn Borg had won 46 matches between 1977 and 1979). At the 1995 Monte Carlo Masters, he defeated Andrea Gaudenzi in the semifinals, despite struggling heavily in the latter stages of the match due to having a shortage of glucose in his blood and suffering a 40° fever, which required a brief spell in hospital after the match. The next day, he won the final against Boris Becker, in five sets, with Muster surviving two championship points in the fourth set tiebreak, the first of which saw Becker double-faulting after going for a big second serve. He went on to win his second Italian Open title, defeating Sergi Bruguera in the final. At the 1995 French Open, Muster won his first and only Grand Slam singles title, defeating Yevgeny Kafelnikov in the semifinals and comfortably beating 1989 champion Michael Chang in the final in straight sets. Muster was the only Austrian to win a Grand Slam singles title until Dominic Thiem won the 2020 US Open. His win–loss record on clay in 1995 was a remarkable 65–2. Although his record on other surfaces was less impressive, a late season victory over Pete Sampras on fast indoor carpet during his run to the title of the 1995 Eurocard Open (October) – Singles Masters event in Essen, Germany, gave Muster an outside chance at finishing the year no. 1; however, Sampras finished the year at no. 1. Of the 12 tournaments that Muster won in 1995, he saved at least one match point held against him during six of them, with those six tournaments being held in Estoril, Barcelona, Monte Carlo, St. Pölten, Stuttgart Outdoor and Umag.

In 1995, Muster won the Austrian Sportsman of the Year award for the second time. In 2003, Muster moved back to Austria, to work as a coach and captain of the Austrian Davis Cup team. He has played tennis on the ATP Champions Tour. In April 2010, Muster married Caroline Ofner, and they have a daughter, Maxim, who was born in 2009.

On 16 June 2010, at the age of 42, Muster announced his comeback to professional tennis. In July 2010, he played the first match of his comeback in a Challenger tournament in Braunschweig, where he lost in the first round. He went on to play in three Challenger tournaments in Kitzbühel, Como, and Rijeka. Eventually, in his fifth Challenger tournament in Ljubljana, Muster won his first comeback match, against Borut Puc of Croatia, which brought Muster back into the ATP singles ranking list at world number 988. Muster finished 2010 ranked at world number 980.

On 13 September 2011, Muster won a second match after his comeback, in the Todi Challenger, against the fifth seeded Argentinian Leonardo Mayer. His next opponent was countryman Martin Fischer, to whom Muster lost. On 19 September 2011, Muster reached world No. 847. He then lost his next match, at the Challenger tournament in Palermo, to Alessio di Mauro.

In October 2011, at the age of 44, Muster decided that he would play his last tennis match before retirement at the top-level Vienna tournament, where Muster lost to countryman, Dominic Thiem, in straight sets. However, three weeks after playing in Vienna, Muster was back again, this time in a Challenger tournament in Salzburg, playing against Dennis Blömke. He lost a close three-set battle. This was his last match to date.

Records In the 1995 season, Muster won 12 men's singles tournament titles, a record for the ATP Tour (since 1990). In 2006 Roger Federer tied the record.

Muster has the highest winning percentage of singles tournament finals of all players who reached a minimum of 25 finals. Of his 55 finals, he won 44 with 11 defeats (80%).

Muster holds the record for most titles in the ATP 250 tournaments (former: ATP World Series) - 26

Since the founding of the ATP Tour in 1990, Muster is the only tennis player who won the ATP titles on all six continents.

Grand Slam and Masters Series finals

Grand Slam finals

Singles: 1 (1 title) ResultYearChampionshipSurfaceOpponentScoreWin 1995 French Open Clay Michael Chang 7–5, 6–2, 6–4

Masters Series finals

Singles: 10 (8 titles, 2 runner-ups)

Career finals

Singles: 55 (44 titles, 11 runner-ups) Legend Grand Slam (1–0) Tennis Masters Cup (0–0) ATP Masters Series (8–2) ATP Championship Series (4–0) ATP Tour (31–9) Finals by surface Hard (3–3) Grass (0–0) Clay (40–5) Carpet (1–3)

Result No.DateTournamentSurfaceOpponentScoreWin 1. Aug 1986 Hilversum, Netherlands Clay Jakob Hlasek 6–1, 6–3, 6–3Win 2. Jul 1988 Boston, US Clay Lawson Duncan 6–2, 6–2Win 3. Jul 1988 Bordeaux, France Clay Ronald Agénor 6–3, 6–3Win 4. Aug 1988 Prague, Czechoslovakia Clay Guillermo Pérez Roldán 6–4, 5–7, 6–2Loss 1. Sep 1988 Barcelona, Spain Clay Kent Carlsson 3–6, 3–6, 6–3, 1–6Win 5. Sep 1988 Bari, Italy Clay Marcelo Filippini 2–6, 6–1, 7–5Loss 2. Oct 1988 Vienna, Austria Carpet (i) Horst Skoff 6–4, 3–6, 4–6, 2–6Loss 3. Apr 1989 Miami, US Hard Ivan Lendl w/oWin 6. Jan 1990 Adelaide, Australia Hard Jimmy Arias 3–6, 6–2, 7–5Win 7. Mar 1990 Casablanca, Morocco Clay Guillermo Pérez Roldán 6–1, 6–7(6–8), 6–2Loss 4. Apr 1990 Monte Carlo, Monaco Clay Andrei Chesnokov 5–7, 3–6, 3–6Loss 5. May 1990 Munich, West Germany Clay Karel Nováček 4–6, 2–6Win 8. May 1990 Rome, Italy Clay Andrei Chesnokov 6–1, 6–3, 6–1Win 9. Jun 1991 Florence, Italy Clay Horst Skoff 6–2, 6–7(2–7), 6–2Win 10. Sep 1991 Geneva, Switzerland Clay Horst Skoff 6–2, 6–4Win 11. Apr 1992 Monte Carlo, Monaco Clay Aaron Krickstein 6–3, 6–1, 6–3Win 12. Jun 1992 Florence, Italy Clay Renzo Furlan 6–3, 1–6, 6–1Win 13. Aug 1992 Umag, Croatia Clay Franco Davín 6–1, 4–6, 6–4Loss 6. Jan 1993 Sydney, Australia Hard Pete Sampras 6–7(7–9), 1–6Win 14. Feb 1993 Mexico City, Mexico Clay Carlos Costa 6–2, 6–4Win 15. Jun 1993 Florence, Italy Clay Jordi Burillo 6–1, 7–5Win 16. Jun 1993 Genoa, Italy Clay Magnus Gustafsson 7–6(7–3), 6–4Win 17. Aug 1993 Kitzbühel, Austria Clay Javier Sánchez 6–3, 7–5, 6–4Win 18. Aug 1993 San Marino, San Marino Clay Renzo Furlan 7–5, 7–5Win 19. Aug 1993 Umag, Croatia Clay Alberto Berasategui 7–5, 3–6, 6–3Win 20. Oct 1993 Palermo, Italy Clay Sergi Bruguera 7–6(7–2), 7–5Loss 7. Oct 1993 Vienna, Austria Carpet (i) Goran Ivanišević 6–4, 4–6, 4–6, 6–7(3–7)Win 21. Feb 1994 Mexico City, Mexico Clay Roberto Jabali 6–3, 6–1Win 22. May 1994 Madrid, Spain Clay Sergi Bruguera 6–2, 3–6, 6–4, 7–5Win 23. Jun 1994 Sankt Pölten, Austria Clay Tomás Carbonell 4–6, 6–2, 6–4Win 24. Mar 1995 Mexico City, Mexico Clay Fernando Meligeni 7–6(7–4), 7–5Win 25. Apr 1995 Estoril, Portugal Clay Albert Costa 6–4, 6–2Win 26. Apr 1995 Barcelona, Spain Clay Magnus Larsson 6–2, 6–1, 6–4Win 27. Apr 1995 Monte Carlo, Monaco Clay Boris Becker 4–6, 5–7, 6–1, 7–6(8–6), 6–0Win 28. May 1995 Rome, Italy Clay Sergi Bruguera 3–6, 7–6(7–5), 6–2, 6–3Win 29. Jun 1995 French Open Clay Michael Chang 7–5, 6–2, 6–4Win 30. Jun 1995 Sankt Pölten, Austria Clay Bohdan Ulihrach 6–3, 3–6, 6–1Win 31. Jul 1995 Stuttgart, Germany Clay Jan Apell 6–2, 6–2Loss 8. Aug 1995 Kitzbühel, Austria Clay Albert Costa 6–4, 4–6, 6–7(3–7), 6–2, 4–6Win 32. Aug 1995 San Marino, San Marino Clay Andrea Gaudenzi 6–2, 6–0Win 33. Aug 1995 Umag, Croatia Clay Carlos Costa 3–6, 7–6(7–5), 6–4Win 34. Sep 1995 Bucharest, Romania Clay Gilbert Schaller 6–3, 6–4Loss 9. Oct 1995 Vienna, Austria Carpet (i) Filip Dewulf 5–7, 2–6, 6–1, 5–7Win 35. Oct 1995 Essen, Germany Carpet (i) MaliVai Washington 7–6(8–6), 2–6, 6–3, 6–4Win 36. Mar 1996 Mexico City, Mexico Clay Jiří Novák 7–6(7–3), 6–2Win 37. Apr 1996 Estoril, Portugal Clay Andrea Gaudenzi 7–6(7–4), 6–4Win 38. Apr 1996 Barcelona, Spain Clay Marcelo Ríos 6–3, 4–6, 6–4, 6–1Win 39. Apr 1996 Monte Carlo, Monaco Clay Albert Costa 6–3, 5–7, 4–6, 6–3, 6–2Win 40. May 1996 Rome, Italy Clay Richard Krajicek 6–2, 6–4, 3–6, 6–3Win 41. Jul 1996 Stuttgart, Germany Clay Yevgeny Kafelnikov 6–2, 6–2, 6–4Win 42. Sep 1996 Bogotá, Colombia Clay Nicolás Lapentti 6–7(6–8), 6–2, 6–3Win 43. Feb 1997 Dubai, UAE Hard Goran Ivanišević 7–5, 7–6(7–3)Win 44. Mar 1997 Miami, US Hard Sergi Bruguera 7–6(8–6), 6–3, 6–1Loss 10. Aug 1997 Cincinnati, US Hard Pete Sampras 3–6, 4–6Loss 11. Apr 1998 Estoril, Portugal Clay Alberto Berasategui 6–3, 1–6, 3–6

Doubles: 2 (1 title, 1 runner-up) Legend Grand Slam (0–0) Tennis Masters Cup (0–0) ATP Masters Series (0–0) ATP Championship Series (0–0) ATP Tour (1–1) Finals by surface Hard (0–0) Grass (0–0) Clay (1–1) Carpet (0–0)

ResultNo.DateTournamentSurfacePartnerOpponentsScoreLoss 1. Aug 1988 Prague, Czechoslovakia Clay Horst Skoff Petr Korda Jaroslav Navrátil 5–7, 6–7Win 1. Sep 1988 Bari, Italy Clay Claudio Panatta Francesco Cancellotti Simone Colombo 6–3, 6–1

Singles performance timeline

Note: Muster played no professional matches between 2000 and 2009.

1 Held as Stockholm Masters until 1994, Essen in 1995 and Stuttgart indoor from 1996 onwards.

Top 10 wins

Record against No. 1 players Muster's match record against players who have been ranked world No. 1.

Personal life Thomas Muster was married to Jo Beth Taylor, an Australian television personality, from 2000 to 2005, having separated in 2002.