Former world no.1, Thomas Muster retires from professional tennis at 44 – Tennis News
Former World No.1, Austrian Thomas Muster, says good bye to tennis world. He was greeted by the crowd who gave him a 10 minutes standing ovation after his last match against his country mate Dominic Thiem, on Tuesday October 25th.
He moved to tears during his speech at the stadium after his first round exit in the Erste Bank Open yesterday and said “At the beginning I didn’t know if to cry or to play. It’s really hard to start a match a like that. You get
standing ovations when you win, when you play a great match or win a tournament, but not in the first round and certainly not like that”.
Muster is 44-year-old and received an outstanding appreciation from the crowd of 7500 people; he was overwhelmed at that moment and was absolutely mesmerized by the reception he received at the stadium.
Austrian lost the match 6-3, 6-2 and marked an end of an absolutely enthralling and grand era of tennis. ‘The King of Clay’ leaves a legendry history behind him which includes eight Master 1000 tournament triumphs and the one of
three players to have won Masters Titles on clay, carpet and hard-court.
He was crowned the 1995 French Open title and said goodbye to tennis for the first time in 1999 after the Roland Garros. He made a comeback in 2010 and played several Challenger tournaments and made three ATP World Tour main draw
appearances.
44-year old Austrian said “I loved it because it was great to sort of see myself every week playing better, playing Challengers and winning a few matches, but also practicing with the guys and getting out there every morning and
doing my job”. He enjoyed playing at this level again and thanks the players who helped him challenge himself and provide his best at the pitch.
In early 90’s, the Austrian was hit by a drunk driver that forced him to quit from the final of Lipton International Players Championships in Key Biscayne, Florida (now known as the Sony Ericsson Open) against the World No.1, Ivan
Lendl. Everyone was struck with grief and his dreams to pull up a major upset shattered all over the place. He continued to practice tennis on a specially designed wheel chair and his wounds gradually healed and allowed him to make a comeback to the arena
after few months.
Thomas Muster has maintained a won-loss record of 622-274 and won 44 titles during his reign which involves the majestic victory at 1995 Roland Garros. He leaves behind a legendry career and a landmark in the history of tennis.
Tennis hasn’t seen a better player of clay than him to date save perhaps one or two.
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