Editing Thomas Muster (section)

==Tennis career==
{{More citations needed|section|date=February 2024}}

===Juniors===
Muster first came to prominence when he reached the final of the French Open junior tournament and the [[Orange Bowl (tennis)|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 Davis Cup team|Austria]] in the [[Davis Cup]]. He also played at the [[Tennis at the 1984 Summer Olympics – Men's singles|1984 Summer Olympics]] in Los Angeles, and in two tournaments on Austrian soil, the clay-court event in [[Austrian Open Kitzbühel|Kitzbühel]] and the indoor carpet event in [[Vienna Open|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 (tennis)|Dutch Open]] in [[Hilversum]] in 1986.

In 1988, Muster reached six top-level tournament finals, winning four of them, in [[U.S. Pro Tennis Championships|Boston]], [[ATP Bordeaux|Bordeaux]], [[ATP Prague|Prague]] and [[Hypo Group Tennis International|Bari]]. Muster finished the year ranked 16th in the world.

Early in 1989, he became the first Austrian to reach the semifinals of the Australian Open, eventually losing in four sets to world No. 1, [[Ivan Lendl]]. 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 [[1989 Lipton International Players Championships – Men's singles|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.<ref>{{cite web |author=S.L. Price |url=http://vault.sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vault/article/magazine/MAG1006712/3/index.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081211192351/http://vault.sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vault/article/magazine/MAG1006712/3/index.htm |url-status=dead |archive-date=11 December 2008 |title=Back in the Swing |publisher=[[Sports Illustrated]] |date=19 June 1995 |access-date=22 September 2011}}</ref>

Muster's comeback continued in 1990, when he won three top-level tournaments on clay (including the [[1990 Peugeot Italian Open – Men's singles|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 – Men's singles|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 Sports Personality of the Year|Austrian Sportsman of the Year]] award.<ref name="wz">{{cite web |url=https://www.wienerzeitung.at/nachrichten/english_news/36556_Melzer-beats-Sela-once-more-as-Muster-rises-in-ranking.html%3Fem_cnt%3D36556 |title=Melzer beats Sela once more as Muster rises in ranking |work=English News from Austria - Wiener Zeitung Online |publisher=Wiener Zeitung |date=30 September 2010 |access-date=11 May 2019 |last1=Online |first1=Wiener Zeitung }}</ref> 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 Open – Singles|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 French Open – Men's singles|1992]] and [[1993 French Open – Men's singles|1993]] French Opens, Muster was defeated by the reigning French Open and Australian Open champion [[Jim Courier]]. At the [[1994 French Open – Men's singles|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.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1994-03-28-sp-39410-story.html |title=Tennis Roundup : Germany Rallies to Reach Davis Cup Quarterfinals |work=[[Los Angeles Times]] |date=28 March 1994}}</ref>

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 Open – Singles|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]], after a tough match, by 4–6, 5–7, 6–1, 7–6, 6–0, 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 – Men's singles|1995 French Open]], Muster won his first and only [[Grand Slam (tennis)|Grand Slam]] singles title, defeating [[Yevgeny Kafelnikov]] in the semifinals and comfortably beating 1989 champion [[Michael Chang]] in the final. 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 [[1995 Estoril Open – Men's singles|Estoril]], [[1995 Torneo Godó – Singles|Barcelona]], [[1995 Monte Carlo Open – Singles|Monte Carlo]], [[1995 ATP St. Pölten|St. Pölten]], [[1995 Mercedes Cup|Stuttgart Outdoor]] and [[1995 Croatia Open Umag|Umag]].

In 1995, Muster won the [[Austrian Sports Personality of the Year|Austrian Sportsman of the Year]] award for the second time.<ref name="wz" /> He continued to rack up clay-court victories in 1996. He won seven tournaments, six of them titles he successfully defended after winning them the year before. These 1996 tournament victories included his third [[1996 Monte Carlo Open – Singles|Monte Carlo]] title, where he defeated clay court specialist [[Albert Costa]] in the final, and his third [[1996 Italian Open – Men's singles|Italian Open]] title, defeating [[Richard Krajicek]] in the final. Muster's win–loss record on clay in 1996 was an impressive 46–3. This made his 1995–96 record on the surface 111–5, which was, at the time, the best two-year clay-court record since the [[Tennis open era|open era]] began in 1968. Despite Muster's continued dominance on clay-courts in 1996, he was upset in the Round of 16 at the [[1996 French Open – Men's singles|1996 French Open]], losing to eventual finalist [[Michael Stich]] in four sets. In July 1996, in the final of the [[1996 Mercedes Cup – Singles|1996 Mercedes Cup]] in Stuttgart, Muster defeated newly crowned French Open champion [[Yevgeny Kafelnikov]] in three straight sets.

In February 1996, Muster attained the world no. 1 ranking for the first time. He held the ranking initially for just one week, and then regained it for five weeks over March and April 1996. The validity of Muster's number one ranking was called into question by top Americans [[Pete Sampras]] and [[Andre Agassi]], who argued that he had achieved the top spot based almost solely on his clay court results, although Muster had beaten Sampras on indoor carpet at the 1995 Masters event in [[Essen, Germany]], and Agassi had only won tournaments on hardcourt in 1995.

In 1997, Muster enjoyed the best results of his career on hardcourt. He reached the semifinals of the [[1997 Australian Open – Men's singles|1997 Australian Open]], losing to eventual champion [[Pete Sampras]]. He then went on to win the tournament in [[1997 Dubai Tennis Championships – Singles|Dubai]], defeating [[Goran Ivanišević]] in the final. Following a semifinal showing at the [[1997 Newsweek Champions Cup and the State Farm Evert Cup]] in Indian Wells, California, Muster won his biggest title on hardcourt at the [[1997 Lipton Championships – Men's singles|1997 Miami Masters]], the same tournament where his career had nearly ended eight years earlier.  After a semifinal victory over [[Jim Courier]]—his third successive win over the American in early 1997—Muster defeated [[Sergi Bruguera]] in three straight sets in the final. Bruguera had defeated Sampras in the semifinals.

In August 1997, Muster made a hard-fought run to the championship round of the [[1997 Great American Insurance ATP Championships – Singles|Cincinnati Masters]] before losing the final to Sampras. Having reached the semifinals or better in four of the five most important hard court events of the season to date, Muster was one of the favorites at the [[1997 US Open – Men's singles]]. However, as the fifth seed, Muster received a difficult first round draw and fell in four sets to Great Britain's [[Tim Henman]], then ranked world no. 21. Muster played decently indoors during the fall of 1997, reaching the semifinals of the [[1997 IPB Czech Indoor]] in [[Ostrava, Czech Republic]], and the quarterfinals of the [[1997 Paris Open]]. As an injury-replacement alternate, the Austrian made his fourth and final appearance in the ATP's year-end tournament, the [[1997 ATP Tour World Championships – Singles]], losing his lone match to [[Carlos Moyá]]. Muster finished 1997 ranked world no. 9.

For the season, Muster achieved a 29–8 win–loss record on hardcourt, but he only won nine out of 18 matches on clay. Muster's [[1997 French Open – Men's singles|1997 French Open]] campaign ended in the third round when unseeded [[Gustavo Kuerten]], then ranked at 66 in the world, defeated him in five sets despite Muster holding a 3–0 lead in the fifth set. Kuerten went on to win the 1997 French Open title and usher in a new era on clay.

With a renewed focus on clay and the 1998 French Open, Muster enjoyed a better April and May than he had the year prior. A strong run to the semifinals on the hard courts of Indian Wells—where he beat top-ranked Sampras along the way—in March 1998 buoyed Muster onto the European clay. In his next event and first clay appearance of 1998, Muster reached the last top-level tournament final of his career in Estoril, losing to [[Alberto Berasategui]] in three sets.

In early May 1998, Muster defeated sixth-ranked [[Yevgeny Kafelnikov]] en route to the quarterfinals of the [[1998 ATP German Open]] in [[Hamburg, Germany]]. At the [[1998 French Open – Men's singles|1998 French Open]], Muster scored several nice wins to reach the quarterfinals before losing to [[Félix Mantilla (tennis)|Félix Mantilla]] in four sets, with Mantilla getting revenge for his contentious [[1998 Italian Open – Men's singles|1998 Italian Open]] defeat to Muster a few weeks prior.

Muster's 1998 results faded after the spring, and he reached just one semifinal (Mallorca) and one quarterfinal (Boston) for the remainder of the year. Muster opened 1999 with a semifinal showing in Sydney before struggling over the next few months, winning just two of his 12 matches after Sydney. Following his first-round loss to [[Nicolás Lapentti]] at the [[1999 French Open – Men's singles|1999 French Open]], Muster quietly disappeared from the ATP Tour at the age of 31. Muster remains the only world no. 1 singles player who never managed to win a men's singles match at Wimbledon throughout his whole career (only made four appearances).

Muster only lost one Davis Cup singles match on clay in his career, when [[Goran Ivanišević]] defeated him in April 1997, 6–7, 7–5, 6–7, 6–2, 7–5, despite Muster having won 112 of his previous 117 matches on clay going into the match. Muster's overall Davis Cup win–loss record, counting both singles and doubles matches, was 45–18. Muster's win–loss record in Davis Cup singles matches was 36–8, while his win–loss record in Davis Cup singles matches on clay was 29–1. Muster has more match wins in Davis Cup than any other [[List of Austria Davis Cup team representatives|Austrian tennis player]].

After he stopped playing tennis after the 1999 French Open, Muster moved to [[Noosa Heads]], Australia, where he had officially resided since 1996, and married television presenter [[Jo Beth Taylor]] in 2000. The couple have a son, Christian, who was born in 2001. Muster and Taylor separated in 2002 and divorced in 2005.<ref name="Addictiveentertainment.com.au">{{cite web |url=http://www.addictiveentertainment.com.au/celebrities.htm |title=Gold Coast agency Celebrities Entertainment guest speakers master of ceremonies emcees MC's Brisbane Queensland hosts coordinators stars hosting award performers Sydney Brisbane Melbourne Adelaide Perth Darwin Canberra Mt Isa |publisher=Addictiveentertainment.com.au |access-date=22 September 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111125000305/http://www.addictiveentertainment.com.au/celebrities.htm |archive-date=25 November 2011 }}</ref> In 2003, Muster moved back to Austria, to work as a coach and captain of the [[Austria Davis Cup team|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.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.austriantimes.at/news/Sports/2010-04-26/22805/Tennis_hero_Muster_marries_again |title=Tennis hero Muster marries again – Tennis |work=Austrian Times|date=26 April 2010 |access-date=9 December 2014 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141210011930/http://www.austriantimes.at/news/Sports/2010-04-26/22805/Tennis_hero_Muster_marries_again |archive-date=10 December 2014 }}</ref>

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 (tennis)|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 Open|Vienna]] tournament, where Muster lost to countryman, [[Dominic Thiem]], in straight sets.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.cbssports.com/tennis/story/15614667/former-no-1-muster-to-retire-again-at-age-44 |title=Former No. 1 Muster to retire again at age 44 – Tennis |publisher=[[CBSSports.com]]|date=21 September 2011 |access-date=21 May 2012}}</ref> 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.