ATP: Thomas Muster turns 50 – A cinematic anniversary

Thomas Muster is Austria’s best tennis player of all time.The Styrian celebrates his 50th birthday.Birthday – and is at peace with himself and his life.

Thomas Muster recently appeared in public at the premiere of the movie “Borg/McEnroe” in Vienna, the filming of that rivalry that reached its early peak in the 1980 Wimbledon finale.A beautiful story, no doubt.That those by Thomas Muster are at least as worthy of telling – this is a hint that should be passed on to filmmakers all over the world as a matter of urgency.

On the occasion of the 50.The best Austrian tennis player of all times documented on today’s 2nd birthday is the best Austrian tennis player of all times.October.

Thomas Muster gives the impression – for example at events of his long-time supplier HEAD or as ambassador of the Erste Bank Open in Vienna – that he receives exactly the amount of attention that is not annoying to the jubilarian.Those who listen to the Styrian commentary on tennis, however, cannot help feeling that there are very few players on the ATP tour who would not benefit from the advice of the former world number one.You might only have to ask him very seriously once – but with the great danger of getting a serious rejection.

The history of Austrian sports has not even been so full of material for the creation of legends.Most of the time, however, they turn around, especially gentlemen who dare to tackle more or less difficult mountain slopes in the winter months.This is the only way to explain why the completely subjective, rightly forgotten journalist’s choice of Austria’s 20th century sportsmen and women was such a success.At the end of the 19th century, an objectively completely wrong result came out: Toni Sailer was given the honour, not Thomas Muster.

Well, that’s already decades ago, after his Australian years, Muster has returned to Austria, leading a normal life, as he emphasized in an interview with the Kleine Zeitung.The Styrian has moved on to Carinthia to the Wörthersee for the sake of his daughter, who attends a bilingual primary school there.

Thomas Muster won more than 12 million US dollars in his career, the sponsorship contracts with a large Austrian bank have certainly helped him to continue his work:”I am retired and the manager of my assets,” said Muster, explaining in the Kleine Zeitung.And I can work what I like – when, where and how much I want to work” – which excludes the above-mentioned commitment as a coach: He would then have to lead life again, from which he has gained distance.And he would have to get involved in tennis matches, the results of which he has no influence on.

That same Austrian bank, by the way, also advertised with two other sportsmen whose history only became a very special one through strokes of fate: on the one hand with Hermann Maier, whose fall at the 1998 Olympic Games in Nagano and years later the motorcycle accident led to two astonishing comebacks.And again a few years before with Niki Lauda, the triple Formula 1 world champion.

His story was filmed as well known, star-studded, with one of the better Hollywood directors.From the point of view of Thomas Muster’s fans, however, it would probably be enough if the 50-year-old would finally get his deserved place in the International Tennis Hall of Fame.