Thomas Muster and Barbara Schett received the Commitment Award of the ITF in the Davis Cup match between Austria and Australia.
By Jens Huiber from Graz
Thomas Muster has discarded the offensive beard variant of the last day, maybe the Styrian late summer was too friendly. On Saturday in Graz, the best athlete in Austrian history, according to all objective criteria, got warm, at least for his heart.
Already the way to the Center Court has shown the appreciation of patterns in Austria, autograph and photo requests have delayed the presentation of the Commitment Award of the ITF by a few minutes.
When Thomas Muster is honored these days, there is always a question in the room: Why only now? Why, for example, will it not be decided until 2018 whether the former world number one is worthy of being inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame? Whether Muster will get his badge in Newport remains to be seen in the coming weeks. The fans of the now-again Leibnitzers can contribute in any case a mite to it, by participating in the tuning (https://vote.tennisfame.com).
In any case, the International Tennis Federation honoured Thomas Muster on Saturday by presenting the left-handed player with the “ITF Commitment Award”. Appropriately in Graz, where Muster defeated Michael Stich in a classic in five movements in 1994. And also there, where he gave his last active appearance in the Austrian Davis Cup team in 1997.
Thomas Muster lost his last two matches (in doubles with Udo Plamberger, in singles against Goran Ivanisevic), but overall the 50-year-old has 36 victories in singles against eight defeats. By the way, the yield on hard court (5:0) was impeccable, most victories (36) were on sand, including doubles. That he, so Muster in Graz, by the way never wanted to play, but had to.
On Friday, Barbara Schett had already been honoured by the ITF, Austria’s top players of many years’ standing being very close to Australia. Schett lives there, Thomas Muster has moved his now again to southern Styria. Muster’s son has moved to Leibnitz and started an apprenticeship there.
The Tyrolean tennis goddess has a strict program these days: After the US Open, where Schett held the program for Eurosport together with Mats Wilander as usual, short trips to Vienna and Innsbruck were announced, next week we will continue to Chicago for the Laver Cup.
The next task for Thomas Muster will be in Vienna’s Stadthalle, and the 50-year-old has been acting as ambassador for Austria’s largest tennis event for years. He was happy about the atmosphere in Graz, Muster explained in an extensive press conference, but the hype about his person is not missing a bit. His manager, Herwig Straka, would have tried for five years to initiate the award with the Commitment Award. “I wouldn’t have gone anywhere extra,” Muster says.
In doubt, he would travel to Newport, even if he doesn’t see himself as a member of a Hall of Fame. According to the diction legends like Rod Laver, Roy Emerson or Pete Sampras, from the current generation Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal belong there. On the other hand: when he sees which professionals have already been accepted into the Hall of Fame, Thomas Muster would already feel a part of it.