Different strokes: A Q&A with Thomas Muster


By Peter Bodo, Senior Writer

from The Tennis Magazine August 1997

Thomas Muster has been called the Animal, the Terminator and a maniac. Our Q & A paints a different picture.

Thomas Muster, 29, the former world No. 1 and French Open champ, is probably the most feared player on the tour. He is commonly called "The Animal" by peers, journalists and spectators. His unselfconscious grunting, his power-packed, roundhouse strokes, his seemingly limitless stamina and aggressive body language combine to make him a menacing figure in the generally staid and polite society of tennis.

Few people seem to know it, but there is another, radically different individual living inside the public "Musterminator." Muster seems to have as many hobbies and interests as clay-court titles. He has been gracious to peers like Andre Agassi and Pete Sampras when those players publicly criticized Muster for the way his No. 1 ranking was built almost exclusively on clay-court triumphs. It was odd criticism, considering that a severe injury to his knee, which he suffered the night before he was to play in the final at Key Biscayne in 1989 when he was hit by a drunk driver, has inhibited his ability to perform and practice on hard courts.

This year, Muster achieved closure by winning the title at the site where his career almost ended in 1989. It was a remarkable week for Muster, but, as we learned in the course of an interview conducted at that time, he is a remarkable and often misunderstood man.

TENNIS: In 1989 everything fell apart for you here at Key Biscayne. How profoundly did that experience change you?
Muster: There were changes in my attitude approaching tennis. It was the first time I learned how much I liked the game, from not being there. Once you're there, it becomes a routine and you don't know how much it means to you. But when banned by an injury, I learned afterward to really enjoy the game. It made me realize how quickly things can be over- any day, any time, in one second. Luckily I was young enough to still have time to go on.

TENNIS: Did you ever have a chance to meet the guy who hit you, and do you have any bitter feelings toward him?
Muster: Actually, we spent a lot of time here because of the lawsuit about my accident. The man who hit me was a Cuban who had a little problem with his family and with alcohol. In court, he was straightforward. He described what happened honestly, and he apologized to me, which gave me enough satisfaction. I don't want to make excuses for him, but it really was an accident. I put it behind me. I don't have a problem with it at all.

TENNIS: It seems like people see you as a kind of Aryan tough guy, a terminator of tennis. Do you think you are misrepresented by that image or misunderstood?
Muster: People think I'm untouchable. An animal. Scary. A maniac. They think I'm abnormal the way I practice and play too. They think I don't talk to people. I'm unfriendly. Selfish. A lot of things. Sometimes I wonder how people get the impression without knowing me. They don't know my life or thoughts. It's just an opinion they pull out of the air. It surprises me sometimes, but images are strong and people don't like to change their minds. On one hand it's scary; on the other I don't really care anymore.

TENNIS: When you were a junior you played an Orange Bowl match against Chris Garner. It was truly memorable for the power and pace with which both of you hit the ball. It seems that you were unbelievably ferocious then and still are now. Do you remember the match?
Muster: It's funny, Nick Bollettieri is always talking about that match, too. It wasn't remarkable to me, especially. But people always talk about the spirit and the fight in that match. What you have to realize is that I was an outsider then, and maybe I'm still a little like that now. Everybody said, "This guy wants so bad to be a tennis player, but he doesn't know how to do it." Then I hooked up with Ronnie Leitgeb, a journalist, for my coach. And they said that he didn't know how to do it, either. Sure, we both had to learn; we had to get the experience. So we had to fight extra hard and prove we could do it. That explains partly why success came a little later for me, why I won the French Open at 27 and then became No. 1 at 28. In a way it was better than starting as a pro and going right to the top. If you do that, you might never understand the problems and challenges of struggling, and maybe you don't even appreciate what you have achieved.

TENNIS: When you became No. 1, it seems like you took a lot of criticism from people, even other players like Pete Sampras and Andre Agassi, in a very classy way. Was it difficult for you to deal with it?
Muster: I understood the criticism, and I tried to listen to it carefully. But it's a waste of time to criticize people for their opinions. Sometimes, it's also just jealousy. To receive an aggressive opinion and to respond the same way just exhausts your emotions. I don't want to put myself on that level. Agassi was probably the most critical, and that bothered me a little. I respect Andre and what he's done for the game. It's disappointing that he doesn't respect others who maybe got there differently. It wasn't very nice of him. But then he's struggling now, and he'll have to deal with meeting the same people on the way down as he did on the way up, and that will just make it tougher for him. But a lot of other people, players and coaches, appreciate what I did. It's not a problem.

TENNIS: I understand you recently built a second home on the gold coast of Australia, in Queensland. Tell me about it.
Muster: I spend a lot of time there during the European winter. I hate winter. I like outdoor sports and the ocean. And I like the Australians and their mentality. I've never been a fan of big cities. They make me feel squeezed in. I prefer the open country. I have about 90 acres with a little lake. I recently built a motocross track on my property, complete with a jump. I love motocross, but it is extremely tough on you physically.

TENNIS: If you really were an "animal," which one would you be?
Muster: Maybe a lion, lazy a lot of the time, but when it comes to the hunt, I'm ready. I'm not really aggressive as a person, even though I'm aggressive when I play.

TENNIS: An Austrian commentator once wrote that there was no "love" in your game, just "will." Is that a fair criticism?
Muster: If I didn't love this game, I couldn't go out there and play every day. You can't fight so hard for something you don't love. Me, I live for certain situations-like when it's 4-all or 5-4 in the third set of a close match. The decisions you have to make, the calm nerves it takes, the pure competition-that's what I love. When I was young, I believed that beating a guy 6-0, 6-0 was the greatest thing in the world. Today, it doesn't satisfy me. I used to hate playing top-10 players a few years ago. Today, I love to play them. I love the battle. But also, I don't have the ability to play the way Pete does. Or with the finesse that some guys have. I know there's another style than mine, and it's attractive to people. But I can only use the strengths I have, which are concentration and focus and also physical stamina. To reach a high level, you can't be just a guy fighting or running other guys into the ground. Almost everybody in the pro game is as fit as I am, and there are a lot of guys ranked below me who lift more weights and probably even hit more balls in practice. To be successful, you need a combination of things. For me, it's motivation, focus, anticipation, power, speed, tactics, preparation. It's just too easy to stereotype players. There are guys out there with similar physical gifts as Pete, but they aren't Pete either and never will be. There are lots of things going on at once in a tennis match, and the more of them that you do well, the better you will be. The thing is, your style, whether it's serve-and-volley or baseline, is just your base.

TENNIS: What do you think is your greatest talent?
Muster: It's funny, but people always talk about me as a worker, not really a talent. But I think I'm very good with a ball. Give me a basketball, a soccer ball, a volleyball, and I'm comfortable. It's been that way since I was 2 years old. I know how to treat a ball. I played on the national junior soccer team in Austria, so I probably could have made a career of that.

TENNIS: Do you have an interest in politics?
Muster: I'm probably a liberal, based on my opinions. I think I'm pretty open-minded and like a competitive society where you can go as far as your talent or work ethic will take you. I would like to see politicians get paid enough to eliminate corruption. That's something that really bothers me. I like straightforward, honest people, and I try to be that way myself.

TENNIS: I'm going to ask you to try to suspend your preference for clay courts and decide that if there was just one tennis tournament every year, what surface should it be played on?
Muster: If you really want to be fair . . . well . . . I would say with all respect to hard courts and grass-and I really don't have a prejudice against those surfaces-clay is the surface where you have to play the most shots for the longest period of time. You need a good serve on clay today, but you need the physical strength and ball skills, ground strokes and finesse, because you can't win with just a serve on clay. Clay is really the only surface where you don't give too much of an advantage to a big serve. On clay, you've got to play, no matter what.

TENNIS: In what way are you a typical Austrian, and in what way are you not?
Muster: I don't think I'm a "typical" Austrian at all. I've been away most of the time for over 10 years. I like the country; you can't get much better a place. The living standard is very nice. Nobody has big problems, because the jobs are there and the social system takes care of everybody. But I have some problems with the mentality. It's a bit small-minded. It isn't very open to new ideas and things. People tend to be negative and judgmental. Here in the States, if you have an idea, people just say, "Great, go for it." In Austria, most people will tell you why it wouldn't work. I think I became a good tennis player because I spent so much time outside of Austria. Most of the Austrians who became famous did it by leaving. The only exception is the skiers. They seem to fit in well with Austrian society without having it hurt their ambitions.

TENNIS: Do you have lingering physical problems or restrictions because of your knee injury?
Muster: I can't practice as much as I would like, nor play as many tournaments. This is especially true on hard courts, which I like playing on ordinarily. But the injury actually helped in the sense that it forced me to hit a little flatter, use more aggressive shots, and try to end points faster. So my all-around game has really improved.

TENNIS: If you could have anybody for a dinner partner, who would you pick?
Muster: Not Fergie, anymore. . . . Too much noise about that one! Maybe it would be Arnold Schwarzenegger. He comes from the same region of Austria as me, but I've never met him. That story of him going from a body- builder spending all his life in a weightlifting studio to becoming such a big star must be pretty interesting. He also married well.

TENNIS: If you had to go to a desert island for a few years and could take only one bag, what would you put into it?
Muster: Definitely, either music or an instrument of some kind. I would take a woman, or at least try like crazy to fit her in the bag. I would take a book that I've read over and over again by a German sportswriter, Hans Blickensdorfer, [called Salt in the Coffee]. It's about the Tour de France. It's a fictional story about doping, with a great plot based on actual events and people. The book always makes me feel like I've cycled in the race. I would also take a knife. A knife is very practical for whatever you're doing.

TENNIS: In a recent press conference, you answered a question about what you might have done in life besides tennis, and you said you would be a carpenter. Everybody laughed at that one. Were you kidding around?
Muster: Not at all. I used to live next door to a lumberyard, and when I was 7 or 8 years old I spent a lot of time there and bothered the people. I wanted to make things, and even had my own workbench at home. I was screwing things together and gluing things all day long. I made my mother crazy because I used to get glue all over the house.

TENNIS: Where do you most like to be besides on a tennis court?
Muster: I have so many hobbies, my day is always too short. I like to paint, people know about that one. But it's hard for me to stay indoors when the weather is nice. I also like to fish and play golf. I collected stamps for many years. I play the drums, I enjoy soccer. I like to go to the race track with my car and do laps, and Ronnie [Leitgeb] and I compete in official car rallies. I also love motocross. Now I'm studying to get my helicopter pilot's license. I used to be afraid to fly, but now that I understand how it works, I'm O.K. with it and want to be a pilot.

TENNIS: What do you see in your future?
Muster: I've got a few more years of tennis left. I have the motivation for now, but I have to take care of the body. Beyond that, I think I'm going to be very active in other things related to my hobbies or business. But I have no illusions about success in other fields. It will be tough, and tennis doesn't really prepare you for it.

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