Muster returns to ATP in Vienna

VIENNA – Former men’s top-ranked tennis player Thomas Muster is making his return to the ATP Tour at the Bank Austria Trophy 26 years after he first played at the event.

Muster will play fellow Austrian Andreas Haider-Maurer today in his first match on the tour since losing in the first round of 1999 French Open.

The 43-year-old Muster, handed a wild card, was to play fifth-seeded Ernests Gulbis, but organizers said Monday the 24th-ranked Latvian withdrew for “personal reasons” and was replaced by Haider-Maurer.

“For me, every opponent would have been a huge challenge,” Muster said before being told of Gulbis’ withdrawal. “I have one advantage – I won’t freeze when I enter the Stadthalle. It’s a usual feeling to me.”

Muster has reached the final here three times, but has never won the tourney.

The 157th-ranked Haider-Maurer pulled out of qualification with a thigh injury earlier Monday, but expected to be ready for today’s match.

“On paper, Thomas Muster is one of the easiest draws in the first round, but with his experience and the spectators getting behind him, he will play his best tennis,” the 23-year old Haider-Maurer said.

Muster won 44 titles, including the French Open in 1995, to become Austria’s most successful tennis player and held the No. 1 spot for six weeks in 1996.

By then, Muster had already staged a remarkable comeback to pro tennis.

His career was almost ruined when he severely injured his left knee after his car was hit by a drunken driver before the final of the 1989 Key Biscayne tournament. He was back on tour less than six months later.

Muster never formally retired, but said in 1999 he would “go on a holiday.”