In Austria Thomas Muster set To play His Final Tournament

Former world number one and French Open champion Thomas Muster will play his final tennis tournament this week at the Austrian Open in Vienna. 

Muster, 44, begins his Vienna campaign against 18-year-old Dominic Thiem in what could be the veteran's final match.

The Austrian quit tennis in 1999 but returned to the tour in 2010, entering the Vienna tournament as a wildcard.

"My second career has been the best I can manage with my body," he said.

Muster dominated clay in the early 1990s and lost only one Davis Cup match on the surface in his career - to Goran Ivanisevic in 1997.

In 1995 he became the first - and only - Austrian to win a Grand Slam event with a straight sets victory against the United States' Michael Chang at the French Open.

The clay expert also often declined to take part in Wimbledon due to his dislike of the grass surface. In 17 active years on the tour, he only featured in the competition four times and never reached beyond the first round

Muster cut a controversial figure throughout his career. His supposed gamesmanship was criticised by one time-Grand Slam winner Pat Cash, who labelled him a player he "found it all-but impossible to respect" in his autobiography, Uncovered.

At the peak of his powers, Muster was renowned for his fitness and determination. In 1989 he returned to competitive action just six months after being struck by a drunk driver, tearing ligaments in his left knee.

Since his comeback in 2010, Muster has played 17 matches with only one victory. All but two of those were at the second-tier Challenger level.

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