Grand Slam champion had 'King of Clay' nickname years before Rafael Nadal did
Rafael Nadal isn't the only tennis star to have been considered a dominant force on clay.
Mention the ‘King of Clay’ in professional tennis circles, and focus immediately turns to the man with a record 14 French Open titles to his name. Rafael Nadal, widely considered the greatest player to step on the surface synonymous with Roland Garros, has long had that title bestowed on him by fans after making the Grand Slam in Paris his own.
However, Nadal, 38, wasn’t the first player on the ATP circuit to go by that name.
That honour goes to one of the forgotten stars of the game, who won his sole French Open crown a decade before Nadal’s famous winning debut at the tournament in 2005.
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Thomas Muster is not a name mentioned in the same echelons of the all-time greats. However, the Austrian remains an icon in his homeland, and once even achieved the status of world No.1 despite playing in an era where the likes of Pete Sampras and Andre Agassi were at their peak.
Muster’s finest hour came in 1995, when he beat Michael Chang in the final in France to become the only Austrian man in history to land a Slam title. That record remained a further 25 years until Dominic Thiem prevailed at the 2020 US Open.
That achievement capped the finest of Muster’s career, winning 12 tournaments in all, with only one of them coming on a non-clay surface. Between February and June, he won 40 consecutive matches on his favoured surface, earning him the ‘King of Clay’ title from fans and the Austrian Sportsman of the Year award for the second time.
He was already an established force by then though. Muster, who would eventually retire with eight Masters 1000 wins to his name, had risen to prominence at the 1989 Australian Open, reaching the semi-final stage before succumbing to Ivan Lendl.
He would match that effort in Melbourne eight years later before his hopes were scuppered by Sampras, and also reached the quarter-finals three times at the US Open. His love of clay was only matched by his unfamiliarity with grass though, with Muster never once managing to get past the first round at Wimbledon.
And yet, in February 1996, he reached the summit of the world rankings. Initially, he only displaced Sampras for a week before a second stint lasted around two months. His form would dwindle soon after however and Muster took a break from the sport after the 1999 French Open.
That sabbatical lasted 11 years before eventually returning to the Challenger Tour in 2010 at the age of 42. His final professional appearance came the following year at a tournament in Salzburg.
Muster, with more Davis Cup wins to his name than any other Austrian player, remains a hero in his homeland. But many who hail the modern day ‘King of Clay’, may not be aware that before Nadal, it was Muster who was unofficially coronated at venues like Roland Garros.
