Game, set and victory for Styria! Bad Waltersdorf is serving its local fans a great tennis double in September: on September 13th and 14th, Austria will compete against Turkey in the thermal region in the international competition for a ticket to the play-off of the 2025 final tournament, followed by (from September 15th). September) starts with the Bad Waltersdorf Trophy of the ATP Challenger. This is not the first time that the “Green Mark” has provided the stage for the Davis Cup, as Thomas Muster, Dominic Thiem and colleagues have already fought some legendary tennis battles in Styria.
The first Davis Cup on Styrian soil took place in 1985. At that time, Austria and Peter Feigl Israel had to admit defeat 2-3 in the Europe zone in Hartberg. Nine years later, the legendary World Group duel with Germany took place in the Schwarzlsee Hall in Unterpremstätten in 1994. Muster’s victory over Stich with 12:10 in the fifth set will not be forgotten. The hall, filled with over 10,000 fans, was like a madhouse when the Leibnitz team was able to equalize to 2:2. In the decisive fifth game, however, Horst Skoff, who unfortunately died, lost out to Marc-Kevin Göllner.
Three years later, the venue for the international match against Croatia in the second round of Europe/Africa Zone I was Graz-Liebenau. This time it wasn’t Muster who became the hero, but Gilbert Schaller. Muster lost his only of 30 Davis Cup games on clay against Goran Ivanisevic, but “Gummiwand” Schaller was able to pull the Croatian’s tooth and was carried around the hall on his shoulders after the 3-2 triumph.
In 2006 the game was played again in Unterpremstätten, and again the opponent was Croatia. Muster was also there at this international match – but no longer as a player, but as a captain. But the Leibnitz player’s entire routine didn’t help either, his team lost 2-3 in the first round of the World Group against the defending champions.
Thiem with two wins in Graz
In 2010, in Bad Gleichenberg, Slovakia was brought to its knees 3-2 in the quarter-finals of Europe/Africa Zone I with today’s captain Jürgen Melzer and “Crazy Dani” Köllerer. Eight years later, the Graz trade fair hosted the duel with Australia. And Dominic Thiem took center stage. With victories over Jordan Thompson and Alex de Minaur, the Lichtenwörther team under captain Stefan Koubek secured a 3-1 victory and the associated promotion back to the world group.
Dominic Thiem celebrated in Graz © APA / Erwin Scheriau
The last Davis Cup in Styria to date took place in Unterpremstätten in 2020. Just a few days before the corona pandemic shut down the world, the red-white-red team celebrated a 3-1 win over Uruguay. The overall record of Davis Cups on Styrian soil is 4:3 victories. In September against Turkey, this combination should become another success story.
2024-04-18 09:40:00
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