Muster May Miss Six Months With Ligament Injuries

KEY BISCAYNE, Fla. —  Thomas Muster got a massage. He drank a beer. He was exhilarated because he had just scored a five-set victory over Yannick Noah that could elevate him to a world ranking in the top 10. No matter what would happen in the final against Ivan Lendl, the 21-year-old Austrian had already assured himself of $55,050, the biggest earning of his career.

It was nearly midnight, two hours after his Friday night match in the Lipton International Players Championships, and Muster was hungry.

Muster wanted a sandwich, so he and his coach, Ronnie Lietgeb, and a German photographer were driven to a delicatessen in downtown Miami.

Muster got out of the car, which had pulled alongside the curb, and reached inside the trunk to get his bag.

Lietgeb didn’t see the other car coming straight at them until it was too late.

He had no time to shout a warning.

“The guy came straight at us, never braking,” Lietgeb said.

As Muster stood behind the trunk, the other car collided head-on with the parked car, sending it lurching back and knocking Muster to the pavement.

Muster wound up beneath the car, his head near the curb. His rackets were crushed under the wheel. Lietgeb was frantic.

“Thomas tried to stand up and he couldn’t,” Lietgeb said. “I was already very scared. I told him to lie down.”

This is how Thomas Muster’s day ended: Flat on his back beneath a car with both of the major ligaments in his left knee torn.

As he was taken to Mercy Hospital in Miami, Muster must have known his year had just ended, but how could he have comprehended such a sudden change of fortune? Was it so long ago that Muster had come from two sets down to victory?

“It was a great moment for us,” Lietgeb said. “Unfortunately, it was a short celebration.”

Muster suffered tears to both the medial collateral and anterior cruciate ligaments, according to Dr. Richard Virgin, the former Miami Dolphins team physician who examined him early Saturday.

Virgin was prepared to operate, but could not do it for fear of infection during surgery. Too much skin had been scraped away in the accident, Virgin said.

Muster, wearing a cast that stretched from his left foot to his thigh, talked briefly about the injury from his hotel room.

“It all happened so fast,” he said. “I thought I’ll never be able to walk anymore in my life. I was shocked. I was so shocked and scared, but I thought, ‘Thank God I’m alive.’

“I’m not angry at what’s happened. This is a poor guy who did this. Things like this can happen in seconds.

“Of course, I’ve been thinking about my career. I will probably drop in the rankings, but I am still strong and young and there is a good chance to come back.”

Witnesses reported that the other car had struck a second parked car as well as a tree when the driver attempted to get away.

Police said the driver’s name and the status of possible charges were unavailable.

Virgin termed Muster’s injury as “moderate to severe” and suggested that Muster may be out of action from six to nine months.

Lietgeb, who left for Vienna with Muster Saturday night, said surgery may be performed within a week after a doctor is selected.

“I know Thomas is really a big fighter, so it is definitely possible he can return,” Lietgeb said.

With Muster on crutches, Lendl was awarded the title. Lendl, who also won $110,100, said in a statement: “I was very surprised to hear what happened and I feel very sorry for Thomas. I hope he gets well very soon.”

The winner of 76 titles, Lendl also won the 1986 U.S. Pro Indoors in a walkover when Tim Mayotte was unable to play after he pulled stomach muscles.

The only walkover in a two-week tennis event occurred in the 1931 Wimbledon when Sidney B. Wood Jr. won because American Francis X. Shields could not play because of an ankle injury.

Muster’s loss also created a void for tournament chairman Butch Buchholtz, who was suddenly without a men’s final on Sunday.

Lendl agreed to play Jakob Hlasek in an exhibition for charity, and Buchholtz said there wasn’t much else that could have been done.

“You can’t anticipate things like this happening,” he said. “The odds of it are a million to one.”

Lietgeb could not help thinking about such odds. A former journalist, Lietgeb met Muster, then 15, in a junior tournament and began coaching him two years later.

Muster was a clay court specialist, but he doggedly chased Lendl to four sets before losing on the hardcourts in a semifinal at the Australian Open. Ranked 14th in the world, Muster had a chance to get into the top 10 with his showing here.

Lietgeb said rankings do not seem as important as they did when he and Muster were laughing and toasting each other in the clubhouse. That was just before Muster got hungry.