Thomas “Coach” Muster?

A lot of good can be said about how hard Thomas Muster worked on and off of the tennis court.  Muster is best know for his perseverance to overcome a freak knee injury and his amazing clay court play in 1995.  Muster played a sort of visceral tennis that often looked like he was trying to mug his opponent in a street fight.  I saw Muster mix it up with Andre Agassi, Boris Becker, and Brad Gilbert.

After his first retirement, I thought Muster might make a good coach or consultant for Roger Federer in 2007 as Federer tried to figure out how to play against another left-handed monster in Rafael Nadal.  I figured that the Austrian and the Swiss each spoke German and that Muster could help Federer in the way that Tony Roche helped Ivan Lendl figure out the left-handed John McEnroe.

I doubt Federer at 30 is going to make any huge coaching moves.  Still, I think Muster could be an excellent coach if he so desired.  Muster’s working with Thomaz Bellucci or even Grigor Dimitrov might help each player figure out how to play a more muscular and disciplined brand of tennis.  Who would be better at helping younger players understand the physical sacrifices needed to make it to the elite tier of the game?  All I am saying to Muster is “Happy Re-Retirement” but don’t stay gone for too long.