KITZBUEHEL, Austria (AP)—Thomas Muster, a former No. 1 player making his latest comeback at age 43, was routed in his home country Monday, losing 6-3, 6-0 to Philipp Kohlschreiber in the Bet-at-Home Cup.
Muster returned to pro tennis in 2010 after 11 years away and is ranked outside the top 1,000. He has won only one of 15 main-draw matches on the lower-tier Challenger tour and lost both main-draw matches at the ATP level.
“I don’t plan to keep on playing forever, but I am still very much enjoying it,” he said.
The result means that Jimmy Connors remains the oldest player to win an ATP match after reaching the quarterfinals in Halle, Germany, in 1995 at age 42.
Muster, who won the French Open in 1995, was on his favorite clay surface against Kohlschreiber. But the fifth-seeded German raced ahead 3-0 before Muster managed a break and drew to 4-3. Kohlschreiber did not lose another game and converted his first match point, ending the match is just more than an hour.
“To lose the second set 6-0 is fine with me,” Muster said. “It just shows that Philipp did not give away any points.”
Kohlschreiber won his third career title in Halle, Germany, in June. He will next play Albert Montanes, who defeated fellow Spaniard Javier Marti 6-3, 6-2.
Earlier, Sixth-seeded Andreas Seppi of Italy eased past Denis Istomin of Uzbekistan 6-2, 6-2, and Spain’s Albert Ramos beat Igor Andreev of Russia 6-0, 6-7 (2), 6-4 to reach the second round. Ramos, who reached his first semifinal last week in Croatia, will next play eighth-seeded Spaniard Pablo Andujar, who rallied past Lukas Rosol of the Czech Republic 3-6, 6-3, 6-3.
Two more Spaniards advanced, Pere Riba and Daniel Gimeno-Traver. Riba downed Romania’s Victor Hanescu 7-6 (3), 6-4, and Gimeno-Traver defeated wild card Dominic Thiem 6-4, 6-2 in the Austrian’s first match on the ATP World Tour.