Muster Can’t Stand Prosperity

So fixated are athletes on attaining No. 1 status that they often lose sight of a more precious and remarkable achievement--keeping it.

This is something Thomas Muster knows about, having a wondrous thing slip out of his hands. It happened once with his career, which was almost taken away by a drunk driver, and it’s most likely going to happen next week with his coveted No. 1 ranking.

His most immediate loss came Wednesday night to 21-year-old Adrian Voinea of Romania. Voinea, ranked No. 40, upset Muster in the second round of the Newsweek Champions Cup at the Hyatt Grand Champions. Voinea won the rain-delayed match, 6-3, 7-5.

Twice this year Muster has been ranked No. 1, and thus far the Austrian’s reign at the top has been uninspiring. He has still failed to win a match on the tour as No. 1.

Someone suggested to Muster that the ranking and all of its attendant hoopla might be a jinx for him.

“It’s not bad luck,” said Muster, who dominates on clay, but struggles on hard courts. “It’s something very difficult to hold. For me, being No. 1 is an achievement that I’ve dreamed of and it came true. It’s personal and very important to myself.”

Voinea is best remembered for defeating Boris Becker at last year’s French Open, under similar circumstances. The match was suspended because of darkness and played out over two days and gave Voinea his first victory against a top 10 opponent.

Wednesday night was the second. Voinea is a soft-spoken and reticent giant killer. He lives and trains in Italy and, in a sport crammed with functionaries, has no agent. What he has gained in the last year is fans.

During his match against Muster, Voinea was lustily supported by a group of young men who rooted for the Romanian with a variety of standard American cheers, including a tomahawk chop with a modified tune. Voinea shot an occasional puzzled glance at the rowdy group and after the match, held his arms aloft in kidding tribute to them. He high-fived his way out of the stadium through a teeming crowd.

For the most part, Muster was stoic, except when he was berating the chair umpire. But Muster’s demeanor was not without its antics: While Voinea had his right shoulder worked on by a trainer during a three-minute injury timeout, Muster wowed the crowd with a dazzling display of dexterity by playing hacky sack with a tennis ball, juggling the ball on his feet and head. At one point in the ninth game of the second set, Muster held off break point and, as Voinea’s shot sailed long, Muster spat at the ball.

Voinea took the first set without event and the match was promptly delayed 3 hours 47 minutes because of rain. Muster said he slept for three hours.

When the match resumed during the cold, damp evening, Muster opened the second set with a double fault. Voinea broke, then was broken in the fourth game to even the set at 2-all.

As the set wore on, the points became more closely contested and the atmosphere grew more tense. When the match on the Stadium Court ended, fans began to pour into the tiny Clubhouse Court.

The players were on serve when Voinea asked for a trainer between the sixth and seventh games. Voinea said the pain in his shoulder was so intense that had he not won the set he would have not been able to continue.

The 10th game proved pivotal. Voinea was awarded an ace on an overrule, which Muster vehemently contested. Three points later, Muster fought his way to a set point, but Voinea fended it off with a service winner. The next serve was called an ace, which Muster made no attempt to return, saying, “Out again.”

Two more aces gave Voinea the game and a 5-5 set score.

Muster had a 40-love lead on his serve in the next game, but Voinea got the break and held to serve out the match.

Tennis Notes

Top-seeded Pete Sampras advanced to the third round without having played a point. After a first-round bye, his opponent Wednesday, Alex Corretja, withdrew because of an ankle injury. . . . Fifth-seeded Michael Chang defeated Stefan Edberg, 4-6, 6-3, 6- 1, and unseeded Paul Haarhuis defeated eighth-seeded Thomas Enqvist, 6-4, 6-2.

Lindsay Davenport ended the advance of Chanda Rubin. The seventh-seeded Davenport overpowered the fifth-seeded Rubin, 6-0, 6-3. Fourth-seeded Kimiko Date defeated 13th-seeded Nathalie Tauziat, 6-3, 6-3. . . . Jennifer Capriati has committed to play at the Lipton Championships at Key Biscayne, Fla., which begin March 21. . . . Sampras and Chang both confirmed they will not play in the second round of the Davis Cup. The U.S. plays Czechoslovakia in Prague April 5. . . . Boris Becker, who was upset by Carlos Costa on Tuesday, withdrew from his doubles match Wednesday because he was ill with flu.