Horst Skoff
Country (sports) Austria
Born(1968-08-22)22 August 1968
Klagenfurt, Austria
Died7 June 2008(2008-06-07) (aged 39)
Hamburg, Germany
Height1.75 m (5 ft 9 in)
Turned pro1985
Retired1999
PlaysRight-handed (one-handed backhand)
CoachGünter Bresnik[1]
Dumitru Hărădău
Prize money$1,651,858
Singles
Career record228–203
Career titles4
Highest rankingNo. 18 (1 January 1990)
Grand Slam singles results
Australian Open1R (1988, 1991, 1992, 1993, 1995)
French Open2R (1987, 1989, 1991)
Wimbledon2R (1991)
US Open2R (1991)
Other tournaments
Olympic Games1R (1988, 1992)
Doubles
Career record48–57
Career titles2
Highest rankingNo. 70 (18 September 1989)
Grand Slam doubles results
French Open1R (1989)
US Open1R (1988, 1989)
Other doubles tournaments
Olympic Games2R (1988)
Team competitions
Davis CupSF (1990)

Horst Skoff (22 August 1968 – 7 June 2008) was a professional tennis player from Austria, who won four tournaments at the top-level.

Biography

Skoff was born in Klagenfurt, Austria, and started playing tennis at age 6.[2] In 1984 he won the singles title at the 16-and-under category of the Orange Bowl.[1] He turned professional in 1985. Skoff won his first top-level singles title in 1988 at Athens. Over the course of his career he won four top-level singles titles and two tour doubles titles. His career-high rankings were world No. 18 in singles and world No. 70 in doubles. His career prize money totalled US$1,651,858.

Skoff played on Austria's Davis Cup team for nine years, compiling a 22–17 win–loss record. He helped the team reach the World Group semi-finals in 1990. Memorable Davis Cup rubbers which Skoff was involved in include a five-set win over world No. 2 Mats Wilander in the 1989 quarterfinal that lasted more than six hours; and a five-set loss to Michael Chang in the 1990 semifinal.[3][4]

Despite Skoff's relative success during his career of winning four top-level tournaments, his memorable Davis Cup moments, and reaching a career high world ranking of 18 in singles competition, he never managed to progress beyond the second round at any Grand Slam event.

Skoff played in his last top-level tournament in August 1995, at the San Marino Open. From 1996–1999, due to his lower world ranking, Skoff played in challenger and futures tournaments. He retired in August 1999, after playing his last match in Sylt, Germany.

Skoff died on 7 June 2008 in Hamburg, Germany, following a heart attack at age 39.[3][5][6]

Career finals

Singles: 11 (4 wins, 7 losses)

Result W–L    Date    Tournament Surface Opponent Score
Win1–0Jun 1988Athens, GreeceClaySocialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia Bruno Orešar6–3, 2–6, 6–2
Win2–0Oct 1988Vienna, AustriaCarpet (i)Austria Thomas Muster4–6, 6–3, 6–4, 6–2
Loss2–1May 1989Hamburg, West GermanyClayCzechoslovakia Ivan Lendl4–6, 1–6, 3–6
Loss2–2Aug 1989Prague, CzechoslovakiaClayUruguay Marcelo Filippini5–7, 6–7
Loss2–3Sep 1989Barcelona, SpainClayEcuador Andrés Gómez4–6, 4–6, 2–6
Win3–3Sep 1990Geneva, SwitzerlandClaySpain Sergi Bruguera7–6(10–8), 7–6(7–4)
Loss3–4Oct 1990Vienna, AustriaCarpet (i)Sweden Anders Järryd3–6, 3–6, 1–6
Loss3–5Jun 1991Florence, ItalyClayAustria Thomas Muster2–6, 7–6(7–2), 4–6
Loss3–6Sep 1991Geneva, SwitzerlandClayAustria Thomas Muster2–6, 4–6
Win4–6Jul 1993Båstad, SwedenClayHaiti Ronald Agénor7–5, 1–6, 6–0
Loss4–7Jul 1994Båstad, SwedenClayGermany Bernd Karbacher4–6, 3–6

Doubles: 6 (2 wins, 4 losses)

Result W–L    Date    Tournament Surface Partner Opponents Score
Win1–0Nov 1986Buenos Aires, ArgentinaClayFrance Loïc CourteauArgentina Gustavo Luza
Argentina Gustavo Tiberti		3–6, 6–4, 6–3
Loss1–1May 1988Florence, ItalyClayItaly Claudio PistolesiArgentina Javier Frana
Argentina Christian Miniussi		6–7, 4–6
Loss1–2Aug 1988Prague, CzechoslavakiaClayAustria Thomas MusterCzechoslovakia Petr Korda
Czechoslovakia Jaroslav Navrátil		5–7, 6–7
Win2–2Aug 1989Prague, CzechoslavakiaClaySpain Jordi ArreseCzechoslovakia Petr Korda
Czechoslovakia Tomáš Šmíd		6–4, 6–4
Loss2–3Apr 1990Nice, FranceClayUruguay Marcelo FilippiniArgentina Alberto Mancini
France Yannick Noah		4–6, 6–7
Loss2–4Jul 1990Kitzbühel, AustriaClaySpain Francisco ClavetSpain Javier Sánchez
France Eric Winogradsky		4–6, 6–4, 4–6

Singles performance timeline

Key
W  F  SF QF #R RR Q# P# DNQ A Z# PO G S B NMS NTI P NH
(W) winner; (F) finalist; (SF) semifinalist; (QF) quarterfinalist; (#R) rounds 4, 3, 2, 1; (RR) round-robin stage; (Q#) qualification round; (P#) preliminary round; (DNQ) did not qualify; (A) absent; (Z#) Davis/Fed Cup Zonal Group (with number indication) or (PO) play-off; (G) gold, (S) silver or (B) bronze Olympic/Paralympic medal; (NMS) not a Masters tournament; (NTI) not a Tier I tournament; (P) postponed; (NH) not held; (SR) strike rate (events won / competed); (W–L) win–loss record.
Tournament198519861987198819891990199119921993199419951996199719981999SRW–L
Grand Slam tournaments
Australian Open A NH A 1R A A 1R 1R 1R A 1R Q1 A A A 0 / 5 0–5
French Open A A 2R 1R 2R A 2R 1R 1R Q1 A A Q3 A A 0 / 6 3–6
Wimbledon A A 1R 1R 1R A 2R A 1R A A A A A A 0 / 5 1–5
US Open A 1R A 1R 1R A 2R 1R A A A A A A A 0 / 5 1–5
Win–loss 0–0 0–1 1–2 0–4 1–3 0–0 3–4 0–3 0–3 0–0 0–1 0–0 0–0 0–0 0–0 0 / 21 5–21
Grand Prix Championship Series / Super 9 tournaments
Indian Wells Not GPCS 1R 1R 2R 3R A 1R A 1R 2R A A A A 0 / 7 4–7
Key Biscayne A A A 1R 3R 3R 3R 2R A A 1R A A A A 0 / 6 4–6
Monte Carlo A A SF 3R SF QF SF 1R A 3R 1R A A A A 0 / 8 18–8
Hamburg A A 2R 3R F 1R 2R 3R A A 1R Q1 A A A 0 / 7 11–7
Rome A A 2R 1R 1R A 2R 2R A A A Q2 A A A 0 / 5 3–5
Stockholm A A A A 3R A 1R A A 1R Not Super 9 0 / 3 1–3
Paris Not Grand Prix Champ. 2R 1R 2R A A A A A A A A 0 / 3 2–3
Win–loss 0–0 0–0 6–4 4–5 13–7 6–5 8–6 3–5 0–0 2–3 1–4 0–0 0–0 0–0 0–0 0 / 39 43–39
National representation
Olympic Games Not Held 1R Not Held 1R Not Held A Not Held 0 / 2 0–2
Davis Cup A Z1 Z1 Z1 QF SF 1R Z1 1R 1R A A A A A 0 / 5 21–13
Career statistics
Titles 0 0 0 2 0 1 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 4
Finals 0 0 0 2 3 2 2 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 11
Overall win–loss 1–2 16–8 23–23 28–19 38–23 34–25 34–30 22–25 19–19 11–16 2–13 0–0 0–0 0–0 0–0 228–203
Year-end ranking 299 42 63 45 25 26 33 92 74 47 392 339 199 722 429 53%

Top 10 wins

No. Player Rank Tournament Surface Rd Score Skoff Rank
1987
1. France Yannick Noah 4 Monte Carlo, Monaco Clay 2R 3–6, 7–5, 6–2 48
1989
2. Sweden Mats Wilander 2 Davis Cup, Vienna, Austria Clay (i) QF 6–7, 7–6, 1–6, 6–4, 9–7 35
3. Germany Boris Becker 2 Hamburg, West Germany Clay SF 7–6, 6–2 31
1990
4. Ecuador Andrés Gómez 5 Stuttgart, West Germany Clay 3R 7–5, 0–6, 6–4 31
5. Austria Thomas Muster 8 Kitzbühel, Austria Clay QF 6–4, 6–2 27
6. Austria Thomas Muster 7 Vienna, Austria Carpet (i) SF 6–2, 7–6 29
1991
7. United States Andre Agassi 4 Monte Carlo, Monaco Clay 2R 6–0, 6–7, 6–3 32
8. Sweden Jonas Svensson 10 Monte Carlo, Monaco Clay QF 6–3, 6–3 32

References

  1. 1 2 John Barrett, ed. (1991). The International Tennis Federation : World of Tennis 1991. London: Collins Willow. p. 301. ISBN 9780002184038.
  2. ↑ Franz Lidz (10 September 1990). "An Austrian not to be scoffed at". Sports Illustrated.
  3. 1 2 Harald Ottawa (7 April 2019). "Tennis: Die sechs Sternstunden des Horst Skoff". Kurier (in German).
  4. ↑ "Als Horst Skoff Tennis-Geschichte schrieb". Wiener Zeitung (in German). 7 April 2018.
  5. ↑ "Former player Horst Skoff dead". Montreal Gazette. 8 June 2008.
  6. ↑ "Former tour player Skoff dies". The New York Times. 9 June 2008.
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