Horst Skoff (22 August 1968 – 7 June 2008) was a professional

tennis Tennis is a racket sport that is played either individually against a single opponent (singles) or between two teams of two players each (doubles). Each player uses a tennis racket that is strung with cord to strike a hollow rubber ball cov ...

player from Austria, who won four tournaments at the top-level.

Biography

Skoff was born in

Klagenfurt Klagenfurt am WörtherseeLandesgesetzblatt 2008 vom 16. Jänner 2008, Stück 1, Nr. 1: ''Gesetz vom 25. Oktober 2007, mit dem die Kärntner Landesverfassung und das Klagenfurter Stadtrecht 1998 geändert werden.'/ref> (; ; sl, Celovec), usually ...

, Austria, and started playing tennis at age 6. In 1984 he won the singles title at the 16-and-under category of the

Orange Bowl The Orange Bowl is an annual American college football bowl game played in the Miami metropolitan area. It has been played annually since January 1, 1935, making it, along with the Sugar Bowl and the Sun Bowl, the second-oldest bowl game in ...

. He turned professional in 1985. Skoff won his first top-level singles title in 1988 at

Athens Athens ( ; el, Αθήνα, Athína ; grc, Ἀθῆναι, Athênai (pl.) ) is both the capital and largest city of Greece. With a population close to four million, it is also the seventh largest city in the European Union. Athens dominates a ...

. 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 Mats Arne Olof Wilander (; born 22 August 1964) is a Swedish former world No. 1 tennis player. From 1982 to 1988, he won seven major singles titles (three at the French Open, three at the Australian Open, and one at the US Open), and one major ...

in the 1989 quarterfinal that lasted more than six hours; and a five-set loss to Michael Chang in the 1990 semifinal. 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 The Internazionali di Tennis San Marino Open (formerly known as the San Marino CEPU Open and San Marino GO&FUN Open) is a professional tennis tournament played on red clay. It is currently part of the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) Ch ...

. 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 Sylt (; da, Sild; Sylt North Frisian, Söl'ring North Frisian: ) is an island in northern Germany, part of Nordfriesland district, Schleswig-Holstein, and well known for the distinctive shape of its shoreline. It belongs to the North Frisian ...

, Germany. Skoff died on 7 June 2008 in

Hamburg Hamburg (, ; nds, label=Hamburg German, Low Saxon, Hamborg ), officially the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg (german: Freie und Hansestadt Hamburg; nds, label=Low Saxon, Friee un Hansestadt Hamborg),. is the List of cities in Germany by popul ...

, Germany, following a

heart attack A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when blood flow decreases or stops to the coronary artery of the heart, causing damage to the heart muscle. The most common symptom is chest pain or discomfort which ma ...

at age 39.

Career finals

Singles (4 wins, 7 losses)

Doubles (2 wins, 4 losses)

Singles performance timeline

Top 10 wins

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Skoff, Horst 1968 births 2008 deaths Austrian male tennis players Hopman Cup competitors Olympic tennis players of Austria Sportspeople from Klagenfurt Tennis players at the 1988 Summer Olympics Tennis players at the 1992 Summer Olympics