'FOUND THIS'

'LEGEND'( I thought this chapter was worth a 'RE POST') My apologies to all who enjoy reading this site however I have been too busy to write lately, will attempt to update soon, regards GT)

Stefan Koubek is no house hold name, he never was, he was a tennis professional from Austria and in 2000 he reached a career high of World number 20 in singles. He made over 3 million dollars in prize money. Stefan Koubek was an 'enigma'. Here's some random stories regarding the life and 'infamous' times of the Austrian who a movie should be made about, here's why;
In 2002 Koubek played a Frenchman by the name of Cyril Saulnier of France in the first round of the Australian Open. What the hell was Koubec doing while trailing 0-6, 1-6, 1-4, 15-40 ? Was he on the phone to his bookie to raise the odds at the change of ends ?? The Austrian put his opponent to sleep for nearly the entire first three sets then while the Frenchman was tucked up in bed with his victory speech already in his dreams, the scoreline in the paper the next day read Koubek def Saulnier 0-6, 1-6, 7-6, 6-4, 8-6, work that one out......
Next round he played American James Blake , (within 4 years Blake would become World number 4) Blake won the first two sets while Koubek was still eating his breakfast, 6-4, 6-2. Koubek wins the next three sets 6-4, 6-1, 6-2, does this make any sense?
In his last seven matches of 2002 Koubek lost in the first round, interesting to say the least.....
In 2004 Koubek tested positive to drug use at the French Open. He claimed it was for an 'injury' to his wrist, it was inconclusive......
Koubek had a couple of 'off years' , he played mainly Challenger Events before 'getting it together' in 2007.
The Australian Open of that year saw the Austrian up against Aussie Wayne Arthurs, playing his last Australian Open , Koubek had him on toast, two sets to love, he lost in 5, hmmmm....
In Sopot , Poland in 2007 Koubek played Augustine Calleri of Argentina, this match was ridiculous. In Koubek's previous tournament he lost 4-6, 0-6 so his very next match was the one against Calleri. Shall we put it into perspective? 
Koubek lost his last tournament 0-6 in the second set , then trailed 0-6, 0-4 in his next outing, what was this guy doing??
At 6-0, 4-0 did the Argentinian get a call from Cyril Saulnier ?? What ever happened will go down in tennis history as possibly the most ridiculous match ever played.
Koubek def Calliri 0-6, 7-6, 7-5, saving 5 match points, is there a pattern here ??
In Metz , France , Koubek took on Sebastien Grosjean, he lead 5-7, 7-6, 4-2, in the driver's seat, received a bad call , went nuts, was disqualified, is there a pattern here ??
In 2010 a 'friendly' league match between two Austrians, Koubek and Daniel Kollerer got way out of hand as Koubek took offence to his opponent's language so he did what anyone else would do, he choked him. Yep he put his hand around his opponent's neck and tried to kill him , plenty of us have wanted to do the same to our opposition, however it's probably not in the book of 'tennis etiquette'. Kollerer however was no angel, he had a string of offences in World Tennis including racism taunts towards opponents, he was banned for life in 2011 for match fixing. 
So what about our Austrian live wire Stefan Koubek? He retired in 2011 with just over three million earned. Take off tax and expenses, add on endorsements, he probably finished with around two mil in the bank. Enough to buy a villa in the Austrian alps and teach the next generation how to play, perhaps with not as much 'exuberance' as he did though.
Funny game tennis, Stefan Koubek of Austria is living proof, legend......