player – Tennisarchives.com

General First nameMichael
LastnameWestphal
GenderMale
CountryGermany
Date of birth1965-02-19
Place of birthHamburg, West-Germany
Date of death1991-06-16
Place of deathHamburg, Germany

About

The following piece was translated and slightly adapted from the Wikipedia entry in German on Michael Westphal, which can be accessed via the following link: https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_Westphal

Michael Westphal started playing tennis at the age of nine, and in 1980 won the boys’ singles title at the European Under 16 Junior Championships. He later reached a career high of No. 49 in the ATP singles and No. 293 in the ATP doubles rankings. Westphal was a member of both the Pinneberg Tennis Club and the Hamburg Klipper Tennis and Hockey Club (THC).

Westphal became known to the wider public in West Germany through his appearances in the West German Davis Cup team. Between 1982 and 1986, he represented his country in 19 singles matches. His biggest success as a member of the West German Davis Cup team came in 1985 when, in the semi-final against Czechoslovakia, he defeated Tomáš Šmíd in five sets: 6-8, 1-6, 7-5, 11-9, 17-15. The match lasted 5 hours and 29 minutes, and its 85 games are the most played in a Davis Cup singles rubber. West Germany won the semi-final tie 5-0, but lost to Sweden in the final by 3 rubbers to 2.

In July 1989, an article in the Hamburger Abendblatt newspaper stated that Westphal “had not been able to train for seven months because of a mysterious viral illness”, and that he had lost almost ten kilogrammes of body weight. Westphal himself said at the time: “I can’t play tennis at the moment, I have to be very careful.”

Westphal subsequently worked as a representative for a company selling spirits. In January 1991, Westphal was invited to take part in an invitational tournament in Hamburg but, citing a back injury, later withdrew before the tournament started. Westphal died of an AIDS-related illness on the night of 20 June 1991 at the age of 26. He was buried in the Ohlsdorf Cemetery in Hamburg. According to his partner, the actress Jessica Stockmann, Westphal contracted HIV while being unfaithful.

When Westphal died, doctors stated that the cause was an unspecified viral illness. In 2001, ten years after his death and on a German talk show, Jessica Stockmann spoke for the first time about the real cause of Westphal’s death. (However, as early as 28 November 1991 Bild newspaper had carried a headline stating that Westphal died as a result of AIDS.) His illness, which had been diagnosed in 1988, was kept secret from the public for fear that he would be ostracised.

The Michael Westphal Award, which is given to people who have contributed to the sport of tennis, is named after the late player. His partner of many years, Jessica Stockmann, later married another tennis player, Michael Stich.

Leave a Reply Cancel reply