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Anne-Marie und Tom Ok- ker sind seit 50 Jahren in Engelberg zu Gast (zVg). Tom and Anne-Marie Ok- ker have been coming to Engelberg for 50 years.

Tom Okker 1973 am ATP- Turnier in Hilversum, wo er den Titel holte (zVg).

Tom Okker during the 1973 Dutch Open in Hilversum, where he won the men’s singles title.

From 1968 to 1975, Tom Okker was one of the world’s best tennis players. In order to pay fewer taxes on his earnings, the Dutchman decided to rent an apartment in Switzerland. A friend found him a place in Engelberg. In the last 50 years Tom has come to love his Swiss home – it is so much more than just a tax haven. For seven years, Tom Okker of Amster- dam ranked among the top ten tennis players in the world. Known as the “Fly ing Dutch- man” for his swif tness, Tom won 26 singles and 67 doubles events, and in the 1968 US Open

escapes to South Af rica and devotes his time to another passion – golf. But Tom’s three grown-up children and their families still en- joy coming to Engelberg in the colder months, and Tom himself can of ten be found here in the summer: “I like wa lking in the mountains, and I appreciate the fac t that Lake Lucerne is nearby.” Of course, the skilled golfer a lso spends many hours on Engelberg’s golf course. Tom gets misty-eyed when he remi- nisces about those early years in Engelberg: “My f riend Geny Hess showed me around a ll over the place. We climbed Restaurant Hess, and was sorr y when it closed: “We spent so many wonder f u l hours there,” he muses. Now, he takes f riends f rom abroad to eat Ä lplermagronen at the Flühmat t, or heads to the Stäfeli. He va lues these traditiona l restaurants for being so “delightf u lly Swiss”. Another of Tom’s passions is collec ting ar t. In 1985 he opened a ga ller y in Amster- dam. He became a connoisseur of ar t dur- ing his travels, par tly because his doubles par tner Wojciech Fibak was a lso a great ar t lover. And of course he still follows ten- nis. As a former high-ranking tennis player who has had a second home in Switzerland for 50 years, he must surely be a fan of Roger Federer? Indeed he is! “I admire Roger greatly and love how he plays. In my opinion, he’s the best tennis player of a ll time,” says Tom. the Hahnen and the Spannor t together, for example.” These days, Tom and his wife Anne- Marie know ever y corner of Engelberg. He has par- ticu larly fond memories of

on ly American Ar thur Ashe was able to defeat him. Tom wanted to wisely invest the money he earned, and so he decided to buy an apar tment in Switzerland in order to save on taxes. His search for

The former tennis star has come to Engelberg regu- larly for the past 50 years.

the right home led him to Engelberg, where he bought a sma ll apar tment in the Sunnmat t. During his tennis career, Tom came to Engelberg for brief or longer stays four or f ive times a year. He even played tennis with Hansruedi Suter and Charles Christen – two longstanding members of Tennisclub Engel- berg. Tom eventua lly swapped his sma ll f lat for a larger one in Oer tigen. Later he bought a house in Äger tli, and since 1981 he has lived in a gorgeous cha let on Rainstrasse. And thus Engelberg became much more than a tax haven to Tom – it is home. In 1972 he told Vaterland newspaper: “I am drawn to the foot of the Titlis and go there as of ten as my job a llows. My car has Obwa lden number plates, and I’m even listed in the Engelberg telephone direc tor y.” He used to come here throughout the year, but now he on ly v isits in the summer. An ank le problem prevents the 74-year-old f rom skiing, so he no longer feels the need to spend the winter here; instead he

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