US OPEN

August 30, 2003

Todd Martin

TODD MARTIN: It was as close probably as you can get to being two sets to love down. I was down a set and a break, and he served for the second set. I hadn't had a sniff on his serve to that point. I played a much better game. I tinkered with my positioning on my return game. I should have done it much earlier in the match, and I didn't. It really paid off from that point forward.

TODD MARTIN: You know, I think it's more -- I'll put it this way: The USTA invited some sports science specialists to a seminar -- to give some seminars when I was just starting out. One of the talks was about periodization, peaking. You know, frankly, I don't think you can play at the top of your game week in and week out. That goes physically, but it also goes mentally and it goes emotionally. People talk about my emotions here as opposed to elsewhere. My emotions are the same at the French Open, at the Australian Open and at Wimbledon. It just so happens that in the States, this is a much more prominent event.

TODD MARTIN: I think the way the sport is played on the court should translate - if you do things well that you're supposed to do on the court - should translate to how you cope with things off the court. Tennis is a very reactionary sport. You know, a lot of what happens to us off the court, even stuff that's planned, still dictates that we react to it. So, you know, frankly, it's good preparation for when we go back out on the court. You got to be able to roll with the punches. I certainly didn't roll with the punches very well today when I felt like I got jobbed to be broken in the second set. I didn't roll with the punches immediately, but eventually... Probably took about four or five more punches than I needed to.