WIMBLEDON

July 3, 2001

Todd Martin

TODD MARTIN: Well, I think, you know, both days I think the score line depicted our tennis pretty well. You know, Tim's level of play was higher today than it was yesterday, and mine was probably a little bit lower. You know, that can skew things quite a bit. That's why the score line was the way it was.

TODD MARTIN: Yeah, absolutely. You know, as you get on in the evening, you start to wonder when the time is going to come. At 5-4, the umpire told us, "One more game," which considering we wouldn't have been able to finish a fourth set I thought was not at all inappropriate. Regardless of our match, I just find it still a little bit distressing that there's 17 hours of daylight here, on a beautiful day like yesterday, we can't get three matches in. I know we've moved the starting times on Centre and 1 up an hour in the last couple years, but it's -- you know, I think it's just unfair. I think it's unfair to Tim now to have to come out here and play two sets today when the other seven competitors left have all had a day's worth of rest. It's essential; it's important. I just hope for Tim's sake that it won't affect his progress.

TODD MARTIN: Know what -- a fitness edge? When have I ever had a fitness edge?

TODD MARTIN: Well, I would have traded him. No, I don't think it's unfair. I would never say it's unfair. However, it definitely affected the result of the match. I mean, you know, in basketball, in football, you name it, any sport that's got a time-out, they call time-out to stop the momentum, that's a minute, minute and a half. For us, we've got a 19-, 20-hour time-out. You know, a lot can change over that period of time - and we saw that it did.

TODD MARTIN: You know what? I think a couple things: One, half the people here play best-of-five sets, half the people here play best-of-three sets. I think to schedule the men's matches last, I think that makes it pretty difficult. You know, not that three sets yesterday is too much, and not that two sets today is too much. But then to have to come back again tomorrow and play five sets is a lot different than if -- not to mention that it's harder to move a men's match than it is to move a women's match. If they would have moved our match, that means Centre Court would have been empty from 6:00 on, or they would have moved in a mixed doubles or seniors doubles or something. I think they've put themselves behind the eight-ball a little bit, especially in a situation where just looking at it on paper you can tell, "Boy, you know what, Sampras and Federer could be a barnburner. Martin and Henman also has the makings of a good match." You know, I think it makes more sense to put us first in a situation where, you know, it's a lot tougher to go five sets and play the next day or go three sets and play five sets the next day.

TODD MARTIN: I think it would be easier to convince them to start the men first than it would be to convince them that another hour earlier is necessary.

TODD MARTIN: Well, that's fine. And usually you have that if you were to play two men's matches. I hope you're not making a comment on the quality of the women's match yesterday, because that would have been the prime time match. I mean, you would have caught the end of Tim's and my match in prime time, then the women's match. I can't remember who it was. I just think -- I just think it would be better. I just don't think -- and it's not nearly as much -- I would have loved to have finished for my sake last night. But, again, for Tim's sake, I think, despite the quality of his fitness, which I think is very high right now, I just don't think it's a fair shake when the seven other guys are able to get their matches in, no problem.

TODD MARTIN: It was a smarter player, it was a more aggressive player, and a sharper player. I felt like, despite my level of play being pretty high, didn't feel like Tim answered what I was doing as well as he could have. And today, you know, he set the tone right from the get-go. He was quick from the start and let me know what his intentions were. That definitely stays with his opponent.

TODD MARTIN: Well, I think his chances are close to as good as anyone's. I think, you know, if you just look at the mental side of it all, I think Andre's got the best chance. I think that's the biggest part about it. If you look at the game aspect of it, I think you've got to look -- you probably still have to look at Andre, I think you have to look at Roger, you know, maybe even Goran or Tim. When you look at a combination of experience, of game and of mental capability, I think Tim is up there in the top four, for sure. That's better than being in the last four.

TODD MARTIN: Well, I tell you, he's only a point or two away from being in the quarterfinal. I think he's got just as good a chance as anybody - probably better. You know, I think yesterday was one of the better matches I've seen Pete play here, I mean, despite having lost. It was a super high-quality match. It's just a matter of a few more guys are capable of beating him now, and tons more guys believe they can beat him now. You know, that's a difficult thing. Until he starts winning on a regular basis, proving that he's a better player than all of us, that's going to continue.

TODD MARTIN: I don't think anybody ever feared him in the locker room. He's a pretty nice guy. On the court, he seems to have a nice presence, though.

TODD MARTIN: I hurt it like on the fourth or fifth point of my third-round match against Magnus Larsson. It was sort of a fluky thing. The match before me was about 30, 35 minutes. I just wasn't quite as warmed up as I would have liked to have been. I had to make a quick move. I just tweaked it a little bit. You know, I had two days' rest, Saturday and Sunday. It got markedly better. However, yesterday when I started, it was pretty uncomfortable. But, you know, I got used to it. It warmed up a little bit. So by the time we quit yesterday, I felt, despite the discomfort, it was pretty functional. Then today, it was a lot more difficult for me to get it to respond as quickly as it needed to. You know, going out there, it actually felt better at the beginning of the fourth set than it did at the beginning of the first set yesterday. But it didn't get as better as it did yesterday.

TODD MARTIN: What do you think?

TODD MARTIN: Those rhetorical questions are great.

TODD MARTIN: Gee, you know, it's the transitive property: If A is greater than B, and B is greater than C, then A is greater than C. If Roger Federer beat -- let's say Galo Blanco, if Galo Blanco knows he's a better clay court player than Cedric Kauffman, Galo Blanco is going out in the second round of the French Open thinking, "This guy had match points against him, why can't I beat him?" Not to say that Galo wouldn't be very confident four years ago against Pete on clay. But, you know, if your buddy can beat him and you think you're better than your buddy, then why can't you beat him? It happens with all of us. Guys look -- like I'm sure Rusedski and Goran look at -- you know, if I were Goran and I saw Rusedski beat somebody, beats him all the time, and it's somebody that Goran struggled with, "Well, gee, you know, it must just be I haven't had my good days on those days. Play a very similar game. Why can't I take it to him, too?"

TODD MARTIN: I noticed you missed the first part of our press conference here, but I think game-wise he's got a ton. You know, he moves like Pat. He volleys not as well as Tim or Pat, but not poorly at all. He returns well. Not quite as well as Andre or maybe Tim. But, gee, he's got a combination of everything. He's got a lot of firepower from the back court, as well. You know, there's no accident that he beat -- it's no accident that he beat Pete or that he's in the quarterfinals. I mean, I think a lot of guys have felt like he'd have a great shot here, not to mention on some other surfaces, as well.

TODD MARTIN: At 19, I think he still needs to prove or to find out where he is up here. I think it's a lot different playing in some finals, or what have you, compared to getting down to the nitty-gritty at a Grand Slam, especially Wimbledon. You know, it will be interesting to see, you know, his game is so loose and so flowing to see how he responds to some added nerves. Frankly, you look at the guys who play -- you look at the players that play similarly to him over the years, and the mind hasn't gotten in their way. You know, it's so instinctive, it's so athletic that I think that can override a lot of the mental barriers that some of us have.

TODD MARTIN: I think so. Gee, anybody who's that good at 19 has to make good choices. You know, if not conscious decisions, his instincts are so good that he doesn't have to make the conscious decisions that a lot of us have to.

TODD MARTIN: You know, it doesn't matter who's in the tournament. If I would have won today, there's seven other guys, and every one of those seven guys can beat me, and I can beat any one of those seven guys. The same was true in '96, '94, anytime I'd ever been in the quarters, what have you. That's what it's about. All you have to do is be better than the guy that's across the net. I don't think I missed an opportunity because Pete lost; I think I missed an opportunity straight up to have another chance, you know, to be in the quarterfinals, to see if I can make it to the semifinals, from there see if I can't make it to the final.

TODD MARTIN: That's what you think is fun about tennis.

TODD MARTIN: Well, that's a good question. I don't know if it's a fun question. I think, you know what, I wouldn't be a bit surprised -- you know, you had a great group of Americans in the '90s with Andre, Pete, Michael and Jim -- you know, even if you take Michael out of the equation, just because he only one won Grand Slam, and that wasn't actually even in the '90s -- if you take those three guys, it's hard to -- at least for a period of time it was hard to say he's the best, he's the second best and he's the third best. Jim was the first one to dominate. Pete was the second. Dominated for a long time. Here Andre is at 31, and he's far and away the best out of the three. Granted, Jim is not playing. I think, granted it's globally, but I think you could have the same situation. You can name more guys than what you did. I think each of them have it in them. You know, it's just a matter of who gets the right breaks at the right time and who has the most confidence in themselves. I think right now, if you're just to look at confidence, I would think you'd look at Lleyton, at Andy. I think those two, especially. But, again, there's a lot of firepower in the other two guys. We haven't seen the end of the tournament for those two guys here, so.