US OPEN

September 1, 2000

Todd Martin

TODD MARTIN: You know, you're just like Sharko, so insulting. I go out and play a great match, and all you can say is I served well. You think I'm joking around? I am joking around, actually. I played very well. In fact, I served also very well. Thank you.

TODD MARTIN: It was good. You know, I served very well, but I served smart. That's the biggest key, especially against somebody like Michael. With all due respect, I felt like he made it pretty easy on me. He stood on the baseline the whole match, and I served body serve after body serve after body serve, which is the easiest serve to hit, greatest margin for error, and he didn't do a lot to change that. I think that was a big key.

TODD MARTIN: You know, it's been a long time since we played. Each and every match that we played, except for one, was a pretty good match. I think a lot of it has to do with what I've learned and what I do differently than I did when I was in my 20s (laughter).

TODD MARTIN: You know, I don't feel so. I just feel like there's no substitute for confidence. In the mid-'90s, he was booming with confidence. Also, especially against a style of play like mine, somebody who attacked, attacked, attacked, attacked, attacked, he gets comfortable with that. He doesn't get alarmed or thrown off by that like some of the other guys do, and some of the other guys that play like he does. When you choose your spots, it's difficult to get used to it, first of all. Two, when the other guy's attacking, he's usually attacking with better stuff. That was, I think, the biggest difference between now and then.

TODD MARTIN: I'm so motivated. I have to keep that ranking up there (laughter). No. After Wimbledon, I resigned myself to the fact that my ESP, as we call it, was not going to be a barn-burner at the end of the year. That doesn't really trouble me too much.

TODD MARTIN: I think probably a little bit emotionally it does. I also think just the way you see the ball. You obviously have been able to pick the ball up well, feel comfortable moving on the court, feel comfortable with the speed of the court. This court is just a tad bit slower than it was last year. So those things are great. Then emotionally, you know, it's nice to know you're back at a place where you've proven yourself before. More than anything else, this is the US Open. It doesn't take much more than that to pick it up a notch or two.

TODD MARTIN: Probably not. I had some great training weeks before the clay court season, just after my injury. You know, I was a little bit skeptical about how my ankle would hold up, but it held up great all through the clay court season. I was pretty darn healthy and very fit. But these conditions, especially with the ball, don't abuse my arm as much as the European clay court circuit.

TODD MARTIN: No. I've just stuck to football.

TODD MARTIN: I wouldn't say my game has changed a lot. I'm still right-handed. I really feel like I'm a better tennis player. I don't feel like I do certain things as well as I used to. The general package is a smarter player. That's what I rely on an awful lot.

TODD MARTIN: Gee, you know, I volleyed great today. Each and every year I develop a greater level of confidence at the net. You know, I might not hit my backhand as well as I used to. I might not serve as well as I used to. I might not just throw caution to the wind as much as I used to. I understand how to defend the court. I understand how to play -- I should say I understand how to defend the court better than I used to (smiling). I understand how to play a neutral point and how to stay neutral and work your way to offense than I used to. It was an awful lot of, "Uh-oh, I'm in a neutral position, I better do something" years ago. That concern is not as prevalent as it used to be.

TODD MARTIN: Well, you know, it's hard not to know about it. Most of us have known about his family situation for a little while. I think most people could probably understand what's happening in his life. I certainly don't feel at all bad for him as far as his tennis is concerned. It's just a tough thing to go through. I think it's probably a blessing in some ways that he lost; that he gets to go home and spend an extra bit of time with his family.

TODD MARTIN: Well, I think the thrill of sport and the thrill of life is to see what happens. I'll stick to that answer. I think there's a lot of talent. It's just a matter of who learns how to play the game best out of the group of guys that we have. You never know. There's a chance that somebody who we don't know about yet is going to be the world beater that we're looking for.

TODD MARTIN: It's silly for me to speculate.

TODD MARTIN: No.

TODD MARTIN: It is the US Open. It is what I grew up watching. It is what Ivan Lendl was in the finals of 42 times in a row. I'm looking for twice.

TODD MARTIN: I just found out that's who I play. I don't know what the status of their match is.

TODD MARTIN: I'm excited to play. It's what I'm here for. I'm just glad that I get to play again on Sunday.

TODD MARTIN: They're both familiar, both very familiar.

TODD MARTIN: For him it was more about his match against himself, and for me it was more about my match against myself. It does boil down to a head-to-head match. More than that, you've got to beat yourself or you're going to not beat yourself, something like that, before you can worry who's on the other side of the net (laughter). I'll prepare as if I'm playing whoever and be ready to play come Sunday.

TODD MARTIN: You know, I think it's a lot more fun to enjoy what you're going through than to worry - not worry - but think about the future so much, dwell, relish the past. It is nice to occasionally recall some of those emotions I felt last year. More than anything else, it's great to know that I'm in the process of doing it again. That process could end on Sunday. It could end next Sunday.

TODD MARTIN: -- when people compliment my serve after a good match, yes (laughter).

TODD MARTIN: Can you just say the beginning of that question again?

TODD MARTIN: No. It's tennis. I mean, you know, I heard a joke the other day. Why do they call golf golf? The punch line is, Because every other four-letter word was taken. If anybody would have been smart about it, they would have call it t-e-n-n. (Laughter.) Thank you.

TODD MARTIN: No, I'm not done (laughter). It's incredibly difficult at times to close out matches. It's difficult for each guy, whether I'm in the lead or I'm behind. There has to be something that happens so that both players walk to the net and shake hands. I mean, it happened today. I was up 30-Love. I played two pretty shaky points. You know, if Michael by chance hits a couple good returns then, boom, I played two bad points in three sets. That's not all that bad. I think Greg last year didn't play all that bad of tennis in the third set when I came back. I got a little lucky, dug a few balls out. That's sometimes all it takes. The same thing with Mal and Andre at Wimbledon when I was up.

TODD MARTIN: I think from the get-go, yes. I think there's always a challenge to deal with the later stages of the match. I rarely now, except for earlier this summer, go out and beat myself from the get-go. I don't feel like I've ever done that badly, but I do feel like that's a big improvement.

TODD MARTIN: It could be attributed to that. Also there's guys out here who probably struggle with that more and more. It's not because they're getting less mature. It's just because some people, you know, I don't want to say relish making mistakes so that we can learn, but do learn from those mistakes. Some people get discouraged by them.

TODD MARTIN: Well, I've felt experienced for a while. Each and every year, a good friend of mine seems to retire. Each and every year, about 20 new players that are in their teens come up and start beating up on us. I mean, I feel old, but I don't feel elderly, I guess. I feel like I've aged, and I feel like I've more or less improved with age. I still get a little kid's feeling when I go out and play the little kid's game.

TODD MARTIN: -- i'm the greatest guy in the world? Thanks.

TODD MARTIN: Well, I've finally mastered a monotone. It's taken a long time, but I've finally got it.

TODD MARTIN: Well, I think it says a couple of things. One, that there aren't height limitations in this game. It might sound funny, but there aren't. Anybody can play this game. I don't feel like I beat Michael today because of my height. I felt like I maybe beat him because I used my height very well. There are days where I don't. There are days where some short players try to play like big guys. That's not always the best way to do it. The other thing is that, sort of on the same thought process that I'm on about myself, understanding the game better, I think players who are shorter and aren't going to just win so many free points match in and match out, Michael wins a lot of free points on his serve and on his return, but it's not necessarily a match-in and match-out process. What it forces them to do is understand the game of tennis, whereas some big, strong guys can go out and get away with just slapping balls around. They'll win and lose. If somebody who is short just tries to do that, I think they're going to struggle a little bit more than the average bear. They've got to use their heart, their mind and their legs a lot more than us. When we don't, there's still a huge opening left for them.

TODD MARTIN: Yeah, I'm going to see myself in October.

TODD MARTIN: I'm going to homecoming.

TODD MARTIN: I don't know if Northwestern would let me back. Hopefully they won't disclose my grade point average. If they did, they would have no justification in letting me back in.

TODD MARTIN: Yes. Thank you for generalizing.

TODD MARTIN: I could see myself back in the classroom. I'd like to be back in the classroom. I would love to play Alex Corretja, but not for a revenge factor of what he did so well against our team in Santander; because I think he's a respectable man and fun to play against.

TODD MARTIN: No.

TODD MARTIN: Yeah. It's something that is very big and a very great occasion. But so is this. It's pretty easy to keep them straight.