DAVIS CUP - BELGIUM vs USA

July 19, 1998

Todd Martin

TODD MARTIN: Well, I felt great from the time I walked out there as far as playing, comfort with the pace of the ball. I felt like I was moving fairly well and hitting the ball really well. I played one loose game on my serve. Other than that, it was a pretty good set. Come the tiebreaker, I think I just knuckled down a little bit. He made an uncharacteristic unforced error in the first point. I gave him a ball that he could really do something with, and he just didn't take good enough care of it. You know, when he serves the first point of the tiebreaker, and you start off 1-0, if you can get through those next two points, 3-0, although it's only one mini break, I feel being up 3-0, and I think probably most players feel when they're down 3-0, is a huge advantage. You have two balls to fire away at. It just so happened that the second one I hit a great return. From 4-1, really unless - as golfers would say - you throw a ball over yourself, you're in the clear. The second set, I think it was strange. I felt much better in the second set in terms of the heat. But early on in that second, the fact that I broke him in the first game I think disheartened him a lot. He made a good run at the end of the set, but I was a point or so away from making it a little quicker at 3-0 and breakpoint, I think. Just missed a second serve return. Hit it well, but it's really just -- it is Malisse versus Martin or Belgium versus USA, but it is more Us versus The Weather. It wasn't like that over in London, that's for sure.

TODD MARTIN: I knew he was a better singles player than a doubles player. He obviously proved that today. I think if all 18-year-olds had his type of talent, it would be pretty scary. But, you know, he's excessively talented, excessively confident, and comfortable in situations, as far as I see. He's got a really good disposition on the court. You know, he's maybe a little casual sometimes, but it's better than -- he wasn't hurling his racquet around and all that. But, you know, there needs to be temperance. It's a matter of just choosing the right shots more often and realizing that although he can hit winners from five feet behind the baseline, it's not necessarily the proper play. He'll learn that through time. I sincerely doubt that he'll ever master it, just because I don't think anybody really can. It's my biggest problem, it's been my biggest problem since I picked up a tennis racquet. It looks better when the ball goes by your opponent than when he misses, but it counts the same, so. That's a lesson that he'll keep learning through the years. And the more he learns it, the better he'll be. He'll be a great player, I'm sure.

TODD MARTIN: Gully and I talked a little bit last night, just in passing, just sitting down, chatting. He was making fun of me a little bit, some of the poor plays I made yesterday. He talked about both Jim and I being singles players rather than doubles players, so some of the awkward circumstances you find yourself in in doubles cost us a few points and a few games, and I think at least one of the sets. So I felt a little bit more comfortable. I didn't feel like -- you know, yesterday I said I felt like I've never been on the tennis court in the last few years. I don't think it was that as much. I returned very well, I served pretty well yesterday. Today, there just wasn't the rush. I like to rush my opponents. I don't like to necessarily be rushed. When the ball has to travel 80 feet between each hit, you've got a little bit more time. That serves me very well. So right from the get-go, I relaxed a little bit. I didn't freak out about the way I was playing yesterday. I felt much better. I thought the fact that I moved well early on really, really helps out. Just gets yourself into a rhythm much quicker if you're not -- if you're in position for every shot early, even though when you're going to slow down because of the heat, still feels like you have a good rhythm and you're in the right place.

TODD MARTIN: Every week's a great opportunity. Every week. You know, defending points is really a ludicrous thought. If we all worried about defending points, you know, next year when I get to Barcelona I'm going to freak out. Come US Open, Rafter is going to say, "Oh, my God, I've got to win the tournament to stay No. 6 in the world." Who cares? He's going to be in the Top 20 regardless. He might fall a few spots, but then he goes over to Europe, plays well over there, picks them right back up. I think points and rankings only matter if you really think seeding is the end all to beat all, or if you're struggling to get into tournaments. At 30 something, I'm not going to have any trouble getting into tournaments. I figure I've got to beat anybody to win the tournament anyway, so whether I play in first round or in the quarterfinals, doesn't make such a big deal. But I'm just looking forward to playing these tournaments, if it's about ten degrees cooler than it was today.

TODD MARTIN: Yeah. Supposed to be way cooler then, right?

TODD MARTIN: I'm going to go get some R&R down in Florida, rest for the next few days, play some golf, then start working come Wednesday or Thursday, practice and train for a week in preparation for the Canadian Open up in Toronto.

TODD MARTIN: It's a double-edged sword when it's really hot. If you bust your tail to get up to the net, have to make a couple lunges to hit some volleys, lose the point, you're feeling it a little bit, don't have much to show for it. I volleyed great today. Since I volleyed great, it made making the point short very advantageous. The most difficult thing about playing in heat like this is to be precise. You're going to be half a step slower, so you're not going to be in quite as good a position. I figure when you hit a good shot and you come in, if your opponent's not in quite perfect position, it's going to be difficult for him to really pinpoint a passing shot. Xavier hit some pretty good passing shots, but they weren't going for the line. They were more at me, and I just happened to be low and made some good plays off of those. You know, anybody who can volley halfway decently, you get a couple good looks at the volley in one point, by the second or third volley, you should be able to knock something off. That was how it happened today.

TODD MARTIN: Yeah. If there's anything I feel I can count on day in and day out, it's my serve. I felt like it held us in there a little bit yesterday. I think it was the second set at 2-All when I was in trouble on my serve. And today, a day like today, it's easy to serve in, serve on. It's because it's so hot, you're loose. Any problem with my arm is nonexistent. Also you're relaxed. You can't get -- you can't try to muscle your serve. You just relax, go through a nice motion. In fact, the second set, when I was a little bit more tired and conserving some energy, I mixed in some like kick serves and slice serves. They were effective. But also when I still went for a bigger, flatter serve, my legs didn't have much in them, so it was a slower serve. I had much, much better accuracy. In fact, although I was hitting it eight to ten miles an hour slower in the second set, I was hitting my spots much better, making it much more difficult for Xavier to return.

TODD MARTIN: Each player from the USTA receives $25,000 -- doesn't receive it. The USTA donates $25,000 to the charities or charity of each player's choice for each tie. So in this case, the four of us got together and decided to give all of our money to the Witsken Foundation, and the USTA agreed that that was obviously a worthy cause, so be it.