DAVIS CUP SEMIFINALS: SWEDEN v USA

September 24, 1995

Todd Martin

TODD MARTIN: Playing the type of match I did in the situation that was presented to me, it was certainly my highest moment in tennis. I just hope there is another chance to equal it.

TODD MARTIN: I definitely practiced some singles. Unfortunately, the news came about the possibility of me playing at a pretty bad time, right when Jonathan and I walked off the court, we saw Andre on the training table getting treatment and thought nothing of it; then five minutes later they said his injury could be fairly serious, and that I could possibly play and in a way, it was a bad time because I was down, but it also forced me to get my spirits up and get ready to come over today and do the job.

TODD MARTIN: Well, I have never played him before and maybe watched him a couple times for 15 minutes this summer, and -- but I think Friday helped a lot watching Pete play him; watching his good tendencies and his bad tendencies and I think that prepared me fairly well; plus talking it over with Gully, Pete, and Andre.

TODD MARTIN: Actually I thought --

TODD MARTIN: I guess I got my second chance.

TODD MARTIN: No, you know, there is always a chance. I don't need the second chance this weekend. I just like to have the chance to prove myself again whenever. I think that is what is so exciting about this competition is that the emotion ride is much higher; the tennis ball is all of a sudden much more difficult to hit and the emotional rollercoaster that we all ride is a little bigger than the average rollercoaster, and it is just nice to be able to play in this situation and represent the country and fortunately enough today I did it well.

TODD MARTIN: I think everybody probably hits the serves up the middle a little bit better than the serves out wide. But the reason my serves down the middle were working was because I did hit my serves out wide well and whenever you can increase that -- the range that he has to cover, you are in good shape, so even a couple of the serves that didn't hit the line, ended up being aces or service winners. I thought one key was that when I did miss my first serve, I hit good second serves and I didn't let the few doubles faults and the few return winners he hit off of my second serve bother me too much.

TODD MARTIN: I think everybody has a little bit of a routine whether it be the lack of a routine or regimenting yourself. I was a little bit in limbo last night. I wasn't really sure where Andre was going to be this morning. Things ranked from 50/50 to 75/25, so it was really tough for me to convince myself that I was going to have the opportunity to play. And then after I took a fair beating at the casino tables, I figured I better go get prepared for a match because I didn't have anymore money left.

TODD MARTIN: Well, I think in this altitude, the serve is going to dictate what happens and I do not think Thomas served all that bad. He lost his first serve a little bit maybe in the games that I did break him, but I was really fortunate at 4-5 in the first. The first -- the first set point, I think I had a good forehand winner and then, you know, then I picked up the strange ball, hit a service winner -- just a lot of good things happened at the right time early. And then I think that got him a little bit dejected. I am sure he felt the pressure. I would think that after the way he has played this summer, many people probably thought he would win and I think it proved for both of us to be the easier situation that I was in than he and this is his first Davis Cup....

TODD MARTIN: Well, I think I will be the real base on the team for the rest of my life and I think I will never get overlooked again. (LAUGHTER) No, I think Gully has got a few choices that I wouldn't be a bit disappointed or surprised if he went with before me. I think to have the horses we got to ride this week, and Pete and Andre, I think that is just fine with him and it is perfectly fine with me. I just hope that Jonathan and I get another chance and I just love being a part of it.

TODD MARTIN: Well, I had the pleasure and displeasure of sitting next to Brad Gilbert the other day while Pete was playing Enqvist. And I got to listen to a lot of things; some of which I had to let go in one ear and out the other and others; I had to soak up a little bit and one of them was that that he kept on talking about how Thomas doesn't hit a very good running forehand and I thought that -- I knew his forehand might have been a little bit weaker than his backhand, but it got me to move the ball around a little bit more and to attack when I had my chances and that really helped out and it his good tendencies, I mean, he has got a great serve and he likes to go up the middle and Ad court and out wide in the Deuce court, in the third set he really picked it up and hit a ton of good serves; especially in the Deuce court.

TODD MARTIN: No, that was yesterday afternoon.

TODD MARTIN: I knew there was a good chance, but Andre was receiving great treatment from our Doc and trainer and massage therapist and I was -- I am confident that if an injury is superficial; then most professional athletes can play with it. It was just a matter of whether the injury was something that it was just going to be like a 24 hour bug or if it was going to really be something that stuck and ununfortunately it was something that stuck and put us all in a tough position, but fortunately, I played well.

TODD MARTIN: I said earlier this is my best moment in tennis. I think, you know, I couldn't have asked for a better situation to be in. I couldn't have asked for a nicer crowd to play in front of. I think it is the first -- well, the second time we have played in front of a huge partisan crowd in my behalf and it was a little bit bigger than the one in St. Petersburg earlier in the year and the support they gave me even after finding out their home boy couldn't play, was really tremendous. I was just glad that I could performed well for him.

TODD MARTIN: Well, I started off well and I have been able to play with the house's money since, but I think I rather be in the shoes of a couple of other guys.