Todd Martin

Todd Martin (born July 8, 1970) is an American retired tennis player. He reached the men's singles final at the 1994 Australian Open and the 1999 US Open and achieved a career-high singles ranking of world No. 4.

Todd Martin
Country (sports) United States
ResidenceRhode Island
Born (1970-07-08) July 8, 1970[1]
Hinsdale, Illinois
Height6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)
Turned pro1990
Retired2006
PlaysRight-handed (two-handed backhand)
Prize money$8,232,355
Singles
Career record411–234
Career titles8
Highest rankingNo. 4 (September 13, 1999)
Grand Slam Singles results
Australian OpenF (1994)
French Open4R (1991)
WimbledonSF (1994, 1996)
US OpenF (1999)
Other tournaments
Tour FinalsRR (1999)
Grand Slam CupF (1995)
Olympic Games1R (2000)
Doubles
Career record100–85
Career titles5
Highest rankingNo. 30 (April 26, 1996)

Playing career

Martin was born in Hinsdale, Illinois, and played tennis for two years at Northwestern University before turning professional in 1990. His parents lived in Lansing, Michigan, where Martin went to nearby East Lansing High School. At Northwestern, he was a member of the Delta Tau Delta fraternity. He won his first top-level singles title in 1993 at Coral Springs, Florida. Martin traveled with good friend David Helfer for much of the '92 season. Helfer went on to play at Kalamazoo College.

Coached by Robert Van't Hof, 1994 proved to be a breakout year for Martin. At the year's first Grand Slam tournament, he reached the men's singles final at the Australian Open, where he lost in straight sets to No. 1 Pete Sampras. At Wimbledon, he made it to the semifinals, before falling to the eventual champion Sampras; the set that Martin took from Sampras in the match was the only set that Sampras lost during the entire tournament. Martin's third Grand Slam semifinal of 1994 came at the US Open, where he again fell to the eventual champion, this time Andre Agassi. He also captured singles titles at Queen's Club and the Regions Morgan Keegan Championships in Memphis, the latter of which was the first back-to-back titles.

Martin was a member of the US team that won the Davis Cup in 1995 (beating Russia 3–2 in the final). He also reached the final of the 1995 Grand Slam Cup, where he lost in straight sets to Goran Ivanišević. He reached the Wimbledon semifinals again in 1996, but eventually lost 8–10 in the fifth set against MaliVai Washington, after holding a 5–1 lead in the final set and serving for the match twice. Martin would later reflect on the outcome and admit that he choked during the crucial moments of the match.[2] He missed most of the 1997 season due to injury, but came back strongly in 1998 when he won two singles titles in Barcelona and Stockholm.

In 1999, Martin had a solid year, reaching the quarterfinals of both the Australian Open and Wimbledon, and reached his second Grand Slam final at the US Open. Along the way, Martin had a memorable battle with Greg Rusedski in the fourth round, in which Rusedski held numerous advantages, including a two sets to love lead, serving for the match in the third set, and a 4–1 advantage in the fifth. Yet, Martin was able to prevail in five sets. Martin won 20 of the final 21 points of the match, despite playing with a heavily bandaged leg and dealing with dehydration.[3] In the final, he faced Andre Agassi in a five-set contest, which Agassi eventually won. Martin also won another singles title in Sydney that year, and reached his career-high singles ranking of No. 4.

In 2000, Martin again turned in a strong performance at the US Open, reaching the semifinals before falling to the eventual champion, Marat Safin, in straight sets. As with the previous year's tournament, Martin made another grueling comeback from a two-set deficit in the fourth round, this time against Carlos Moyà.

Martin was named the ATP's Most Improved Player in 1993, and won its Sportsmanship Award in 1993 and 1994. He was president of ATP Players Council for 1995–97 and 1998–99.

From 1994 to 1996, Martin was coached by Robert Van't Hof, from 1997 to 2002, he was coached by Dean Goldfine.

In his career, Martin won eight singles and five doubles titles. He retired from the professional tour in 2004. He is currently the CEO of the International Tennis Hall of Fame.

Grand Slam finals

Singles: 2 (0–2)

Result Date Championship Surface Opponent Score
Loss1994Australian OpenHard Pete Sampras6–7(4–7), 4–6, 4–6
Loss1999US OpenHard Andre Agassi4–6, 7–6(7–5), 7–6(7–2), 3–6, 2–6

Other significant finals

Singles: 1 (0–1)

Result Year Tournament Surface Opponent Score
Loss1995Grand Slam CupCarpet (i) Goran Ivanišević6–7(4–7), 3–6, 4–6

Singles: 1 (0–1)

Result Year Tournament Surface Opponent Score
Loss1993Canada MastersHard Mikael Pernfors6–2, 2–6, 5–7

Career finals

Martin serving at the 2006 U.S. Open.

Singles: 20 (8 titles, 12 runner-ups)

Legend
Grand Slam (0–2)
Grand Slam Cup (0–1)
ATP Masters Series (0–1)
ATP Championship Series (3–4)
ATP World Series (5–4)
Finals by surface
Hard (5–7)
Grass (1–0)
Clay (2–3)
Carpet (0–2)
Result W/L Date Tournament Surface Opponent Score
Loss 0–1 Feb 1993 Memphis, U.S. Hard (i) Jim Courier 7–5, 6–7(4–7), 6–7(4–7)
Win 1–1 May 1993 Coral Springs, U.S. Clay David Wheaton 6–3, 6–4
Loss 1–2 Jul 1993 Washington D.C., U.S. Hard Amos Mansdorf 6–7(3–7), 5–7
Loss 1–3 Aug 1993 Montreal, Canada Hard Mikael Pernfors 6–2, 2–6, 5–7
Loss 1–4 Oct 1993 Tokyo, Japan Carpet (i) Ivan Lendl 4–6, 4–6
Loss 1–5 Jan 1994 Australian Open, Melbourne Hard Pete Sampras 6–7(4–7), 4–6, 4–6
Win 2–5 Feb 1994 Memphis, U.S. Hard Brad Gilbert 6–4, 7–5
Loss 2–6 May 1994 Atlanta, U.S. Clay Michael Chang 7–6(7–4), 6–7(4–7), 0–6
Loss 2–7 May 1994 Pinehurst, U.S. Clay Jared Palmer 4–6, 6–7(5–7)
Win 3–7 Jun 1994 Queen's Club, UK Grass Pete Sampras 7–6(7–4), 7–6(7–4)
Win 4–7 Feb 1995 Memphis, U.S. Hard (i) Paul Haarhuis 7–6(7–2), 6–4
Loss 4–8 Dec 1995 Grand Slam Cup, Germany Carpet (i) Goran Ivanišević 6–7(4–7), 3–6, 4–6
Win 5–8 Jan 1996 Sydney, Australia Hard Goran Ivanišević 5–7, 6–3, 6–4
Loss 5–9 Feb 1996 Memphis, U.S. Hard (i) Pete Sampras 4–6, 6–7(2–7)
Loss 5–10 Nov 1996 Stockholm, Sweden Hard (i) Thomas Enqvist 5–7, 4–6, 6–7(0–7)
Win 6–10 Apr 1998 Barcelona, Spain Clay Alberto Berasategui 6–2, 1–6, 6–3, 6–2
Win 7–10 Nov 1998 Stockholm, Sweden Hard (i) Thomas Johansson 6–3, 6–4, 6–4
Win 8–10 Jan 1999 Sydney, Australia Hard Àlex Corretja 6–3, 7–6(7–5)
Loss 8–11 Apr 1999 Estoril, Portugal Clay Albert Costa 6–7(4–7), 6–2, 3–6
Loss 8–12 Sep 1999 US Open, New York Hard Andre Agassi 4–6, 7–6(7–5), 7–6(7–2), 3–6, 2–6

Singles performance timeline

Tournament1989199019911992199319941995199619971998199920002001200220032004Career SRCareer W-L
Grand Slam tournaments
Australian Open A A A A 1R F 4R 3R A 2R QF 2R QF 3R A 3R 0 / 10 25–10
French Open A A 4R A 1R 3R 3R 3R A 1R A 1R 1R 2R 2R 1R 0 / 11 11–11
Wimbledon A A A 2R QF SF 4R SF A 4R QF 2R 4R 2R 3R 2R 0 / 12 33–12
US Open A 1R 3R 3R 3R SF 4R 3R 2R 2R F SF 2R 1R 4R 1R 0 / 15 33–15
Grand Slam SR 0 / 0 0 / 1 0 / 2 0 / 2 0 / 4 0 / 4 0 / 4 0 / 4 0 / 1 0 / 4 0 / 3 0 / 4 0 / 4 0 / 4 0 / 3 0 / 4 0 / 48 N/A
Annual Win-Loss 0–0 0–1 5–2 3–2 6–4 18–4 11–4 11–4 1–1 5–4 14–3 7–4 8–4 4–4 6–3 3–4 N/A 102–48
Year-end championships
Tennis Masters Cup Did Not Qualify RR Did Not Qualify 0 / 1 1–2
Grand Slam Cup NH Did Not Qualify 1R SF F Did Not Qualify Not Held 0 / 3 5–3
ATP Masters Series
Indian Wells NME A A A 3R 3R QF 3R A 2R QF A A SF 1R 1R 0 / 9 15–9
Miami NME A A A 2R 2R 2R 4R A 3R A A 1R 2R QF 4R 0 / 9 13–9
Monte Carlo NME A A A A A A 1R A 1R A A A A A A 0 / 2 0–2
Rome NME A A A A A 2R 3R A 2R A 1R 1R A A 1R 0 / 6 4–6
Hamburg NME A A A A A A A A A A 2R 2R 1R A A 0 / 3 2–3
Canada NME A A 2R F 2R 3R SF A 2R QF 1R 3R 3R A A 0 / 10 18–10
Cincinnati NME A A 2R 1R A 3R 2R A 3R 2R QF 2R 1R 3R A 0 / 10 13–10
Madrid (Stuttgart) NME A A A 3R 3R 2R 3R QF 3R QF A A A A A 0 / 7 11–7
Paris NME A A A 3R 3R 3R 3R 1R SF 2R A A A A A 0 / 7 8–7
Masters Series SR N/A 0 / 0 0 / 0 0 / 2 0 / 6 0 / 5 0 / 7 0 / 8 0 / 2 0 / 8 0 / 5 0 / 4 0 / 5 0 / 5 0 / 3 0 / 3 0 / 63 N/A
Annual Win-Loss N/A 0–0 0–0 2–2 10–6 3–5 9–7 12–8 3–2 13–8 8–5 4–4 4–5 7–5 6–3 3–3 N/A 84–63
Year-end ranking 257 269 134 87 13 10 18 12 81 16 7 55 57 47 68 145 N/A

A = did not participate in the tournament

Top 10 wins

Season199019911992199319941995199619971998199920002001200220032004Total
Wins00055331541241034
# Player Rank Event Surface Rd Score MR
1993
1. Andre Agassi 8 Memphis, United States Hard (i) QF 6–1, 7–6(7–4) 96
2. Michael Chang 7 Memphis, United States Hard (i) SF 7–6(7–4), 6–4 96
3. Goran Ivanišević 6 Wimbledon, United Kingdom Grass 3R 2–6, 7–6(7–3), 6–7(4–7), 7–5, 6–0 30
4. Boris Becker 4 Montreal, Canada Hard 3R 7–5, 7–6(7–3) 20
5. Stefan Edberg 6 Tokyo, Japan Carpet (i) QF 6–4, 6–4 16
1994
6. Stefan Edberg 4 Australian Open, Melbourne Hard SF 3–6, 7–6(9–7), 7–6(9–7), 7–6(7–4) 12
7. Stefan Edberg 3 Queen's Club, United Kingdom Grass QF 6–3, 6–4 9
8. Pete Sampras 1 Queen's Club, United Kingdom Grass F 7–6(7–4), 7–6(7–4) 9
9. Stefan Edberg 5 Davis Cup, Gothenburg, Sweden Carpet (i) RR 6–2, 2–6, 6–4, 6–3 6
10. Sergi Bruguera 4 Grand Slam Cup, Munich Carpet (i) QF 6–4, 7–6(7–5) 10
1995
11. Pete Sampras 1 Memphis, United States Hard (i) SF 4–6, 7–6(8–6), 6–4 16
12. Thomas Enqvist 8 Davis Cup, Las Vegas Hard RR 7–5, 7–5, 7–6(7–2) 19
13. Boris Becker 4 Grand Slam Cup, Munich Carpet (i) SF 5–7, 6–3, 6–4, 7–6(7–4) 18
1996
14. Goran Ivanišević 10 Sydney, Australia Hard F 5–7, 6–3, 6–4 17
15. Thomas Enqvist 6 Memphis, United States Hard (i) QF 6–4, 6–4 22
16. Goran Ivanišević 5 Vienna, Austria Carpet (i) QF 4–6, 6–3, 6–3 13
1997
17. Carlos Moyá 7 Stuttgart, Germany Carpet (i) 2R 6–3, 7–6(7–2) 64
1998
18. Petr Korda 5 Vienna, Austria Carpet (i) 2R 6–3, 7–6(7–2) 29
19. Karol Kučera 7 Stuttgart, Germany Hard (i) 2R 6–2, 6–4 28
20. Patrick Rafter 3 Paris, France Carpet (i) 3R 5–7, 7–6(7–5), 7–6(8–6) 26
21. Andre Agassi 5 Paris, France Carpet (i) QF 4–6, 6–4, 6–4 26
22. Tim Henman 10 Stockholm, Sweden Hard (i) SF 4–6, 6–1, 6–2 21
1999
23. Àlex Corretja 3 Sydney, Australia Hard F 6–3, 7–6(7–5) 16
24. Marcelo Ríos 6 Indian Wells, United States Hard 3R 4–6, 6–2, 6–2 11
25. Greg Rusedski 8 US Open, New York Hard 4R 5–7, 0–6, 7–6(7–3), 6–4, 6–4 7
26. Thomas Enqvist 4 ATP Tour World Championships, Hanover Hard (i) RR 6–4, 6–1 7
2000
27. Cédric Pioline 10 US Open, New York Hard 3R 7–6(7–5), 6–3, 6–2 32
2001
28. Pete Sampras 3 Australian Open, Melbourne Hard 4R 6–7(2–7), 6–3, 6–4, 6–4 54
29. Yevgeny Kafelnikov 6 Montreal, Canada Hard 1R 3–6, 7–6(7–3), 6–4 33
2002
30. Pete Sampras 10 Adelaide, Australia Hard 1R 3–6, 6–3, 6–4 57
31. Tommy Haas 6 Indian Wells, United States Hard 2R 6–4, 6–2 64
32. Yevgeny Kafelnikov 3 Indian Wells, United States Hard QF 7–6(7–5), 6–3 64
33. Thomas Johansson 9 Toronto, Canada Hard 2R 7–6(7–5), 6–3 47
2003
34. Andy Roddick 6 Miami, United States Hard 3R 7–6(7–3), 6–4 114

Post-playing

Martin participates on the Outback Champions Series tennis event for the former members of the ATP tour.[4] Martin finished 2006 ranked third and 2007 ranked first in the Outback Series.

Senior tour titles

Coaching

Martin spent a brief time coaching Mardy Fish.

From late August 2009 until April 12, 2010, Martin was part of the coaching team of Novak Djokovic, at that time the number 3 player on the ATP list. The idea on Djokovic's part was for Martin to be the supplemental, part-time coach working alongside existing full-time coach Marián Vajda who continued in the role. Due to Djokovic's shoulder pain problems, the player wanted to try a different serve motion which was one of Martin's primary tasks.[5] The results weren't satisfactory. Djokovic and Martin parted ways and Vajda went back to being the only coach.[6]

Martin is also a contributor to ESPN.com.

Awards

In 2002, Martin was awarded the International Club’s prestigious Jean Borotra Sportsmanship Award.

References

  1. "Yahoo UK & Ireland - Sports News - Live Scores - Results". Yahoo Sports.
  2. Collins, Bud. "Long haul ends for Martin". Archived from the original on January 24, 2005 via The Boston Globe.
  3. "CNN/SI – 1999 US Open – Tennis – Martin rallies for five-set victory – Wednesday September 08, 1999 10:56 AM". cnn.com. Archived from the original on February 13, 2002.
  4. "Tennis Week – Home". sportsmediainc.net. Archived from the original on September 27, 2007.
  5. Martin-Djokovic doomed from the outset Archived August 5, 2011, at the Wayback Machine;tennis.com blog, April 2010
  6. Novak Djokovic splits from coach Todd Martin Archived May 31, 2011, at the Wayback Machine;BBC, April 12, 2010
Awards
Preceded by
Henrik Holm
ATP Most Improved Player
1993
Succeeded by
Yevgeny Kafelnikov
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