Legendary American tennis players: Part One – Tennis Special
Todd Martin
American tennis veteran, Todd Martin, started his tennis career as a passionate tennis student. He made a wise decision when he became a part of Northwestern University and later adopted it as a profession.
The 42-year-old tennis ace made up to the finals of the two Grand Slam Finals i.e. in the year 1994 and 1999. In the year 1993, he received the ATP’s Most Improved Player of the Year Award followed by the title of Sportsmanship
of the year for the subsequent year. The year 1994, proved bright start for the professional and he won titles at Memphis and Queen’s. He was the first player in Open Era to achieve his feat at the courts of All-England-Club and further advanced into the semi-finals
of the US Open. He was the member of the team that represented United States at the Davis Cup in 1995 and brought home the winning title.
Martin reached the World Top 10 for the first time by qualifying for the quarter-finals and began his season after winning his title at Sydney in 1999. He reached his career’s climax that year, registering his career’s best 14-match
winning streak and also gave United States a helping hand at the Davis Cup victory. Due to a tough match schedule, he missed seven weeks that year with a shoulder injury. He returned to Queen’s in London and could not rally past the third round. The year biggest
moment arrived at the US Open but he was unable to sustain his superb run of form.
The American right-hander reached his career’s height when he achieved the title of the world number four in the year 1999. He maintains a spectacular career in the men’s singles for example in the US Open, Australian Open, ATP
Masters Series in Canada and twice at the hard courts of Memphis. Similarly, he displayed his classic performance in the doubles category. He contested in the ATP Master Series in Cincinnati in year 2002. He also played at the AEGON Championship held at the
courts of Queens, London with compatriot, Pete Sampras.
Continuing his tennis voyage at a brilliant pace, he remained in the Top-100 ATP Rankings for 12 straight years. He also played his 400th match on the ATP circuit in the year 2003. His last match was at the US Open 2004,
where he lost to Fabrice Santoro in the very first round of the Grand Slam event.
The Hinsdale native founded his Todd Martin Development Fund in the year 1994 at his home ground Lansing with his junior coach, Rick Ferman. Martin publicized that his organization has surpassed the initial financial goal and plans
to expand its leadership Development Program, which aims to support more than 300 kids in Lansing area.
Currently, the 6 ft 6 inch American lives with his wife Amy and his son Jack and Cash. He trains at the ATP International Headquarters in Ponte Vedra Beach in Florida and is the special advisor to USA Tennis High Performance program.
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