BY EDWARD de la FUENTE
The Cincinnati Enquirer
MASON -- The pendulum that has been Todd Martin's career is on the upswing as he heads into this week's Great American Insurance ATP Championship, but he admits it isn't quite at its highest point just yet.
"(In my career) I've gone from losing in the qualifying round almost every week to being a contender in every tournament, and then back to toiling at times again," Martin, 28, said Sunday. "Now I do feel like one of the older guys walking around."
Martin heads into his opening-round singles match at 7 p.m. today against France's Fabrice Santoro (he is also in the doubles competition with American Justin Gimelstob) ranked No. 30 in the world -- a decided decline from his prime, when he was ranked as high as fifth -- but in a much better position than he was in at this time last year.
In February 1997, Martin underwent surgery to remove bone spurs in his right elbow, which kept him off the tennis court for six months. "The hardest thing for Todd was that he couldn't get on the court for a long time," said Dean Goldfine, Martin's coach since 1996. "The ideal thing was for him to get out there three or four hours a day, and he couldn't do that."
Martin returned in time for last year's U.S. Open, in which he advanced only to the second round. He said he didn't get up to top shape until the Australian Open in January, in which he lost to Patrick Rafter in the second round.
"That was the first time I felt really good," Martin said. "It's still much different than it used to be, but day in and day out, I don't feel it."
Martin's climb up the ATP Tour rankings surely will continue with a good showing in Cincinnati, but his progress this season has already been steady, especially considering that he dropped all the way from No. 12 to No. 81 last year. Martin jumped from No. 65 to No. 35 in April after winning a tournament in Barcelona, Spain, his sixth career victory and first since January 1996.
Martin also is a member of the U.S. Davis Cup team that will face Italy in the semifinals Sept. 25-27, as he has been since 1994 -- the same year he reached his highest world ranking, No. 5, after getting to the semifinals at Wimbledon.
In an era where top U.S. players like Andre Agassi and Michael Chang routinely refuse invitations to play in the Davis Cup tournament, Martin is the team's stalwart.
"When I was first asked to play, it was the first time I felt my talent was recognized by somebody else," Martin said. "It was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. I was in awe of the competition and the history. Now, I think I look at it not by the mystique, but by the competition itself."
Said Goldfine: "He's improved a lot of different aspects of his game. That's a huge strength for him. It's hard to win solely with a power game."
While his elbow injury was not career-threatening, it was no easy feat coming back for a player who, at age 26 at the time of the surgery, is past prime in a sport that boasts top players in their early 20s and sees players calling it quits by age 30.
Martin, though, has no plans to end his tennis career anytime soon.
"I still love what I do," Martin said. "The fact that I feel that way makes me feel young. It doesn't feel like work. Until it does, I'll still enjoy it."
