Friday, August 11, 2000
Martin finds new life
The Cincinnati Enquirer
MASON — Todd Martin has won three matches in a tournament for the first time since the 1999 U.S. Open. He is in his first quarterfinal of the year. Not only has his serve not been broken, he has yet to face a break point at the Tennis Masters Series Cincinnati.
The 30-year-old American advanced with a 6-2, 6-4 victory over wild card Jonas Bjorkman on Thursday, winning in straight sets for the third day in a row, including a first-round upset of 11th seed Nicolas Kiefer.
“It's a little surprising, not the winning of three matches, but the level of play and the calmness I've had on the court,” Martin said.
This is already his best result in Cincinnati. Martin came in just 7-6 in six years here, but had lost to guys such as Patrick Rafter (1998), Pete Sampras ('95), Andre Agassi ('93) and Cedric Pioline ('92).
He was just 3-9 since injuring his ankle in February, but already has doubled his victory total.
“I think I hit the breaking point last week,” Martin said of a first-round loss to Kiefer in Toronto. “I got to the point where I was so fustrated and embarrassed with the way I was conducting my business that I sort of took a step back to the basics.
“... The one wonderful thing I've taken from the first seven months of the year is I still want to play desperately. I still enjoy ev ery aspect except getting my tail kicked.”
Martin today plays Gustavo Kuerten. The two have met only once before; Martin won in 1997 indoors in Stuttgart, Germany.
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