Goodbye Todd

D

Datacipher

Banned
Goodbye Mr.Martin. You aren't one of the greats, but you were very good. You played with class and fight and you made the most of what you had.
 
S

strife726

Rookie
No man dead or alive has won more 5 set matches in slams...Todd was truly a great player and put on come back after come back. Many people for get how close he came to winning the US open in 99.. But he had nothing to be ashamed of, he played an amazing final.
 
D

Datacipher

Banned
strife726 said:
No man dead or alive has won more 5 set matches in slams...Todd was truly a great player and put on come back after come back. Many people for get how close he came to winning the US open in 99.. But he had nothing to be ashamed of, he played an amazing final.
Click to expand...

I think even more people forget that he made the 1994 Australian open final and he did not play poorly in that final either, was simply outplayed by Sampras.

Are you sure though that he has the 5 set record in slams?
 
S

strife726

Rookie
Actually I said that wrong... I meant to say no player has come back from 2 sets to love down more times in slams. As of active players, Todd is tied for 3rd in the all time 5 set win stat.
 
Deuce

Deuce

Banned
Something's not right if Martin isn't at least offered the job of Davis Cup Captain in the next few years.
 
C

Camilio Pascual

Hall of Fame
I'll bet dollars to donuts Jim Courier has his eye on being Davis Cup captain. He'd be my 2nd choice, after Todd (Mr. Class) Martin. If there would be a HOF for players who never won a Slam event, Martin should be the first inductee. His on court behaviour embodies the spirit of tennis.
 
P

pound cat

G.O.A.T.
...classy right to the point that he waited for santoro to pack his bags so they could walk off the court together. Who will replace him in the class department?
 
@wright

@wright

Hall of Fame
Todd was always fun to watch, and played a game that amateurs would do well to imitate. True class acts are so rare these days, and this was one. He will be missed. Enjoy your life away from tennis, Todd, but please don't hesitate to keep giving back to the game.
 
Dedans Penthouse

Dedans Penthouse

Legend
When I first saw the title of this post, I was hoping that it wouldn't reflect someone's need to contribute "alternative" comment," i.e. some smart aleck's comment simply offered as "nasty for nasty's sake" since Todd Martin truly represented the sport well. Nice posts...you guys are class yourselves--well done.
 
Rabbit

Rabbit

G.O.A.T.
Martin lost in the 1st round at Memphis this year. He hung around the whole week, just visiting with fans and enjoying Memphis. I didn't get a chance to talk to him, but some friends of mine did and said he's about the most normal of the pros they've ever met.

Tennis will lose something when he retires. I didn't know that he called it a day after the Open loss.
 
Brettolius

Brettolius

Professional
i hate that he went out in the first round too, after having such great results here. for a minute, i thought we may have ANOTHER five setter on our hands. at least he coulda went out like that, would have been fitting. c'mon fabrice, throw an old guy a bone!!!
 
B

baseliner

Professional
Truly a class act with nothing to be ashamed about. 2 Grand Slam finals and a legacy of class and respect from his fellow competitors.
 
K

Kevin Patrick

Hall of Fame
strife726
Are you sure about those 5 set stats? Both Martin & Agassi have 23 career 5 set wins, what other active player could have more? Also I always thought Krickstein led the most comebacks from 2 sets to love stat. Todd did set the record for most 5 sets win in one Wimbledon tournament(4) in '94.
Looking at Todd's stats, found it interesting that he was able to win titles on all surfaces.
It's a shame that the USTA couldn't schedule Martin-Santoro for Ashe stadium(preferably at night), considering how many comebacks he's had there. Amazing how a seemingly unemotional player could feed off the NY crowds for some truly remarkable efforts over the years.
 
T

tennis-n-sc

Professional
How about the 2000 Open against Moya when he got the Ashe Stadium officials to allow the fans to come down from the nose bleed sections and sit in the empty box seats. Another 5 set win and then he circled the court giving high fives to all the fans. Probably the most emotion he has ever shown. He does have a true appreciation of the fans and I think he will be a wonderful ambassador for tennis in his retirement. He and Rafter were the best sportsmanship examples I have ever seen in the courts. Now I got two to miss.
 
S

simi

Hall of Fame
I will miss Gentleman Todd. S&V players are so much fun to watch. I fully expect him to stay involved in the sport someway. He was the player's representative to ITF the other year, wasn't he?. He seems to have a bit of a political bent. Only one more of the "Fab Four Plus One" left in the game. (Courier, Sampras, Chang, Agassi, and Martin) The end of an era!
 
D

Datacipher

Banned
a529612 said:
What exactly is preventing him from being one of the greats? He's no stranger to the finals.
Click to expand...

"great" is a relative and subjective term. After all, Paul Goldstein is a great tennis player relative to 99.99% of the players in this world. When I say "one of the greats", I mean all time great tennis players. I think to achieve this status most tennis observers would say that you must have won a grand slam title and preferably several. For me, I would list a guy like Michael Chang with his 1 slam title but a big number of other finals and semis on varying surfaces, combined with his career titles and ranking accomplishments as my bare minimum for "all time great" status....
 
Tenny

Tenny

Professional
Oh

sean orourke said:
When I first saw the title of this post, I was hoping that it wouldn't reflect someone's need to contribute "alternative" comment," i.e. some smart aleck's comment simply offered as "nasty for nasty's sake" since Todd Martin truly represented the sport well. Nice posts...you guys are class yourselves--well done.
Click to expand...

Yes, I agree, he was the best example of sportmanship and yes, you guys are all class yourselves showing this much respect. This is the best thread I've read for a while. We will miss you, Mr. Martin!
 
D

Datacipher

Banned
Re: Oh

Tenny said:
Yes, I agree, he was the best example of sportmanship and yes, you guys are all class yourselves showing this much respect. This is the best thread I've read for a while. We will miss you, Mr. Martin!
Click to expand...

I agree Tenny and Sean. It's also good to see that while Martin would not have won any popularity contests during his career and didn't get the hype of many other players, at the end of the day, he earned many fans and not many have any bad words for him.

Matt H, he lost to great players in both those finals. He wasn't quite in that elite group, BUT with just a bit of luck he could have walked away with 2 or 3 GS titles. Still, there's nothing to be upset about, I think he fulfilled his potential and his career was quite a success!
 
R

Redferrari350

New User
I think Todd will be back as a commentator. He did it once during 2002 USO. It was Sampras vs Agassi, and Todd had more input than Mcenroe and that other guy combined. Very intelligent. Too bad he didn't win any GS.
 
C

Chanchai

Semi-Pro
Well... Todd Martin will at least be remembered by many as among the sport's greatest sportsmen and ambassadors. The "many" will mostly be those that really do appreciate tennis, but the guy gave some great memories.

I also think he'll keep working with the sport. I am definitely hoping to see him try commentating again. He seems well spoken at the very least.

At the end of the day, it was a great career any way you look at it, greater than most at least.

-Chanchai
 
D

Datacipher

Banned
Redferrari350 said:
I think Todd will be back as a commentator. He did it once during 2002 USO. It was Sampras vs Agassi, and Todd had more input than Mcenroe and that other guy combined. Very intelligent. Too bad he didn't win any GS.
Click to expand...

I also remember Martin's guest commentary and he was quite good. I won't say he was a John Mcenroe but he was a lot better than most players...
 
R

Redferrari350

New User
Datacipher said:
Redferrari350 said:
I think Todd will be back as a commentator. He did it once during 2002 USO. It was Sampras vs Agassi, and Todd had more input than Mcenroe and that other guy combined. Very intelligent. Too bad he didn't win any GS.
Click to expand...

I also remember Martin's guest commentary and he was quite good. I won't say he was a John Mcenroe but he was a lot better than most players...
Click to expand...
I meant Todd was better as a commentator than Mcenroe, not as a player. That would've been a ridiclous statement.
 
D

Datacipher

Banned
Redferrari350 said:
I meant Todd was better as a commentator than Mcenroe, not as a player. That would've been a ridiclous statement.
Click to expand...

Yes, I know Red. I meant as a commentator he's no Mcenroe, I like Mcenroe's commentary very much.
 
P

pound cat

G.O.A.T.
speaking of 5 set matches won, "While Safin has a nice 17-7 record in five-set matches".....a pre-Agassi match comment, AO 2004. There have been a couple more since then.
 
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