U.S. OPEN

August 28, 1996

Todd Martin

TODD MARTIN: I felt good. I played very well the first couple sets and took play to him. I also don't think that he was real comfortable out there for the first couple sets. Third set, first few games I might have had a few chances to maybe get something going. He just kept -- he started slapping the ball, going in, took me out of my rhythm a little bit. I played a couple of his volleys at 4-5 in the third. After that, I was pretty comfortable.

TODD MARTIN: It was just a matter of keeping your focus, going after it. I did a good job of keeping my focus on my serve. Played a few loose points on his serve through the bulk of the set. Like I said, it just came back to haunt me at 4-5.

TODD MARTIN: I think everybody was thinking tennis on Sunday also. That is the reason we're all here. I think the players felt like there was a point to be made and they made it. Now it's our job -- we did what we did to avoid more players withdrawing. Now we've got an event on our hands and I think we're all excited to have a chance to compete for the championship. There's still thought. We're not a bunch of idiots that say one thing one day and forget about it the next. I think everybody's primary focus right now is the tennis.

TODD MARTIN: Well, I think we made our statement publicly, and now it's up to what we can do in a board room or whatever, try to get things done that way.

TODD MARTIN: Well, unless I'm mistaken, I think there's a balancing act in anybody's life. It's important -- I've been taught since I was a little kid to be well-rounded. I think that's what our goal is. Of course, we want to be the best tennis player we can be, but we don't want to sacrifice the human beings that we are in order to accomplish that.

TODD MARTIN: When you don't do your job well - which oftentimes losing big matches, that's what it means - that's inspiration right there to do it better. I don't think there's any need for that to take away from the rest of your life.

TODD MARTIN: I wasn't in the crowd. He's a flashy player, charismatic. I've never played him before, never really spent any time with him before. Took me off guard, caught me off guard. At first it didn't really flatter me too much, but probably wouldn't have made me too upset had I won the point. It's just frustration when you're out there putting in your hundred percent effort and something like that happens, although it's an effective play, it just doesn't seem -- it's not at all like what you're used to.

TODD MARTIN: Well, I got there, absolutely. Put a brick hand on it.

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