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Martin breezes to semifinals

Todd Martin's baseline bombs and high energy stop Thomas Johansson 6-4, 6-4, 3-6, 7-5.

By DARRELL FRY

© St. Petersburg Times, published September 8, 2000

NEW YORK -- He has always been the patriotic type, regularly making himself available to play for his country and wearing the red, white and blue like a badge of honor. That's Todd Martin, the game's all-American boy.

It should be no surprise then that Martin usually plays some of his best tennis at the U.S. Open, which Thomas Johansson experienced firsthand Thursday night when Martin ran him off 6-4, 6-4, 3-6, 7-5 in the quarterfinals.

The win was Martin's 29th at Flushing Meadows, fourth-best among players competing here over the last decade, and sent him into Saturday's semifinals against sixth seed Marat Safin.

Safin earned his way earlier in the day, bumping off 14th seed Nicolas Kiefer of Germany 7-5, 4-6, 7-6 (7-5), 6-3. Pete Sampras faces Lleyton Hewitt in the other semifinal.

Martin, 30, maneuvered past Johansson with little fanfare, taking the 22nd-ranked Swede apart in front of a tranquil evening crowd of 22,432 inside Arthur Ashe Stadium. It was typical. Martin never draws a lot attention. Nice guys never do.

Amid relative anonymity, he has crept through the field, causing a mild stir only when he toppled 10th seed Cedric Pioline in the third round. His other victims have been lesser-known unseeded foes, which has only made Martin's march all the more quiet.

It is hard not to notice him now because he clearly is in a groove. After battling injuries and illnesses that limited him to a 5-9 record through the first half of the year, he has swept nine of his last 11 matches. And he is two steps from winning the Open crown he nearly captured a year ago when he narrowly fell to Andre Agassi in the final.

Johansson went down just like the rest, rocked by Martin's baseline bombs and impressed with his energy, which was surprisingly high Thursday considering he was coming off a five-set marathon against Carlos Moya that lasted until the wee hours of Wednesday morning.

Johansson had his chances. He led 4-2 in the fourth set and had shifted things his way.

But he unexplainably stumbled there, botching several shots, including a sitter near the net.

That was all the opening Martin needed. He roared back, taking a 6-5 lead. Then, after blowing one match point on a routine forehand volley wide, he finished Johansson off when the Swede crashed a baseline shot into the net.

"I lost so much momentum (in the third set) and he really picked up a lot," Martin said. "Just moving to the ball was difficult, but it was easy for him.

"But once I got back on serve (in the fourth set), my energy level was better and I started playing better."

Safin's win was the biggest match of his career even if the sparse morning crowd might have suggested otherwise. This is the first year the 20-year-old has played a full Grand Slam schedule, and he's in his first Slam semifinal after not even being seeded here a year ago.

That achievement is the culmination of a season in which Safin has risen to heights. He came into this event fourth in the ATP Tour Champions Race -- ahead of Agassi, former French Open champion Yevgeny Kafelnikov and two-time U.S. Open winner Patrick Rafter -- and has a 49-21 match record.

He is the latest talent to come out of Russia, following on the heels of Kafelnikov, who has already promised greatness from Safin. Now Safin has another believer in Kiefer, who said after their match that Safin is capable of winning the title here.

"I think so. I think his confidence is getting much bigger and bigger," Kiefer said. "For sure, he has a great chance to get in the final. He also beat Pete a couple of weeks ago. I think there is a good chance for him to win."

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