By Pritish BehuriaThe Daily Northwestern
In April 1989, a highly-touted Northwestern freshman Todd Martin walked onto his home court to face Michigan’s No. 1 MaliVai Washington.
Washington beat Martin and went on to become the ITA national indoor champion. The next year, though, Martin succeeded Washington as champion, without losing a set the whole tournament.
The rest, as they say, is history.
Last Friday, Martin was inducted into the ITA Hall of Fame. He became only the third NU player after Martin Riessen and Clark Graebner, who were inducted in 1989 and 1991.
Martin joined the ranks of John McEnroe (Stanford), Stan Smith (Southern California), Arthur Ashe and Jimmy Connors (both of UCLA) in the ITA Men’s Tennis Hall of Fame.
“In terms of his accomplishments, he’s the best player we’ve ever had,” said NU coach Paul Torricelli, who presented Martin with the award. “I really felt he could be a successful pro but could never have predicted he would be ranked (No.) 4 or 5 in the world.”
Martin turned professional in 1991 and soon became a regular feature in the latter rounds of major tennis tournaments. He advanced to the finals of the Australian Open in 1994, losing to Pete Sampras, and fell to Andre Agassi in the 1999 U.S. Open final.
Martin was also a part of the U.S. Davis Cup-winning team in 1995.
Martin earned all-conference honors in both his years as a Wildcat, and was named 1990 Big Ten player of the year and 1990 Big Ten singles champion, before leaving after his sophomore year.
“He was a really great player,” NU senior Willy Lock said. “He was No. 1 in college and in the nation for awhile and someone I’ll always look up to.”
Martin also transformed the Wildcats into a force to be reckoned with on the collegiate tennis circuit during his time here.
He led them to the 1990 Big Ten championship, and their first berth to the 16-team NCAA tournament in the same year.
“He came in with a big reputation but he had to prove himself to the guys on the team,” Torricelli said. “Soon, he became a really important part of the team and that team became the closest group of guys I’ve ever had.”
Martin retired in 2004, after winning eight singles titles, and being ranked as high as No. 4 in the world.
Torricelli said when Martin first came to NU, he was primarily a baseliner, but during his professional career he developed into an all-court player.
“Todd did something of everything and became a smart and effective server, but he still had the same backhand, just like it was when he was here,” Torricelli said.
Martin ended his two-year Wildcat career with a 79-9 record and holds NU’s career winning percentage record. He also holds the Wildcat singles record for the most wins in a single season, with 51.
“Any coach will tell you that they hope to have one player like Todd during their career,” Torricelli said.
“Many times your asked where’s the next Todd Martin. The truth is there’ll probably never be someone who is as good a player and unique a person as he is.”
Reach Pritish Behuria at [email protected].
