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Waving goodbye to Nice Guy Todd
Tennis has waved goodbye to one of its favourite sons after Todd Martin, known affectionately as Nice Guy Todd, retired at 34.
Tennis has waved goodbye to one of its favourite sons after Todd Martin, known affectionately as Nice Guy Todd, retired at the age of 34.
Martin reached two grand-slam finals, at the Australian Open in 1994 and the French Open in 1999, and helped the United States win the Davis Cup in 1995.
He served as president of the ATP Players' Council, representing his colleagues, and his standing among them could not have been higher.
The lofty American bowed out after 14 years in the game with a four-set defeat by Frenchman Fabrice Santoro at the U.S. Open on Monday night.
With tears in his eyes, he thanked the fans on the Louis Armstrong Stadium court, and left in the unassuming manner that had become his custom.
"I think the game and the players are going to miss him a lot," fellow American Andre Agassi said.
"As a competitor he was as good as they came. As a professional, top notch. Certainly well respected as a person.
"In tennis terms, his return was world class and he had one of the most accurate serves in the game. He could hit a dime."
At a news conference late on Monday night, Martin said the decision to quit had been a fairly easy one.
"I've been thinking about it for probably a couple of years," he said.
"I am sure had I had better results in the past couple of years I wouldn't have thought about it as often.
"I'm going to miss it terribly. Obviously, it's been a huge part of my life.
The American described the Davis Cup victory, when the U.S. beat Russia in Moscow, and the U.S. Open final in 1999, when he lost to an inspired Agassi, as the highlights of his career.
