US Open, DAY 1

Dignified and gray-haired, Todd Martin retires
Newcomer Perry, Haynes make progress

By Matthew Cronin, TennisReporters.net

Photo: Fred Mullane/Camerawork USA; Design: Ron Cioffi/TR.net

FROM THE US OPEN – As the now-retired Todd Martin walked off the court for the last time at the US Open on Monday, a fan yelled out, "What am I going to do now at night now, Todd?"

"Sleep," replied the late-night US hero, who brought fans so much drama year after year, but especially in his run to '99 final, when he pulled off a miracle against Carlos Moya in the fourth round.

Martin put up a stern fight against Fabrice Santoro in a first-round loss on Monday, but can't move very well anymore, cannot dictate with his big groundies. Yes, he played in the shadow of the Fab 4 his whole career (Pete Sampras, Andre Agassi, Jim Courier and Michael Chang) and never had their successes, but had he couldn't knock out Pete in the '94 Aussie Open final, or snag the '96 Wimbledon title that should have been his (he choked to Mal Washington in the semis) or somehow triumphed over Agassi, he would have become an important historical figure.

But he's all about process now and understands his role in the sport. He was an important part of where the game has been the past 14 years and will likely be around in another tennis-related capacity for decades to come. The 34-year-old will be remembered a very good player: six times ranked in the top 20, eight career titles, and Davis Cup heroics. He was a player who inspired with his deep strategy, his big heart and unique sense of sportsmanship.

"Some players' purpose are to win Grand Slams," he said. "Others is to show that you can learn to handle what successes and failures we've had with as much dignity as possible."

On Monday, it was odd but very telling watching him play in front of 500 fans or so on Armstrong while Agassi had 23,000 plus pulling for him on Ashe. But he did have his loyal group of fans out there, who remembered all those special evenings where on some well-lit court at the National Tennis Center , Martin turned what could have been a mundane affair into a gladiator pit. "I'll miss it terribly," he said. "Tennis has been a huge part of my life and has given me the greatest amount of self esteem."

Newcomer Perry, Haynes make progress
With all the hand-wringing about the lack of serve-and-volleyers in the women's game, lovers of this form of classic should check out the US' Shenay Perry, who comes in behind everything except for the hotdog cart that was parked near Court 9. On that locale, Perry dropped a long three-setter to France's stylish Stephanie Foretz, largely because her legs were too tired to allow her to close on the net fast enough.

Perry has an excellent serve and is a good enough athlete, but it's hard to imagine her becoming more than a Top-40 player if she doesn't learn to put some bite on her slice backhand and step into her forehand more. On the WTA Tour, there is no way to be a dominant player if you can't win multiple points from the baseline. Yes, Perry does occasionally chip-charge off her foe's serve, but, frankly, her approach shots often aren't deep enough or strong enough to force lousy attempts at passing shots. But she's still has a large upside if she continues to improve 10 percent per year.

Perry is one of six African-American women who got straight into the women's draw (wild cards excluded), which has to be a record. The others are the Williamses, Chanda Rubin, Jamea Jackson and Mashona Washington. Wild card Angela Haynes, who is also African-American, scored a huge win on Monday night, fighting off match points and beating Tatiana Perebiynis 7-6 in the third.

Susan Mullane/Camerawork USA

Federer dominates Costa.

Impressive wins of the day: Roger Federer's authoritative straight set win over Albert Costa 7-5, 6-2, 6-4; Amelie Mauresmo's 6-4, 6-2 knockout of Marissa Irvin; Marion Bartoli's 6-4, 6-4 upset of No. 32 Meghann Shaughnessy; Taylor Dent in the first set of his win over Younes El Aynaoui (who then retired in the second set with a foot injury) and Serena Williams straight set wipeout of Sandra Kleinova, where she moved quickly and nailed 35 winners, while committing only 17 unforced errors.
Shaky wins of the day go to Jen Capriati and Carlos Moya.

Upset of the day we sensed would happen but never mentioned: Croatia's Jelena Kostanic upending young compatriot and No. 18 Karolina Sprem.

Quote of the day: The US Open-less Federer on why he doesn't feel it's far to compare him to the US Open-less (0-9) Bjorn Borg: "I don't see it so bad. I feel like I've played well here in the past. I've never had a first round loss here and have been made the fourth round three times. I've actually won matches here, and I've just lost the big ones. When I lost to [Andre] Agassi [in 2002] I wasn't the favorite. Nalbandian was a dark horse and I guy I didn't like to play too much. Once I lost to [Max] Mirnyi and he blew me off the court at midnight. Not much I could do in those matches. But I feel like this surface suits my game. It's quicker than Australia. To compare Borg's record to mine, I don't think that's fair."