In 1998, Todd Martin was a clear outsider for the Barcelona Open title.
The American, born in Hinsdale, Illinois, was the world number 65 heading into the 46th edition of the event.
However, Martin defied the odds, dropping just one set on his way to the title.
How did Martin pull off such an extraordinary feat in the Spanish city?
Todd Martin’s run to the 1998 Barcelona Open title
Martin began the 1998 Barcelona Open by defeating Australia’s Richard Fromberg 6-2, 6-4.
He then caused a major upset in the second round, defeating 12th seed and former French Open champion, Thomas Muster.
After beating Muster 6-4, 7-6, Martin beat Czechia’s Ctislav Doseděl and home favourite Carles Costa – who had knocked out a young Marat Safin in the third round.
Martin continued to boost his title credentials in the semi-finals, knocking out Andrea Gaudenzi, 6-4, 7-6. Gaudenzi, from Italy, is now the Chairman of the ATP.
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In the final, Martin faced Spanish seventh seed Alberto Berasategui.
Berasategui, from Bilbao, was a Grand Slam finalist at the 1994 French Open and won 14 ATP Tour singles titles before retiring in 2001.
Martin was the clear underdog heading into the final: the American was ranked far lower than Berasategui on the ATP Tour and would not have the support of the Catalan crowd during the final.
Again, Martin [pictured below in 2004] upset the odds, beating Berasategui 6–2, 1–6, 6–3, 6–2.
A year later, Martin achieved a career-high ranking of world number four. The American went on to win eight ATP Tour singles titles before retiring in 2004.
Martin also appeared in two Grand Slam finals during his career: the 1994 Australian Open and 1999 US Open.
Martin lost to Pete Sampras in the 1994 final and to Andre Agassi in the 1999 championship showpiece.
Todd Martin’s ATP Tour titles
- 1991 Coral Springs [outdoor clay]
- 1994 Queen’s Club Championships [outside grass]
- 1994 Memphis Open [indoor hard]
- 1995 Memphis Open [indoor hard]
- 1996 Sydney Open [outdoor hard]
- 1998 Stockholm Open [indoor hard]
- 1998 Barcelona Open [outdoor clay]
- 1999 Sydney Open [outdoor hard]
Todd Martin coached Novak Djokovic
After ending his playing career in 2004, Martin delved into the world of coaching.
The American first worked with former world number 18, Mardy Fish. The pair worked together from 2004 to 2007.
Martin joined Novak Djokovic’s coaching team in 2009, becoming the Serbian’s second coach alongside long-time trainer Marian Vajda.
However, the partnership did not work out, and Djokovic parted ways with the American in 2010.
“You’re always going to have problems like that when you work with two coaches,” said Djokovic, as per BBC Sport “They did not understand each other very well.”
“He [Martin] tried to change [my serve], but it was all too complicated in the end and now I’m back to the old one.
“Todd is a fantastic person who has so much experience and he shared everything with me but it just did not work out in the end and we separated with no hard feelings.
“I’m full-time with Marian again and hopefully we can have a lot of success.”