UbiTennis brings you the latest instalment in a series of exclusive interviews with many relevant figures in the world of tennis. This time the guest was Todd Martin, while Steve Fink (who was inducted into the Hall of Fame when Todd was already in charge) completed the usual line-up.

Martin recorded 411 wins on the ATP Tour, won 8 titles over the course of his career (out of 20 finals), and enjoyed two stints as president of the Player Council between 1995 and 1999. Despite Wimbledon statistically being his strongest Slam, his best runs came at the 1994 Australian Open and at the 1999 US Open, where he finished runner-up to Pete Sampras and Andre Agassi, respectively.

The chat happened at a momentous time, coming on the heels of the cancellation of all tournaments up to July 31, including his own grass event in Rhode Island – a double blow for the event, since the celebration for the 2020 Hall of Fame inductees, Conchita Martinez and Goran Ivanisevic, was also called off. However, he didn’t shy away from these unfortunate, albeit expected, news, using instead the opportunity to talk about the situation of the tennis tours as a whole.

Video schedule

00: Introduction and career achievements

2:42: Todd reminisces about the two Slam finals he lost, outlining his growth as a player: “Pete let you outplay him for a while, but then…”

8:52: Comments on Sampras’s retirement and which one his best season was: “I’m not sorry about his retirement, he killed me every time!” Is the peak of a player defined by ranking or by performance?

12:16: Ubaldo and Steve Flink’s relationship with notepads and a very timely scoop at Flushing Meadows…

15:16: The victorious doubles match in the 1995 Davis Cup final with Sampras. Would he rather play at home or away?

22:23: The Marathon Man, finishing at 1:22 in the morning and high-fiving the crowd in the Arthur Ashe stadium at the US Open after two comebacks a year apart from each other: “Physically, I’m here. Would you like to know where I am metaphysically?”

26:05: That Wimbledon semifinal against Washington in ‘96. Could he have won the final against Krajicek? “Tennis is like business: speculation is bad, and it was a distraction then as it is now. Put it this way: I’d have played Krajicek or Washington in a Slam final rather than Sampras!” Also, why he didn’t win more titles.

30:42: The Davis Cup tie against Rafter: “If somebody can come back against me, why on Earth wouldn’t I be able to come back against them?”

36:26: More Davis Cup, this time against Italy in Milwaukee, as Ubaldo chuckles chauvinistically. Remember Davide Sanguinetti?

38:58: To be the boss in Newport where he debuted as a professional, and the sacred trinity of US tournaments that were hallmarks of his career: “Why would you ever let Steve Flink get into the Hall of Fame?” Ubaldo typically jokes, smiling, about  his beloved American friend who of course is a much deserved Hall of Famer pushing Todd Martin to laugh.  “Hey Steve isn’t Ubaldo attacking you too much? Fight him back!”

42:44: How the cancellation of Newport happened and the vulnerability of the game’s business.

47:36: Should we try to play with no fans in the stands or should we wait for next year? “Sports weren’t meant to be public events, but they’ve grown to become so central in our lives. I’d like to see tennis active, but not at the risk of health or of challenging businesses to survive even more than now.”

49:50: Congratulations to the swiftness with which Newport is moving to refund tickets, especially as others are not letting go of the cash as quickly…

53:30: The logistics of tennis behind closed doors. “Travelling restrictions are the first of many challenges we are facing.”

56:51: “Having a tournament and then nothing for four weeks isn’t what we need, we have to accept that some decisions will be made that won’t be good for us from a business standpoint, but might be good for the sport as a whole. We need to remember that this is a tour.”

1:00:40: Todd for commissioner? “Not a good idea! However, I believe that having a commissioner for the sport would be a good experiment. Necessity could force us to finally unite.” How the power has shifted towards the Player Council since his days as President.

1:05:45: Are you in touch with new ATP Chairman, Andrea Gaudenzi? “I really like his vision, if we can approach the idea of unifying the stakeholders from a commercial point of view, then we will be able to do so in terms of governance as well.”

1:07:46: The situation in Rhode Island. Trivia: who is his British pal who also excels as a golf player?

1:12:06: How do so many players still do well in their 30s? Sports science and…

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Make sure you check out Ubitennis’ other interviews big names from the world of tennis:-

–Emilio Sanchez: One Loss That Destroyed His ‘Winning Will’ And The Match That Could Have Changed Roger Federer’s career

–Raymond Moore On Playing During The Apartheid Era And Why Indian Wells Shouldn’t Be Played In 2020

–Why Rod Laver Wanted To Kill Martin Mulligan at Wimbledon

–Tennis Like “The Godfather”: Seven Families Fighting For Power (Video-Interview With Mary Carillo)

–Patrick McEnroe: “Had I beaten John, he would have stopped talking to me!”

Article text written by Tommaso Villa

UbiTennis has been talking to some of the most eminent figures in the game. In the latest instalment, Ubaldo interviews Patrick McEnroe – a singles title won out of four finals, with a best ranking of N.28 in the world – and is joined by their mutual friend and colleague Steve Fink, a member of the Hall of Fame.

McEnroe tested positive to Covid-19, but has recovered and now feels a lot better, while still self-isolating in his New York home. Notoriously, Patrick is John McEnroe’s younger brother. Over the course of his career, he defeated 13 Top 10 players (including former and future ones): Boris Becker, Goran Ivanisevic (these two are the only ones who were actually among the best when he beat them), Richard Krajicek, Jimmy Connors, Alex Corretja, Brad Gilbert, Thomas Enqvist, Wayne Ferreira, Guy Forget, Henri Leconte, Andrei Chesnokov, Mikael Penfors and Marc Rosset. However, he never managed to get a win against his sibling, who held a 3-0 head-to-head record against him. Particularly notable is his semifinal run in the 1991 Australian Open, surviving a five-setter against an Italian, Cristiano Caratti, before bowing out against tournament winner Becker after winning the opening tie-break.

Video schedule

• Minute 00:00: Patrick talks about self-isolation in his New York home after testing positive for Covid-19.
• 08:00: He reminisces about defeating Italian Cristiano Caratti in the quarter finals of the 1991 Australian Open, coming up with the quote of the year during the press conference. His career is summarised.
• 11:00 / 14:00 – McEnroe vs Becker and why he beat him twice.
• 16:00 – The famous US Open 1st round match against Jimmy Connors all’US Open ‘91, and how his daughter still taunts his about how things went down that day.
• 17:20 – “John didn’t want me to train with Connors!“
• 19:00 – “I was invited to a wedding that weekend, and I was forced to watch Connors on TV, taking the stage that could have been mine.”
• 18:20: Patrick is facing John in the Chicago final, when a phone rings: “Dad, mum’s calling!”
• 21:00 / 24:00 – He and Hlasek face Korda and John in the Basel final… John tells Korda to serve to Patrick’s forehand, but… after that match John wouldn’t talk to Patrick for a while…
• 24:00 – More Chicago: “Had I won, John wouldn’t have talked to me for God knows how long. I won the first set…”
• 25:00 – Gianni Clerici said: “I’m not gay, but John’s volleying touch is so delicate…”
• 26:00 – Patrick talks about his podcast, “Holding court with Patrick McEnroe”.
• 26:00 / 30:00 – Is it harder to partner John on-court or in the press-box? His brother’s great team spirit.
• 30:00 / 36:00 –His tenure as Davis Cup captain. His anecdotes on Sampras, Agassi, Roddick, Blake. His sole home-soil defeat against Croatia and how it is to work with the USTA.
• 36:00 / 42:00 – How he managed to be a captain for a decade (more than anybody else) while John only lasted a year and a half. How to get along with the players without treating each of them the same way.
• 41:00 / 47:00 – His podcast with tennis-loving celebrities, such as Alec Baldwin and Ben Stiller.
• 47:00 – Patrick’s predictions on resuming play.
• 48:00 / 52:00 – “I’d have the US Open behind closed doors if it were possible.” Which is likelier, that the French Open or Flushing Meadows will actually happen?

McEnroe is the latest in a series of tennis stars to have spoken with UbiTennis during the Tour shutdown. Previous interviews include discussing how tennis is like The Godfather with Mary Carillo, why Rod Laver wanted to kill Martin Mulligan and why cancelling Indian Wells was the right move in the view of owner Ray Moore. UbiTennis also learned about the match that destroyed the ‘winning will’ of Emilio Sanchez. 

Continuing the trend inaugurated by Stan Wawrinka and Benoit Paire and their “Instagram Happy Hour,” current world No. 1 Novak Djokovic and the No. 1 of 2016 Andy Murray entertained the world of tennis with a one-hour public chat on Instagram.

https://twitter.com/josemorgado/status/1251219499585544194

The two touched on several topics, including the definition of the GOAT (Greatest of All Time) and the shot-by-shot composition of the ideal player in their eyes.

Here are the choices of the two champions:

Novak Djokovic
Service: Nick Kyrgios
Return: Andy Murray
Forehand: Juan Martin del Potro
Backhand: Andy Murray
Volleys: Roger Federer
Mental Strength: Rafael Nadal
Physical preparation: David Ferrer

Andy Murray
Service: John Isner
Return: Novak Djokovic
Forehand: Rafael Nadal
Backhand: Novak Djokovic
Volleys: Roger Federer
Mental Strength: Rafael Nadal
Physical preparation: Novak Djokovic (or Gael Monfils)

As for the definition of GOAT, if Djokovic does not want to compare different generations, Murray immediately contracts him saying “there is no need, the three best players are all of the same generation.”

A few clips from Andy Murray and Novak Djokovic’s joint Instagram live.

Thought this bit was quite revealing about how much previous Olympic failures have hurt Djokovic and why he’s so motivated for Tokyo…

Question is what moment he’d change in his career pic.twitter.com/XGi7gdkuKW

— George Bellshaw (@BellshawGeorge) April 17, 2020

The Serbian then revealed that his biggest career regret concerns the Olympics: “ In 2008 at Beijing, although I won the bronze medal, in the semifinal with Rafa I lost a very hard game, also making a pretty easy smash on an important point. Also in Rio 2016, I felt great, I was having the best 15 months of my career. I had lost in the third round at Wimbledon, so I had plenty of time to prepare, I had won in Canada, and I lost in the first round … “ Murray tried to cheer him up immediately by reminding him that he had a very tough draw, having to meet Juan Martin del Potro in the first round who then lost to Murray in the final.

“Then also during the London 2012 semifinal against you and also the final of the US Open, the same year: I missed another very easy smash.” Djokovic continued.

But Murray again offered an excuse: “It was very windy that evening, come on … “.