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Sunday, Jan. 24, 1999

Martin ousts defending champion Korda in five sets

Amid drug controversy, Czech player falls 7-5, 4-6, 7-6 (7-2), 5-7, 6-4,

By STEVE WILSTEIN
Associated Press

   MELBOURNE, Australia -- Petr Korda walked away with a salute to a cheering crowd, his Australian Open reign over but the drug controversy around him still festering.
   With no small measure of irony, the man who sent Korda packing in the wee hours Sunday was Todd Martin, the ATP players council president who wanted him banned for a year for testing positive for an anabolic steroid.
   It was a luminous match overshadowed by the lingering drug case, a controversy that Korda and Martin could neither ignore nor let interfere with their business on court.
   But at 1 a.m., when Martin's 29th ace and final service winner ended Korda's reign at the Australian Open, the two shook hands in mutual respect and spoke of the issue threatening the integrity of tennis.
   "I told him that I thought he had dealt with the whole thing very well here," Martin said. "To be able to come out and play that caliber of tennis, I thought was pretty admirable, regardless of anybody's opinion on the doping issue."
   Korda, who tested positive for Nandrolone at Wimbledon last year but received a lenient punishment criticized by most players, thanked Martin, then walked off the court applauding the nearly 14,000 fans cheering him.
   "It's just nice that he hasn't reacted too much to some of the players' outcry against him," Martin said. "I don't necessarily agree with the (appeals) committee's decision to allow him to keep playing. But it's the way our rule is ... and I have to respect that, and therefore respect Petr when he walks out on the court."
   There had been, to be sure, a few in the crowd during the match who yelled "stupid things," as Martin described them, such as taunting Korda to "get back on drugs."
   But the Czech, playing on his 31st birthday, kept his mind on the match and pushed the 15th-seeded American to the limit for 3 hours.
   "I think I played a great match, and I had my head up," Korda said. "Todd was just better than I was. He played a few crucial points better than I did. That's life.
   "I said in the beginning I'll defend my title the best way I can, and I think I did that today."
   Martin, riding a 13-match winning streak that has brought him two titles and put him into the fourth round of this grand slam event, relied on his potent serve and strong baseline game to notch his 300th career victory.
   Gray-haired at 28 but fully recovered from an elbow injury that threatened his career two years ago, Martin was proud of the way he fought back in the fifth set after blowing an early lead in the fourth.
   Martin capitalized on a double fault by Korda to start the fifth set. Martin made it 0-30 with a lunging backhand drop volley crosscourt that was out of Korda's reach. Martin then drilled a backhand crosscourt to set up triple break-point, and put the game away with a solid backhand return that Korda couldn't handle.
   In the past, Martin has been known to tighten up in long matches. Not this time. His 27th ace gave him a 2-0 lead, and he held serve the rest of the way.
   "I haven't played a ton of bad five-setters in my life," he said. "I have lost some tough ones, and I have won some tough ones. But I think there's a sense of maturity. There's a realization that there's not quite as much to lose as I once thought. I'm happy with things in my life, so I don't really put so much emphasis on my tennis. I think that probably helps."
   Martin won a five-setter to start the tournament and a four-setter in the second round.
   "I feel like I'm competing very well," he said. "I haven't played terrific tennis. I have served very well, and as my serve goes, probably so do I.
   "I've been challenged in all three matches so far. I feel like I should be in the semis."
   Runner-up to Pete Sampras at the Australian in 1994, Martin reached the semifinals of Wimbledon twice and the U.S. Open once. He is one of only five seeded men left in the Australian this year, and the victory over the defending champion may be just what he needs to reach his first major title.
   "It means a lot to beat a good player," Martin said. "And when you feel like that good player is not exactly playing poorly, it means more. When you do that in a grand slam, it means even more."
   

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