Sybase Open: Todd Martin jumps back in his game in San Jose

Monday, Feb. 10, 1997 | 11:59 a.m.

SAN JOSE, Calif. -- Frustrated by more than two months of rehabilitation for his knee, Todd Martin is ready to get back in his game.

Martin returns to competition in the Sybase Open, which gets underway today at the San Jose Arena. It will be his first tournament since November, when he was sidelined by tendinitis in his right knee.

"I wouldn't say I'm 100 percent, but I'm getting there and moving in the right direction, which is the key to everything," said Martin, currently ranked No. 14 in the world. "I'll be interested to see how my knee reacts to competition."

The 26-year-old has finished in the top 20 every year since 1993, including last year, when he lost only one first-round match in 21 tournaments and finished No. 12.

He also was a member of the U.S. Davis Cup team last year, winning all four singles matches. But because of the tendinitis, he was forced to withdraw from the opening round of this year's Davis Cup.

Martin, a wild-card entry in the Sybase, is seeded fourth. He was scheduled to play Steve Bryan in the first round.

"I'm very aggressive and he's a counter-puncher," Martin said. "So the indoor surface should benefit me in that regard, but he's as tenacious as there is out there and considering the lack of play I've had, it's going to be a big challenge for me to be patient enough and be focused throughout the course of the match in order to beat him."

Tournament director Barry MacKay said Martin's success depends largely on his health, and perhaps a key upset or two. Martin was in the upper half of the draw with top-seeded Pete Sampras and No. 6 Richey Reneberg.

"If he can play himself into this tournament, I think he's got a chance," MacKay said. "It's just a matter of his health."

Sampras, the No. 1-ranked player in the world and the defending Sybase champion, faces 63rd-ranked Alex Radulescu of Germany in a first-round match Tuesday.

No. 2 Michael Chang, the Sybase champion in 1988 and 1992, will face a qualifier in the opening round.

Andre Agassi, the No. 3 seed who has won this tournament three times, will play his first-round match Wednesday against Mark Knowles of the Bahamas.

Agassi, ranked No. 12 in the world, has recovered from an injury to his left knee that also kept him out of the Davis Cup competition in Brazil.

"It's a great match for Andre to start out with," Agassi coach Brad Gilbert said. "I think Andre's at the point where he just need to play matches, so whoever he's going to play it's like, 'Bring it on.' He feels that attitude right now."