Alberto Martin

Titles Won (3): 

(1999) Casablanca, Bucharest, (2001) Mallorca

Alberto Martin is a professional tennis player from Spain. He began playing tennis at the age of six and enjoys soccer, basketball and is a keen supporter of Espanyol. In 1996, he was one of the top juniors, finishing number six in the world. He captured the Roland Garros juniors title (d. Rehnqvist) that year and closed the season by winning the prestigious Orange Bowl 18s title, defeating Arnaud Di Pasquale. He considers clay to be his favourite surface and he turned professional in 1995. To date he has played in limited Davis Cup play but posts a 0-2 record. He is coached by countryman and former ATP tennis professional Marcos Aurelio Gorriz since July 2004. In 1997, he advanced to his first ATP semi-final in Umag (d. Kucera, l. Bruguera) and reached his first doubles final in Bournemouth. On the Challenger circuit he reached his first final in Geneva and broke into the Top 100 for the first time on September 15th. In Grand Slam play he successfully qualified for his first major at Roland Garros, losing to fellow countryman and world number nine in five sets. In 1998, Martin played the majority of his tennis on the Challenger circuit where he posted excellen results in the second half of the season, winning one title at Seville and reaching back-to-back finals at Cairo (l. Portas) and Buenos Aires (l. El Aynaoui) to finish the year with a ranking of 106.

His first breakthrough came in the 1999 season, highlighted by winning his first ATP titles. In March, the Spaniard reached the final of the Singapore Challenger, losing to Italy's Mose Navarra in straight sets. He won his first ATP title at his next tournament in Casablanca, defeating Fernando Vicente in the final. In April, Martin advanced to successive ATP quarter finals at Orlando (l. Canas) and Atlanta (l. Koubek). Having lost in the first round of the Australian Open and Roland Garros, Martin advanced to a career best third round in a Grand Slam at Wimbledon, losing to world nubmer four Andre Agassi in four sets. In September, Martin won his second ATP title of the season on the clay courts in Bucharest, defeating fellow countrymen Fernando Vicente and Albert Costa en route to the final before defeating Karim Alami in straight sets 6-2, 6-3. In 2000, Martin reached six ATP quarter finals and reached the final at the Szczecin Challenger. In doubles play he won his first ATP title in Bucharest, partnered with Ran. The Spaniard's best season to date came in 2001 when he finished in the Top 50 for the first time in his career, highlighted by his third ATP title in Mallorca, defeating Carlos Moya in the semi-final and Coria in the final. He also reached his first Masters Series quarter final at both Monte-Carlo and Hamburg. At the Masters Series event in Cincinnati he defeated world number one Pete Sampras in the second round before losing to Kafelnikov in the third round.

In 2002, Martin began the season well by reaching the semi-final in Adelaide. In his next tournament at the Australian Open he defeated local favourite Lleyton Hewitt in a suprising first round victory, but lost in the third round to Marcelo Rios. In 2003, he again reached the Australian Open third round, losing to America's James Blake. He also advanced to quarter finals at Delray Beach and the Masters Series in Monte-Carlos for a second time as a qualifier.At the US Open he reached a career best third round, losing to Schuettler. In 2006, Martin finished in the Top 80 for the eight consecutive year and turned in strong performances on clay, making a career-best run at Roland Garros and reaching an ATP sngles final at Costa do Sauipe (l. Massu). At the French Open he defeated seeded players Andy Roddick and Oliver Rochus en route to the fourth round before being forced to retire against Benneteau. In 2007, Martin finished outside the Top 100 for the first time since 1998, enjoying limited success on the ATP circuit, reaching just one ATP quarter final at Valenica. In 2008, the Spaniard reached four Challenger finals, winning two events at Trnava and Tarragona.