The hard work is just beginning for Todd Martin when he leaves the practice court and heads for home.

For the resident of Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida, welcomed the latest addition to the Martin dynasty into the world just three months ago and, as is the way with all babies, young Jackson Dale Martin is taking up much of his and wife Amy's time.

When asked whether the day his wife gave birth surpassed his two Wimbledon semi-final appearances, Martin, who heads to Bermuda this weekend for the XL Capital Bermuda Open, said with a laugh: "I wouldn't imagine having too many better (days).

"He's a handful but it's been the best thing I have ever done. It's been a blast."

Whether Martin's son will inherit any of his father's talent on the court will not be apparent for some time, but the chances are that if the youngster does decide to pick up a racquet at least some of the success Martin has had will be passed along the bloodline.

The Illinois-born right-hander, now 32, turned professional in 1990 at the US Open. A year later he qualified and reached the last 16 at the French Open.

His rise continued unabated in 1992 when he broke into the top 100 and 12 months later he enjoyed his first career top ten wins in Memphis over Andre Agassi and Michael Chang before going down to Jim Courier in the final.

Martin's first ATP Tour singles title came in Coral Springs and in 1994 he reached the final of the Australian Open, won in Memphis and Queen's and reached the semi-final stage Wimbledon with four five-set wins, the first player in the Open era to accomplish the feat at the All England Club.

Since that time Martin has taken his singles titles tally to eight; Memphis (1995); Sydney Outdoor (1996); Barcelona, Stockholm (1998); Sydney (1999) making up the total.

He has also proved his ability on the doubles court taking five titles, one of which was here in Bermuda in 1995.

A lot has changed in the sport since Martin took the decision to turn pro and each season he turns out his opponents get younger and younger.

So does he think he can still hack it against today's up and coming stars? His answer is unequivocal.

"It's a different game that they play than what I do," he said. "That benefits them physically, but it benefits me strategically.

"I think I need to be a little bit sharper in the mind than they do. Sometimes it's more important to have the brains than the brawn. That is my job - to figure out how to make the brains more important."

It is inevitable at Martin's age that journalists, pundits and the like begin to refer to him as a veteran. But though that might be the case in the physical sense, it certainly is not the case in terms of his mental approach.

This player still believes he has yet to reach his peak, and with the resurgence of Agassi, another 32-year-old, it would be a fool who would bet against him adding to his trophy cabinet sometime in the future.

"I have had the same long-term goal for quite a while, to eventually reach my potential," he said. "I feel like I am a better player now than I was a few years ago.

"The short-term goals are difficult to set because we compete so frequently it's hard to work on too many aspects of your game during those times.

"My goals have always been developmental and I try to avoid result-orientated goal setting."

Martin says he has a far better understanding of the game now and is keen to keep on learning.

"I haven't improved at the same rate physically as some of the younger guys, which is understandable, but I don't believe I have gotten worse. I believe I have gotten better physically just not at the leaps and bounds that the 18 to 20-year-olds seem to improve at," he said.

"Mentally and strategically I understand the game much better and it's just a matter of compensating for some of the gaps."

Agassi is someone who Martin admires a great deal.

"He is an extremely smart player. He is also blessed with really the best technique I have ever seen and great pair of hands and a great pair of eyes," he said. "He seems to still dominate pretty much everybody when he goes out on the court."

Martin, currently 63rd in the ATP Champions Race, is not the top seed at the Bermuda Open. That honour goes to Sweden's Kenneth Carlsen, but his past achievements will make him one of those the crowds come out to watch at Coral Beach.

Asked if that put any pressure on him he said: "If that affects me I am in the wrong business."

Though he obviously wants to put in a good performance, winning in Bermuda is not the most important thing for Martin.

"Like I said, my goals are not result orientated," he said. "If I go there and have a chance to play some matches and once I get my feet wet, or dirty on the clay, get the ball rolling towards playing in Paris (French Open) in late May, I think that's the most I can ask for."