Last season, Martinez won two ITF World Tennis Tour titles in Tulsa, Oklahoma and Harlingen, Texas and climbed to a career-high ranking of No. 388. However, his progress was then interrupted by injuries to both knees.
Back in Barcelona, where he now trains with two coaches and a fitness trainer, Martinez has spent months rebuilding. Menorca became the clearest sign yet that he is finding his way back.
The Spaniard carried his momentum into Saturday’s semifinal, where he defeated another countryman, Daniel Rincon, 7-5, 7-5.
“I was staying strong mentally,” Martinez said afterwards. “Yesterday was a physical day for both of us as we both had to play two matches. After a huge effort like this, it’s easy to let go. I was really thinking about backing up this today.”
The previous day’s wins over top seed Valentin Royer of France and his compatriot Pol Martin Tiffon had been the biggest of his career, but Martinez refused to lose focus.
“I had good wins against a top 100 player and a top 200 player, you are happy, but the job wasn’t done,” he said. “It got me nervous today, but I stayed mentally strong every ball during the match.”
