Just four days after his exit from the Australian Open, Todd Martin was still trying to shake off the cobwebs created by a bad case of jet lag. He was also attempting to put away any thoughts of Russian Yevgeny Kafelnikov.

He was up at 5 a.m. yesterday, still sounding fresh three hours later, but getting used to being back home in Florida after a fourth round exit at the Open, a thorough thrashing by Kafelnikov in straight sets, 6-1, 6-4, 6-2.

Next on his agenda is the Davis Cup, where he'll play singles with Jim Courier against France. A couple of months later it's Bermuda and Coral Beach, where he'll once again have France on his mind.

"Bermuda's my first clay court event this year,'' Martin said yesterday in a telephone interview, and "I'll be trying to get prepared to go over to Paris.'' Paris is, of course, the site of the French Open, and his second Grand Slam stop of the year.

"I'm certainly not going to go (to Bermuda) hoping to be at peak form,'' he said. "It's a progression, but what'll be nice is that it'll be my first chance to get re-acquainted with the clay. Sometimes the newness of it all, I guess, makes it more fun and sometimes even challenges you so much that you rise to it and play better.'' Martin, an angular six-foot-six, has been rising to the occasion since leaving Northwestern University in Michigan as a sophomore and embarking on a pro career in 1990. It's been a steady progression, improving on his ATP Tour ranking of 269 five years ago and reaching number 10 at the end of 1994.

He reached a career-high number five last July after a semi-final finish at Wimbledon, but Martin prefers not to dwell on things like where he's perched on the ATP computer.

His presence here in April's XL Bermuda Open gives Tournament Director Alec Anderson the big name he's been searching for since putting together the original XL Classic in 1993.

It's a sure bet that Martin's face will be featured in promotional materials and posters for the April 17-23 event, and the Coral Beach grandstands are bound to be jam-packed with fans eager to watch his matches.

"It'll be exciting, actually,'' said Martin. "I've never been to an Island like Bermuda, so I'm looking forward to that. Also, it's really one of my favourite stretches of tennis throughout the year.

"Just make sure the weather's good when I'm there so I can play a little bit of golf.'' The temperatures are bound to be warmer than December, 1993, when Mikael Pernfors won the original Classic, with fans huddled under blankets to protect themselves from the pelting rain and high winds.

Big things are expected from Martin in 1995, especially after reaching the finals of the Australian Open against his buddy Pete Sampras in 1994, and at Wimbledon where he won four five-set matches, something no one else has ever done.

He was undone by Kafelnikov last Sunday, but tripped Oliver Gross, Jean-Philippe Fleurian and Vince Spadea, each time in straight sets to reach round four of this year's Aussie event.

"The challenge in Australia is being in good enough shape to deal with the heat, and when you're playing a Grand Slam tournament you have to be prepared to fight over five sets,'' said Martin. "I think I was pretty well prepared for the heat and all that, but I never had more than a three-set match, so I was a little disappointed with what happened...the way I lost.

"I know you're going to lose here and there, but I was disappointed that I didn't compete a little bit better and show, I guess, a little intestinal fortitude.'' Martin, 24, proved he had the stomach for pro tennis by taking his first quantum leap in Memphis in February, 1993 when he defeated David Wheaton, Andre Agassi and Michael Chang before losing in the final there to Courier.

Later that year he won his first tournament -- on clay -- and reached the quarter-finals at Wimbledon. He lost a heart-breaking match to Richard Krajicek at the US Open and the five-hour, 10-minute match was the second longest in Flushing Meadow history.

He has since solidified his reputation as being versatile, astute and a consummately intelligent player.

Martin's a thinking man's pro whose game is a striking combination of power and consistency. His service return is as formidable as his first serve.

Surprisingly, he'll approach the Bermuda tournament in much the same way as a Grand Slam event.

"In certain ways, yes,'' he said. "The same goal is in mind and that's to make steps in your game to prove to yourself that you're doing things a certain way. I'll be practising on the clay for a week or two before I go over there.'' He said that being in the top 10 hasn't changed him at all, testament to growing up in a household where religion was as important as athletics.

"When I go home I try to be normal,'' said Martin. "I don't try to be a tennis player. I think it's a lot easier to separate yourself from your job when you do something like I do than when you're a businessman.'' When he's removed from the glare of the tour spotlight, Martin spends time looking after a home he's building for himself in Florida, the only thing (besides a $400 pool cue) he's bought with the more than $1,814,505 he's won since turning pro.

"The (house) is really the first thing I've every purchased,'' he said. "I try to realise that I'm not going to make the type of money I have the last couple of years for the rest of my life. I also realise I'm never going to grow up to be a CEO of a company or whatever and have that type of success. So I'm trying to save as much as I can and plan for the future when I have a family.'' TODD MARTIN -- looking forward to his first Bermuda visit in April.