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Martin Damm Jr. notched his first-ever victory on the ATP tour on Wednesday (March 20), springing up an upset over World No. 49 Zhang Zhizhen in the first round of the 2024 Miami Masters.
Damm Jr., son of 2006 US Open men's doubles champion Martin Damm, turned pro in 2020. The 20-year-old had previously played in the qualifiers at the 2022 Miami Masters, the 2023 Shanghai Masters and the US Open in 2022-23, but failed to make the main draw of those ATP events.
Having received a wildcard into this year's 1000-level event in Miami, the American made the most of it as he beat his much higher-ranked opponent Zhang Zhizhen 7-6(2), 7-6(3). The World No. 204 showed immense resilience during the first set of the match; Zhizhen held a set point as he served for the set at 5-4 up, but was broken by Damm Jr before losing the tiebreaker seven points to two.
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While the Chinese was broken in the first game of the second set, he broke back three games later as another tiebreaker was required to decide the set. The American won it in a similar fashion to the first-set shootout, sending him through to the second round of this week's Miami Masters.
Martin Damm Jr. will next face 14th-seeded Tommy Paul for a place in the Round of 32 of the ATP Masters 1000 tournament. While the 20-year-old has yet to prove his credentials on either the main tour or the Challenger circuit, he has recorded five triumphs from 10 finals on the ITF World Tennis Tour.
Martin Damm Jr.'s father won his lone Majors title partnering doubles legend Leander Paes
Meanwhile, Martin Damm Sr. enjoyed a passable singles career on the ATP tour, recording a 157-210 win/loss record. Having represented the Czech Republic his entire career, he reached a career-high singles ranking of 42 in 1997, with his best performance coming at the 1994 Australian Open — where he reached the fourth round.
Damm Sr. was a far better doubles player, recording 40 title victories in 64 finals on the ATP tour. Out of those 64 finals, three came at the Majors: the 1993 US Open, the 2006 Australian Open and the 2006 US Open. He won his only Grand Slam doubles title at Flushing Meadows in 2006, teaming up with India's Leander Paes to defeat the pair of Jonas Bjorkman and Max Mirnyi.
Martin Damm Sr. was a force to be reckoned with in mixed doubles as well, having made the mixed doubles final of the 2006 US Open. The Czech and his countrywoman Květa Peschke were denied by Martina Navratilova and Bob Bryan in the title clash. He peaked at No. 7 in men's doubles rankings, eventually hanging up his racquet in 2011.
