​In conjunction with the United States celebrating its 250th birthday this year, USA Today Co. newspapers in Michigan have been looking at some of the top athletes to come out of each region in the state.Over the next several weeks, the Lansing State Journal will unveil some of the top athletes from Greater Lansing. We will take a daily look at one of the top 10 male or female athletes from the region. These athletes are determined by more than just high school performance. Accomplishments in college and as a professional were also taken into consideration when determining the area’s best.AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementThese athletes are not ranked in order. Here is a look at our latest male athlete.Todd Martin, right, poses with the US Davis Cup team and trophy on Dec. 3, 1995 in Moscow, Russia. Also pictured, Pete Sampras, coach Tom Gullickson, Andre Agassi, Jim Courier and Richie Reneberg.The path to making it big in tennis started for Martin during his time growing up in East Lansing. Martin was the Class A state runner-up at No. 1 singles in 1986 for East Lansing High School before following by winning the state championship in 1987.Martin went on to spend two seasons playing tennis at Northwestern before turning professional.Among his top accomplishments as a pro were reaching the Grand Slam final at the Australian Open in 1994 and the finals of the U.S. Open in 1999 when he fell in five sets to Andre Agassi.AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementMartin won eight titles in his pro career and represented the United State in the Davis Cup for nine straight years, which included being on the championship team in 1995.This article originally appeared on Lansing State Journal: Celebrating Greater Lansing’s best: East Lansing’s Todd Martin became worldwide tennis star