James Blake (tennis)
| File:Jamesblake.jpg | |
| Country (sports) |  United States |
|---|---|
| Residence | Tampa, Florida, USA |
| Height | 6'1 (185 cm) |
| Turned pro | 1999 |
| Plays | Right (one-handed backhand) |
| Prize money | $3,120,195 |
| Singles | |
| Career record | 171 - 119 |
| Career titles | 6 |
| Highest ranking | No. 5 (July 24, 2006) |
| Grand Slam singles results | |
| Australian Open | 4r (2003, '04) |
| French Open | 3r (2006) |
| Wimbledon | 3r (2006) |
| US Open | QF (2005) |
| Doubles | |
| Career record | 78 - 73 |
| Career titles | 5 |
| Highest ranking | No. 31 (March 31, 2003) |
| Last updated on: August 13, 2006. | |
- This article is about James Blake, the professional tennis player. For other uses, see James Blake (disambiguation).
James Riley Blake (born 28 December 1979) is an American professional tennis player and is currently ranked the number one player from the United States by the Association of Tennis Professionals.
Early life
Blake was born in Yonkers, New York, to parents Thomas Sr. and Betty. He has a brother, Thomas Jr., who is also a professional tennis player, and two older half-brothers, Christopher and Howard.
Blake attended Fairfield High School, in Fairfield, Connecticut. He dropped out of Harvard University after his sophomore year to pursue a career in tennis. Blake was inspired to pursue tennis after hearing his role model, Arthur Ashe, speak to the Harlem Junior Tennis Program. Brian Barker was his first (and current) coach.
Blake has scoliosis and for five years as a teenager, he had to wear a full-length back brace for 18 hours a day, though not while playing tennis.
Blake is known for his speed, extraordinarily powerful forehand, and intimidating service returns, which leaves many opponents baffled, including fellow top 10 players Roger Federer and Andy Roddick, and particularly Rafael Nadal, whom he has never lost to.
Career
Blake first gained the attention of tennis fans worldwide after playing Lleyton Hewitt at the 2001 U.S. Open. In an event that Hewitt would go on to eventually win, Blake gave Hewitt his toughest challenge of the entire tournament in the second round, falling in five sets, 6-4 3-6 2-6 6-3 6-0. Cramping prevented Blake from offering much resistance in the fifth and final set of the match. The two would have another long, brutal five-setter in the third round of the same tournament the very next year, with Hewitt winning that match by a score of 6-7 6-3 6-4 3-6 6-3.
At age 21, Blake saw his first Davis Cup action in 2001 against India and became the third African-American man to play the Davis Cup for the United States. Blake won the 2002 USTA Waikola Challenger in Hawaii. He has also twice won the Hopman Cup (with Serena Williams & Lindsay Davenport).
Blake was named Rookie of the Year for the 2000 World Team Tennis season.
2004 was an especially difficult year for Blake. While practicing at a tournament in Rome, he broke his neck by running into a net-post. In July he lost his father to stomach cancer (linitis plastica). The stress of this caused him to develop shingles that paralyzed half his face, reduced his hearing, and blurred his sight. Blake did not know if he would ever play tennis again.
In summer 2005, once Blake had recovered from his injuries, he reentered the ATP top 50 at #49 from #210. He won the 2005 Pilot Pen Tennis tournament in New Haven, Connecticut, defeating Feliciano Lopez 3-6, 7-5, 6-1. Having received a wildcard to enter the 2005 US Open, he defeated 2nd seed Rafael Nadal in the round of 32, which marked the first time that he defeated a top 10 player in a Grand Slam event. In the round of 16, Blake beat Tommy Robredo in four sets to send himself to the quarterfinals. This result marks Blake's best effort yet in a Grand Slam, where he succumbed to Andre Agassi in a fifth-set tiebreak after winning the first two sets.
Blake won his third ATP tour title in October 2005 at the Stockholm Open in Sweden. Blake defeated Thai player Paradorn Srichaphan in the final 6-1 7-6. Blake finished 2005 ranked at No. 22 in the world according to the entry ATP rankings.
In January 2006, Blake lost in the second round of the Adelaide International. However, Blake bounced back and won the Sydney International winning his fourth ATP tour title defeating Russian Igor Andreev in the final 6-2 3-6 7-6 in blistering heat.
At the 2006 Australian Open, he was seeded #20, where he lost in the third round to Spanish player Tommy Robredo 6-3 6-4 6-4. Regardless of the loss he cracked into the top 20 for the first time in his career. In March he beat Lleyton Hewitt 7-5 2-6 6-3 in the finals of the Las Vegas Open for his fifth ATP tour title. This win marked the first time he had beaten Hewitt in seven tries.
At the first Tennis Masters Series event in Indian Wells, Blake defeated Robredo in the third round and beat world #2 Rafael Nadal in the semifinals in straight sets 7-5 6-3; he would lose in the final to Roger Federer, though making history in the process. By reaching the finals of that event, Blake became the first African American man since Ashe to reach the top 10 rankings on March 20th 2006.
Kicking off the clay court season, after two first round losses, Blake had a victory over Carlos Moya at the Hamburg Masters event in the first round. He would lose to Mario Ancic in the third, despite being up a set and break. At the French Open, he took down rising Spanish player Nicolas Almagro in four sets in the second round. The last remaining American man in the third round, he was beaten by French home favorite Gael Monfils in five sets.
To start the grass court season, he made what many considered to be a surprising run at the Stella Artois Championships, reaching the finals, defeating Andy Roddick in the semifinal for the first time in his career. He lost to Lleyton Hewitt in the final, 6-4 6-4. At Wimbledon, Blake progressed to the third round and faced Max Mirnyi in the third. After being up love-40 for break point to take a lead in the first, he could not convert, losing the first set 6-4. He would take the next two sets, but won just one game of the last 13, losing to Mirnyi in five sets. The defeat dropped Blake to a disappointing 0-9 in five-set contests. [1]
Blake's first tournament after the loss at Wimbledon was the RCA Championships, a tournament which he would go on to win by defeating Andy Roddick 4-6, 6-4, 7-6 (5) in the final—his fifth title in 11 months.
With his advancement to the RCA final, Blake is currently ranked 5th in the world.
Personal life
Away from tennis, Blake also enjoys golf, basketball, and baseball. Blake has also been featured on Bravo's Celebrity Poker Showdown. He is dating Jennifer Scholle, who recently posed in Maxim as No. 87 on their Maxim Hot 100 2006 List.
Blake has appeared in People magazine's "Sexiest Man Alive" issue. He is also good friends with singer/songwriter John Mayer, who is from Fairfield as well.[1] When Blake was invited by Anthem Insurance to do a cancer charity game honoring his late father, he invited Mayer (along with Andy Roddick and Gavin DeGraw) to perform.[2]
Highlights
- Finished 2002 ranked No. 28 on the ATP men's tour
- Reached the fourth round in the 2003 Australian Open, losing to finalist Rainer Schuettler in four sets
- Reached the fourth round in the 2004 Australian Open, losing to finalist Marat Safin in four sets
- 3 September 2005, beat Rafael Nadal in the third round of the 2005 US Open, his first win over a Top 10 player in a Grand Slam event
- 2005 US Open quarterfinals: Lost to Andre Agassi 6-3, 6-3, 3-6, 3-6, 6-7(6)—dominated Agassi in the first two sets with a break early in the third; however, Agassi adapted to Blake's game and took the match to a fifth set tiebreak where Blake got the early lead, though Agassi would take the match. The inspired play from both men led many to call this one of the greatest matches in US Open history; the match itself was even nominated for an ESPY award.
- March 20, 2006: Blake gains the world #9 ranking, losing to Roger Federer in the final match of the Pacific Life Open on March 19th; first time Blake has been ranked in the men's top 10, moving up from #14
- June 17, 2006: Defeated Andy Roddick for the first time in the semifinals of the Stella Artois Championships
ATP Masters Series singles finals
Runner-ups (1)
| Year | Championship | Opponent in Final | Score in Final |
| 2006 | Indian Wells |  Roger Federer |
5-7, 3-6, 0-6 |
Titles (6)
Singles (6)
| Legend |
| Grand Slam (0) |
| Tennis Masters Cup (0) |
| ATP Masters Series (0) |
| ATP Tour (6) |
| No. | Date | Tournament | Surface | Opponent in the final | Score |
| 1. | 12 August 2002 | Washington, D.C. | Hard | Paradorn Srichaphan (Thailand) | 1-6 7-6 6-4 |
| 2. | 22 August 2005 | New Haven, Connecticut | Hard | Feliciano Lopez (Spain) | 3-6 7-5 6-1 |
| 3. | 10 October 2005 | Stockholm, Sweden | Hard | Paradorn Srichaphan (Thailand) | 6-1 7-6 |
| 4. | 9 January 2006 | Sydney, Australia | Hard | Igor Andreev (Russia) | 6-2 3-6 7-6 |
| 5. | 27 February 2006 | Las Vegas, Nevada | Hard | Lleyton Hewitt (Australia) | 7-5 2-6 6-3 |
| 6. | 17 July 2006 | Indianapolis, Indiana | Hard | Andy Roddick (United States) | 4-6 6-4 7-6 |
Singles Finalist (6)
- 2002
- Memphis (lost to Andy Roddick)
- Newport (lost to Taylor Dent)
- 2003
- Long Island (lost to Paradorn Srichaphan)
- 2005
- Washington, D.C. (lost to Andy Roddick)
- 2006
- Indian Wells Masters (lost to Roger Federer)
- Queen's Club (lost to Lleyton Hewitt)
Notes
- ^ Patrick, Dan (2003). "Outtakes with James Blake" ESPN.com (accessed May 2, 2006)
- ^ Pratt, Jane (2005). "Tennis Great James Blake, Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield and the Virginia Historical Society Announce an Acquisition of Arthur Ashe's Personal Items" Anthem.com (accessed May 2, 2006)