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SEEDED NO. 30 FOR WIMBLEDON
James Blake has come a long way in
just a year
By
Sandra Harwitt
tennisreporters.net
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Susan
Mullane
Camerawork USA, Inc.
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Last year, when James Blake
ventured to the Miller Lite Hall of Fame tournament he surprised
all by reaching the semifinals. This year, when Blake journeys back
to pristine Newport to play the only grass court event on American
soil, he will be the top seed.
Blake, who was an All-American
at Harvard, pinpoints Newport as the locale where his career truly
began to take off and since then it's been an unbelievable journey.
"Actually, it (Newport)
started out looking kind of bleak with a tough draw, playing the
top seed the first round and then the defending champion in the
second round," said Blake, from London, reminiscing. "So
I just felt like I had nothing to lose and I was just having fun.
And I happened to start playing well there and got some confidence.
And then once you get a little bit of confidence, you can kind of
get on a roll on this tour. And that's, fortunately, what happened.
It started there last year."
Only a few weeks later, Blake
made some noise at the Tennis Masters Series event in Cincinnati,
taking out '01 Australian Open finalist Arnaud Clement and nearly
took Pat Rafter to task in the third round before surrendering 7-6
(9-7), 6-2. It became Rafter's words to Blake that nearly a year
later remains a defining moment. At the time, Blake spoke with tennisreporters.net
exclusively and told us the following about his conversation with
Rafter.
RAFTER GIVES HIM A CONFIDENCE
BOOST
“He asked me if now I believe
I can beat someone like him, or him,” Blake said. “And
it really made me feel good that he said that. Like I hope that
I’m close, and he said, ‘Really, you are, and I hope you
believe that, and good luck to you. I really think it’s going
to happen soon.’ That’s very encouraging. He’s such
a nice guy to take the time to say that to a young guy on the tour
that’s just starting out, maybe in the same position he was
seven, eight years ago.”
And by the U.S. Open he had
eventual champion Lleyton Hewitt behind two-sets-to-one before cramps
set in and put Blake on the losing side of this second round battle.
Since then there has also been steady work with the U.S. Davis Cup
team where he currently owns a 5-0 win-loss record.
Now that Blake looks back
at these moments as the time he became "a legitimate part of
the ATP Tour," he also looks ahead to the future with a great
deal of confidence. He started out 2001 ranked No. 212 in the world
and this week he tips the charts at No. 35.
And before he heads to Newport,
he has a very important appointment at Wimbledon, playing in his
first singles main draw at the world-renowned tournament. Unfortunately,
Blake will be heading into the Grand Slam with a right ankle sprain
he sustained at the French Open and re-injured at the Queen's Club
tournament last week.
Wimbledon will be a special
moment for Blake, who hopes his sprained ankle will be better by
the time he plays. His parents, Thomas and Betty will be on hand
for his Wimbledon singles debut and Blake sees the trip as another
homecoming for his mom, who is British.
"Having my parents come over and see me play in Wimbledon …
I don't think they ever really expected that to happen" said
Blake, who grew up in Connecticut. "Now it's a reality and
I actually have a chance to be seeded there [No. 30]. It's really
a dream come true. Now I'm definitely going to take it all in while
I'm on the grounds and appreciate how far I've come to get there
and how hard I've worked."
As the last year has unfolded,
Blake's has proven himself to be a determined all-court player.
This has been extremely good news for American tennis, who only
a couple of years ago was wondering whether they would have any
formidable male players once Pete Sampras and Andre Agassi retired.
First, Andy Roddick broke away from his peers and there was something
of a big sigh of relief. But then there was the question whether
any other young American from the pack – Blake, Robbie Ginepri,
Mardy Fish – would also break away. That distinction became
Blake's and he hasn't looked back.
BLAKE NOT WORRIED ABOUT
DAVIS CUP
It's hard to deny that the American's will be the underdogs when
they head to Roland Garros in September to play France in the Davis
Cup semifinals. It seems at this point that there's no reconsideration
on Andre Agassi's part about joining the U.S. squad, a disappointment
since Agassi, a former French Open champion, is our most accomplished
clay court player.
According to Blake, who is
expected to make the trip to Paris, but is not sure whether he will
be taking on singles or doubles duty, or even both, the team has
to go with a positive frame of mind with the team that is assembled
by U.S. Davis Cup captain Patrick McEnroe.
"Andre's had so much
success in his career in Davis Cup, in Grand Slams, in everything
he's done," Blake said. "There's really no way for me
to question that. All I can do is prepare the best I can, and I
know that in my mind if Patrick calls me, I take it as a privilege
to go and represent my country.
"I'm not in a position
to worry or to have any statement about what Andre's doing. I think
if we had him on our team, it would make our team extremely strong
and a force there on the clay. He's proven he can do unbelievable
on any surface, but especially on the clay. I definitely think it
would help. But I don't see why another team that the U.S. fields
can't win that match. I think we've got Andy [Roddick], who's ready
and willing to play, who can play some tennis on clay. I've had
a little bit of success on the clay.
"Obviously, Pete Sampras
has come back this year to play on the team. He hasn't had so much
success at the French Open, but in two matches you can never really
count out Pete Sampras. And Todd Martin has had some success on
clay. I think we have options. It's just up to Patrick McEnroe to
make those tough decisions. He's made a lot of good decisions so
far, I think, and I don’t' see why he'll stop now."
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