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12/9/04 Swingtime Hey folks, how's it going? Hopefully those of you in the holiday season have had a good one so far. Sorry for the lack of updates, but there haven't been a whole lot of updates to report! This weekend James will be back on the court for an exhibition in West Palm Beach, Florida called Swingtime. James' friend Mardy Fish just joined the cast of characters, so I'll take that opening to post this edited article from Tennis Week.com. Fish Joins Swingtime Roster 12/07/2004 Mardy Fish follows his appearance in last weekend’s Davis Cup final by joining forces with standouts Venus Williams, Jennifer Capriati, Chris Evert, Stan Smith, Jim Courier, James Blake and Robby Ginepri at the Sixth Annual Swingtime Pro-Am Celebrity Tennis & Golf Tournament, benefiting the Tim & Tom Gullikson Foundation, December 11-12th at the Ibis Golf & Country Club in West Palm Beach, Florida.
Adding to the Swingtime excitement are some incredible auction items that can be bid on during Saturday night’s "Evening With The Stars" to be held at the Palm Beach County Convention Center. The gala, which will be decorated by Venus Williams’ interior design firm, V Starr Interiors, will feature a casino theme, and patrons will spend part of the evening gambling at poker, roulette, black jack and craps tables. But the best bet is that gala attendees can bid on many hot ticket auction items, including: lunch with Fish at the NASDAQ-100 Open in Miami that includes two player box seats; one hour with Jim Courier that could be filled by inviting two friends to play doubles with the former Grand Slam champion; a trip to the French Open that includes two coach airline tickets, tickets and hospitality access to two sessions during the first week of the tournament which has been donated by Swingtime sponsor, Rado; a 6-day, 7-night trip to the Couples Resort in Jamaica; an autographed pair of Shaquille O’Neal’s shoes, and a Lance Armstrong autographed jersey. "We have some great auction items this year at Swingtime, which will help raise money for the Gullikson Foundation," said Tom Gullikson, the host of the Swingtime. "Just looking at the list of auction items available, I think I might have to put in a bid or two myself. My one concern is that I think my wife, Julie, might have her eye on different things than I do." Swingtime, an event that is designed to publicize the Gullikson Foundation's aim of assisting brain-tumor patients and their families in managing the physical, emotional and social challenges presented by the illness — world-class tennis pro Tim Gullikson passed away in 1996 at age 44 after losing his battle with brain cancer — has raised nearly half a million dollars for the cause since its inception. Swingtime's unique design guarantees a weekend of fun as well as a rare opportunity for participants to mingle with celebrities. On Saturday, December 11th, a morning of round-robin doubles at Ibis’ world-class tennis facility, followed by the tennis exhibition. The day will be capped off with Swingtime's "An Evening with the Stars" gala that commences with cocktails at 7 p.m. On Sunday morning, Swingtime returns to Ibis for an enjoyable celebrity-amateur golf tournament. Swingtime is managed by C & H Events of Boca Raton. The Official Host Sponsor is Ibis Golf & Country Club. Official Sponsors include Adelphia Media Services, Clear Channel - Palm Beach, Hilton Singer Island Oceanfront Resort, JetBlue Airways, Nike, Rado, The Palm Beach Post, Tennis Week and TIAA-CREF. Participating Gala sponsors include V Starr Interiors and Atlas Party Rental. Swingtime tennis exhibition tickets are $55 for Box Seats and $35 for General Admission. Invitations for the "Evening with the Stars" are $200, or if bought in conjunction with exhibition tickets, there is a discounted price of $150 per invitation. Groups of 10 will receive a 10 percent discount on exhibition tickets. There are also a few choice spots remaining to take part in the tennis and golf pro-ams. For information, phone C & H Events at (561) 394-9190. James has been training in Florida for the upcoming Australian swing which starts with the Hopman Cup. You can see the draw here. We'll see if we can get a report from this weekend's exhibition from someone to pass along. In the meantime, check out some of the awesome end of season liquidation deals you can get at Tennis Warehouse. Cheers! 11/14/04 Atlanta Exhibition James made his way to Atlanta to take part in the "Play with the Pros" exhibition at Robby Ginepri's Olde Towne Tennis club yesterday. Your humble correspondent was able to attend (at least the first few hours of the festivities), so I'll throw together a little journaling for you. James came in from Connecticut Saturday morning, arriving a little after 11am. The exhibition was to start at 1pm. After getting to the club he changed and met some of the staff. Robby and his coach Jerry Baskin recently bought the club. A little after noon, James, Todd and Robby headed off to a room to sign some silent auction merchandise and meet some of the folks who payed the big bucks to play in the Pro-Am. James also spoke with his agent on the phone at this time to try and sort out how he was going to pick up his tickets in L.A. for the American Music Awards on Sunday (rough life). The crew then headed out to the courts for introductions to the crowd (right click to download .wmv movie). The Pro-Am was on 4 courts. James and a local pro headed out to court 5 to warm up (right click to download .wmv movie) and play some doubles with a couple of the folks "with good connections" as the MC put it. Here's James' first partner, who was the most entertaining person on the court. Over the next hour and a half, they rotated people in to play with James, while Robby Ginepri, Todd Martin, and Ellis Ferreira played on the other courts. During the changeovers, James signed autographs for fans, among them Tach, who's a frequenter of this site and the BlakeBrothers site (nice to meet you!) and fan Roger Darby, who had James sign this great drawing. It was 3pm by now and unfortunately the sun hadn't made it's way out from behind the clouds, so I was getting a little cold. And the kids hadn't slept at all the night before since they're sick (which means, of course, I didn't get any sleep either), so it was back to the warm house for me. I'm told everything went smoothly from there on out. I knew they could do it without me. In my conversations with James, he said the Zoster virus is doing better, but he is still not back to 100%. He will definitely be playing the Hopman Cup, then I think he is trying to get a wild card into Sydney. Then it's off to Melbourne for the Aussie Open. 11/8/04 Late Notice Sorry for the late notice, but for those of you in the Atlanta metro area, James will be in the house this coming Saturday as part of a "Play with the Pros" event Robby Ginepri is putting on at his Olde Towne Athletic Club in Marietta. Todd Martin will be a part of the action as well. Read all about it here. Hopefully I'll be able to make it and can snap a few pix for the site. Help support the site by heading to Tennis Warehouse. The Nike Winter collection is in, as are the new shoes James is wearing, the Breathe Free IIs. 11/3/04 Practicing For those of you who don't have access to the current issue of Tennis magazine here's a scan of the current issue which features a 'Practicing With' segment with James.
10/29/04 Vote! All of us here at JamesBlakeTennis.com, which would be me and James, want you to get out and vote on Tuesday if you haven't already! If you still haven't made up your mind, use the 'Vote in '04' link on the right to learn more about the candidates and their positions on things like Domino's, Pizza Hut or Papa John's, the Honda Odyssey or the Nissan Quest, topspin backhand or backhand slice, and, of course, the Hives' latest vs. the Hives' first record. In JamesBlakeLand, the Superset expo has been POSTPONED until April '05. For those of you living in the Atlanta area, James MAY be making an appearance here. I am still trying to get all the info on that news nugget. Thanks to those of you who have made purchases through TennisWarehouse.com. My sliver of the pie helps make this site possible and keeps me in good spirits (nothing like getting a check in the mail). 10/16/04 Back to Perth James will start off 2005 in Perth at the Hopman Cup, as he has the past couple years. He and Lindsay Davenport will comprise the US team which opens up on the 4th by playing the winner of the France/Netherlands matchup. They will also compete against the Slovak Republic and Australia in round robin play. 10/12/04 TennisWeek Interview Read an excellent interview James just conducted with Richard Pagliaro of TennisWeek here. Help support the site by heading to Tennis Warehouse. The Nike Winter collection is in, as are the new shoes James is wearing, the Breathe Free IIs. 10/10/04 Season Over Unfortunately, I have to report today that James has had to cancel the remainder of his schedule this year. He has not yet fully recovered from the Zoster virus he was suffering from since the summer, so he thinks it's best to get it taken care of and fully healed before he plays again. I'm not positive if this affects his exhibition season as well- we'll see. If you'd like to send him a get well wish, please do so by sending it here. Help support the site by heading to Tennis Warehouse. The Nike Winter collection is in, as are the new shoes James is wearing, the Breathe Free IIs. 10/5/04 Exo Update James will be participating in a number of exhibitions this Fall/Winter, and if you live in New Orleans, Dallas, or South Florida, you can see him! On November 20th James will be doing an exhibition with Mardy Fish in New Orleans. Next up is Superset Tennis, which makes it's second appearance stateside, this year in Dallas. That's on Saturday November 27th. And on December 11th, James will be doing the Swingtime Gullickson benefit in South Florida. Last year it featured Andy Roddick and took place in West Palm Beach. Not sure of all the details this year. James has some openings available, so if you'd like him for a birthday party, a bar or bat mitzvah, or, his specialty, bachelorette parties, please contact him at 1-888-555-3854 or email him here. Just a joke, folks- ed. You guys can still follow James' NFL picks over at ESPN by clicking here. Help support the site by heading to Tennis Warehouse. The Nike Winter collection is in, as are the new shoes James is wearing, the Breathe Free IIs. 9/27/04 JB in Charleston for Davis Cup James went to Charleston last week to act as a practice partner for the Davis Cup squad, but, imagine this!, pulled a groin in the first practice a week ago Monday. So he was left to root for the team, rather than get in some court time. Fortunately he rated the experience much more worthwhile than rehabbing back at home by himself. I'm sure he's been missing the camaraderie with the guys on tour almost as much as playing. He still hopes to play in Metz in a couple weeks. 9/17/04 JB out in Delray Beach James lost last night to American Vince Spadea.
Help support the site by heading to Tennis Warehouse. The Nike Fall collection is in, as are the new shoes James is wearing, the Breathe Free IIs. 9/16/04 Blake vs. Spadea Tonight James plays Vince Spadea this evening at 7:30pm at the Delray Beach tournament. He also got in a little doubles action yesterday evening partnering with friend Jeff Morrison- the duo lost however to Paes and Stepanek. 9/14/04 James Back On Court James beat Adrian Bohane, a wild card into the Delray Beach draw, this evening 4-6, 6-3, 6-2. We'll see if we can get a few post match comments from James as to how he was feeling. In non-tennis news, i.e. in the quasi-celebrity dept., you can follow James' NFL football picks on espn.com this season. Check out his week 1 prognostications here. Not a bad effort, but what's up with picking against my man Donovan McNabb? Also, FYI - I'll post a revised schedule for James in the coming days. Help support the site by heading to Tennis Warehouse. The Nike Fall collection is in, as are the new shoes James is wearing, the Breathe Free IIs. 9/11/04 Delray Beach a Go Pending the path of hurrican Ivan, Delray Beach and James are a go for the coming week. James has Adrian Bohane in the first round, with a potential second round opponent of Vince Spadea. Here's an article on the upcoming tournament from the Sun Sentinel.
Help supprt the site by heading to Tennis Warehouse. The Nike Fall collection is in, as are the new shoes James is wearing, the Breathe Free IIs.
8/31/04 Martin Bows Out A few words from James on friend Todd Martin, who announced his retirement following his match yesterday against Fabrice Santoro.
8/28/04 Arthur Ashe Kids Day James participated in the Arthur Ashe Kids Day festivities today. Here are a couple pix from the US Open website, and you can read and see more about it here.
8/27/04 Bad News James had to withdraw from the Open today, a tough decision for him, I'm sure. He just hasn't been able to get over the virus he's been suffering from to the point where he can adequately prepare for the tournament. Here's a link to the story on TennisWeek.com site. 8/25/04 US Open Draw a Cinch! James finally has it easy this year in the US Open. After his five month layoff, he'll breeze by Nadal first round, current US Open champ Roddick in the second round, Canas in the third round, former US Open champ Safin in the fourth round, last year's US Open finalist Ferrero in the quarters. After that, he gets to get revenge on former champ Hewitt in the semis, and then he will beat Federer in the finals. It's just me, but I think they should try to convince Sampras to come out of retirement to give JB a challenge. Whaddya think? In other news, strangely enough, James has been seen with all these potential opponents recently. And in more news, James recently learned the virus he had is contagious. 8/23/04 Long Island Withdrawal James had to withdraw from Long island as he continues to recover from his virus. He's hopeful of playing in the Open however; I'm sure he will try to play at all costs. Congratulations to Mardy Fish, who made a valiant effort to win gold yesterday in Athens. He ran into some sort of a human tennis machine in the form od Nicolas Massu though- hats off to him for an incredible winning effort. Help supprt the site by heading to Tennis Warehouse. The Nike Fall collection is in, as are the new shoes James is wearing, the Breathe Free IIs. 8/20/04 Fish in Olympic Final Special congrats to American Mardy Fish, a close friend of James', who has made it to the Gold medal match in Athens, beating Gonzalez today in three sets. Mardy goes for gold on Sunday in a best of five set match. See it live on the USA network starting at 10am EST. 8/19/04 Short Interview Had a chance to catch up with James following his match on Tuesday evening.
8/18/04 D.C. Result The result probably wasn't what he hoped for, but after such a long layoff, I guess it wasn't entirely unexpected. James lost last night to Adrian Garcia 1 and 4. We'll see if we can't get James to comment on how he felt, etc. at some point today. 8/17/04 In Action Tonight James will be on the Stadium court this evening in D.C. after Agassi's match, which starts at 7pm. So look for the first ball to be hit sometime around 9pm. Follow live scores at the ATP website by clicking Latest Scores. His opponent? Adrian Garcia. Celebrate James' return by going on a Tennis Warehouse Spending Spree! That's right, pick out whatever you'd like and it's yours! The latest Nike gear, racquets, balls, lead tape, blister ointment, you name it! I provide the incentive, and you provide the money- what a deal! 8/15/04 James Does D.C. Got this encouraging email from James late last night:
8/8/04 Nike Ad James filled in a few details on the ad currently seen on the Nike site. Have a read:
On the illness front, JB is hoping to make it back in time to play in one of the US Open tuneup events (DC or Long Island). 8/5/04 Broadcast Clip Stumbled across this item via the Stomps JB Messageboard: it's a clip of James and his brother Thomas doing an interview at the Newport tournament last month. Check it out at: No other news to report unfortunately. I guess James is brushing up on his online poker skills. Maybe he can take out Ben Affleck in the next World Series event... 8/3/04 New Dunlop Site James is featured prominently on the latest incarnation of the Dunlop Tennis website. Check it out here. Also, for those of you in the market for a junior racquet, Dunlop is selling a 'James Blake' version of the 300G. Check it out here. 7/28/04 Latest Unfortunately not much has changed with James' situation. He has a virus that is still lingering with him and keeping him off the court. He looks forward to getting back into the swing of things in the near future. 7/22/04 Latest Saw this nugget on the TennisWeek.com site:
Unfortunately James' illness hasn't dissipated to the point where he can play just yet; he had to withdraw from the Canada TMS tournament yesterday. 7/17/04 Out of Indy As if the arm injury weren't enough, James has gotten a severe case of tonsilitis and a bad ear infection (get used to those when you have kids). According to him, it's the first time he's been sick in 7 years (must be something with that no red meat diet). In any case, there will be no Indianapolis tournament this coming week. Let's hope the guy can catch a break somewhere along the line here. In the meantime, do some shopping at Tennis Warehouse! I've just about bankrupt myself sending out all these contest prizes etc. to you fans. Time for you to pick up the slack! 7/12/04 American Cancer Society As some of you may have heard or read, James' father recently passed away after a year-long battle with cancer. In lieu of flowers, the family is asking that donations be made to the American Cancer Society. In tennis news, James' bicep is still sore (the reason he had to pull out of LA), so he's resting it and hoping to be fit in time to play Indianapolis. 7/8/04 Out of L.A. James suffered an arm injury during his second round match today against Alex Bogomolov Jr., a 6-3, 6-1 loss. Unfortunately the injury will keep him out of the LA tournament, but he doesn't think it's serious. Most likely it is the result of not having played for a while and going all out for the past few days. The injury also necessitated that he pull out of the doubles draw. Yesterday he and Thomas won their first round doubles match in three sets. So, next up is Indianapolis and the hard courts. 7/6/04 Round One Win in Newport
7/5/04 Postponed Play Rain washed out play today (from what I've heard) in Newport, so JB will try to get in his match tomorrow. 7/5/04 Action! & Contest Winners First off, happy Independence Day to all the Yanks out there in cyberland. Next, a round of congratulations to Roger Federer for his second Wimbledon title (is he incredible or what?), and to Andy Roddick who made a great showing once again on the grass. Speaking of grass, James will be playing on the green stuff in both singles and doubles this week in Newport, Rhode Island. In singles, he's the 2nd seed and faces Dick Norman in the first round. He plays today. In doubles, he's playing with his brother Thomas. They received a wild card into the draw and will face off against Alexander Popp and Alexander Peya. Now to the fun stuff- we have a winner and some runners up for our first-ever caption contest. The Grand Prize Winner of a signed pair of Nike Air Zoom Breathe Free Shoes is... 7/2/04 Newport Update According to James, everything is on track for a return this coming week at Newport. That also means an end to our caption contest on Sunday, so get in your last minute entries! We have over 100 so far. Here are the details in case you missed it earlier:
Check out an extensive interview with James from the Newport website here. Head to Tennis Warehouse to purchase your tennis gear. Profits help me pay for th epostage to send out your prizes. 6/29/04 Qs and Update Sorry for the layoff- I took a family vacation to upstate New York. Gotta love the cool June weather (as compared to the heat and humidity of Atlanta). JB took time out to answer a few of your more timely questions:
As you probably heard, James was not named to the Olympic team, announced Friday by Captain Patrick McEnroe. Apparently he made his team selection based strictly on the rankings, which earned berths for Roddick, Fish, Spadea and Dent in singles and the Bryan brothers in doubles. I'm sure this was a major disappointment for James, but it does bring good news for those of you in Washington, D.C., Indianapolis, Long Island and LA, perhaps. He is now confirmed to be playing all those tourneys. 6/23/04 Update and Vibe Issue James should be answering a few of your questions in the next couple days, including details about what actually happened in Rome. In the meantime, check out the current issue of Vibe which has a one pager on JB. Celebrity Poker update here. Keep those captions coming in. We have a pair of autographed Nike Zoom Breathe Free shoes to give away, plus posters, and other good stuff. Head to Tennis Warehouse to purchase your tennis gear. Profits help me pay for the postage to send out your prizes. 6/20/04 Road to Recovery Heard from JB last night and he is back hitting tennis balls! He says he's pretty sore for now, but as long as it's just soreness, then he'll be okay. He's pretty confident he'll be back on for Newport, following Wimbledon. While you are breathlessly awaiting his return, head to Tennis Warehouse! I just got a new red Global Sphere Nike polo and a pair of the Nike Vapor shoes, and I looked great on the court for my men's doubles USTA match! Okay so I lost. I did win my mixed doubles ALTA match on Friday night though. And for those of you who were curious, my Spring Men's ALTA team won the City Championship last month! 6/19/04 No Wimbledon This Year From the A.P. WIMBLEDON, England - James Blake pulled out of Wimbledon (news - web sites) on Friday, joining a growing list of withdrawals from the year's third Grand Slam tournament.
Blake, who hurt his neck and spine last month, was replaced in the draw by 132nd-ranked Potito Starace of Italy, a loser in qualifying. The 40th-ranked Blake was injured when he fell and slammed into a net post while chasing a drop shot during a practice session in Rome after losing at the Italian Open.
6/15/04 Wimbledon Update James is off to see the doctor on Thursday. He's hoping for a clean bill of health, which would give him an outside, outside shot at playing Wimbledon. In all likelyhood, he'll be back for Newport. Keep sending in those captions. The contest will run until James makes his return to the court. While you are breathlessly awaiting his return, head to Tennis Warehouse! I just got a new red Global Sphere Nike polo and a pair of the Nike Vapor shoes, and I looked great on the court for my men's doubles USTA match! Okay so I lost. I did win my mixed doubles ALTA match on Friday night though. And for those of you who were curious, my Spring Men's ALTA team won the City Championship last month! 6/8/04 Update and Contest James had to pull out of the Stella Artois tournament but is still hopeful to return for Wimbledon. We'll keep you updated. Also, JB was on the TV show Cold Pizza on ESPN 2 yesterday, did anyone catch it? Keep those captions coming in! We have plenty o' stuff to give away. So far, the best entry is: "I'm glad my shirt has sleeves today; her arms are bigger than mine!"
5/31/04 Update and Contest Heard from James recently, and he's still targeting a grass court return from his injury, so that's good news. In the meantime, let's have a little fun while there's not much going on. We'll do our first ever caption contest. It's pretty simple- pick any image from the image galleries on the site, give it a good caption and send it in (the thumbnail version) jbinfo1@adelphia.net . We have plenty of goodies to give away, so don't hesitate. Autographed posters, an autographed Superset program, and the grand prize will be an autographed pair of Nike Air Zoom Breathe Free shoes (I already have them (men's size 11), so you can't order your size unfortunately). 5/17/04 Message from James
5/7/04 Message from James
5/7/04 AP News Report
Please feel free to send get well wishes to jbinfo1@adelphia.net. 5/6/04 Bad News to Report James was injured in practice today. He has hurt his back. He will be returning to the States as soon as possible for further diagnosis. Will keep everyone updated as I receive news. 5/5/04 Papal Encounter Thanks to Marianne for alerting me to the picture with the Pope. I just emailed James to see if he can fill us in with some details. I'll pass them along when I get them. In the meantime, videogame news! This comes from a NAMCO press release I stumbled across:
5/4/04 Che Sfortuna! James lost to Novak in three sets this morning (6-2, 3-6, 1-6), and he's not playing doubles. So, being the generous, considerate fellow he is, he has volunteered to lead a few Enjoy Rome tours over the coming week for American tourists. "I know all the hot spots in this city," said Blake. "From the discotheques to the best restaurants, you'll want to join me for my tours of the city." Negotiations are also underway for Robby Ginepri (best nightclubs and Italian burrito joints), Andy Roddick (celebrity hideouts), and Todd Martin (museums and other boring intellectual stuff) to help lead tours as well. Next up is Hamburg. Be a good consumer. Drown your Blake sorrows by shopping. Head to Tennis Warehouse. The summer '04 collection is in, plus the new Nike Vapor S2 tennis shoes, which are pretty sweet. So use the link above or the links on JB's gear page to make some purchases. Profits help me pay for the site and keep me motivated to work. Thanks. 5/3/04 7am EST Start tomorrow James will face Jiri Novak tomorrow at 1pm in Rome. He's the first match upon court number 6. James has one win over Novak on clay, albeit an exhibition tournament, last year in Dusseldorf. We'll see how it goes tomorrow. 5/2/04 BMWinners James and Mark Merklein took home the trophy today in Munich, winning pretty handily over Knowle and Zimonjic 4 and 2. That brings his doubles record to 13 and 2 by my math (which has been known to be incorrect). James is in Rome now, and it looks like a tough draw for his first claycourt TMS event. Novak in the first round, with Mirnyi, Grosjean, and Federer all in his quadrant of the draw. Yikes! Check out the new Nike duds James is wearing at Tennis Warehouse. The summer '04 collection is in, plus the new Nike Vapor S2 tennis shoes, which are pretty sweet. So use the link above or the links on JB's gear page to make some purchases. Profits help me pay for the site and keep me motivated to work. Thanks. 5/1/04 Doubles Finalists First off, heard from James today in regards to the fire at the players' hotel in Rome. James was to stay there, so I guess it's lucky he's still in Munich. Let's hope the players and patrons that were at the hotel are doing okay, and our sympathies to those families who lost relatives. James and Mark Merklein of the Bahamas have made it to the doubles final in Munich at the BMW Open. Today they beat the number 1 seeds Palmer and Vizner in three sets. They face off against the 2nd seeds Knowle and Zimonjic. And in more exciting news, my ALTA tennis team here in Atlanta is set to start the playoffs tomorrow, after a rainout today. We finished the regular season in first pace with a 30 and 5 record. Check out the new Nike duds James is wearing at Tennis Warehouse. The summer '04 collection is in, plus the new Nike Vapor S2 tennis shoes, which are pretty sweet. So use the link above or the links on JB's gear page to make some purchases. Profits help me pay for the site and keep me motivated to work. Thanks. 4/29/04 Whoops Forget that last posting folks, James is still in Munich, alive and well. Forgot to check the doubles draw. He's playing with Mark Merklein, and they won their first round doubles match on Tuesday. Next up is the tandem of Palmer and Vizner after their second round opponents withdrew. Guess Rome's food and attractions have to wait... 4/28/04 Forza Roma! James is off to Rome for the TMS Roma next week. He lost in the first round in Munich to Sargis Sagsian on Monday 4 and 6. We'll see if we can catch up with him prior to his first round match and see how he's spending time in his favorite city abroad. 4/20/04 News Updates Its going to be a slow week in the action department, so I'll break out a few interesting news nuggets for you guys. First off, Superset Tennis will be making a return to the States this year, and James will be a part of it yet again! This year the exhibition will be in Dallas. More exho news- James will be looking to threepeat at the Hopman Cup next year. He has committed to playing for the US and is looking to win the title for the third year in a row. Well, that news is going to have to hold you over until next Wednesday or so, because it's VACATION TIME for me! The family is off to Florida for some fun in the sun. Follow the early action in Munich by heading over to the JB Messageboard. While I'm gone, check out the new Nike duds James is wearing at Tennis Warehouse. The summer '04 collection is in, plus the new Nike Vapor S2 tennis shoes, which are pretty sweet. So use the link above or the links on JB's gear page to make some purchases. Profits help me pay for the site and keep me motivated to work. Thanks. 4/18/04 JB and Mardy Champs Sorry for the missed update yesterday. It was the zoo in the morning, cut the grass in the afternoon (or else be kicked out of the house), and a wedding reception in the evening. Since we last spoke, JB lost to Pavel in the quarters, but all was not lost in Houston, since JB and Mardy have won the doubles title, beating Leach and MacPhie 6-3, 6-4. Here's what JB said to me following the match. You can read more comments from both him and Mardy here.
Next up is Munich for James, which wasn't on his original schedule. He leaves Friday of next week. Check out the new Nike duds James is wearing at Tennis Warehouse. The summer '04 collection is in, plus the new Nike Vapor S2 tennis shoes, which are pretty sweet. So use the link above or the links on JB's gear page to make some purchases. Profits help me pay for the site and keep me motivated to work. Thanks. 4/16/04 Houston Quarterfinalist James took out Sanguinetti in straight sets last night (5 and 3) in Houston, and now faces Andrei Pavel for a spot in the semis. He will have to play singles and dubs today. His singles match is up second on the main court, probably around 4pm EST, while his doubles match has not yet been given a time. A few pix from the match last night up in the gallery. Looks like James is ready to start playing for the University of North Carolina with the Nike duds he's sporting. 4/15/04 US Claycourt Update James and Mardy won their first round doubles match yesterday in straight sets. Next up is the team of Ginepri and Merklein- they play tomorrow. Tonight, James gets the Italian Davide Sanguinetti. James has promised that "io lo battero, e dopo che ho finito la partita, andro al Bacardi Bar per un po di divertimento." or something like that. 4/13/04 Rd 1 Win in Houston
Next up for
James is the winner of the Sanguinetti-Peya match. 4/12/04 US Claycourt Tourney The draws are out for this week's tournament in Houston. James is in the lower half of the draw, and faces Wayne Odesnik of the US in the first round. It looks as though Wayne has been playing Futures events so far this year. James is teaming with Mardy in doubles, and they face the 4 seeds in the first round, Kerr and Vanhoudt. James plays singles this evening at 8pm EST. Couple other notes- the Celebrity Poker event James played in last weekend will be televised in May on the Bravo network. And for those of you who are curious or who have written in asking about yours truly, I have posted an 'about the webmaster' link in the facts section to the right. 4/10/04 River Oaks Result James lost to Canadian Frank Dancevic last night 4 and 4. Unfortunately the day prior, he and his brother lost in dubs as well. JB remains in Houston for the Clay Court Championships which start next week. In other tennis news, the US Davis Cup squad is up 2-1 after wins by Roddick and the Bryan brothers. Follow the action at daviscup.org. Ready to gear up for the 2004 season? Visit Tennis Warehouse for the latest and greatest from all the top tennis brands. Profits help keep this site fresh and clean. So use the link above or the links on JB's gear page to make some purchases. Thanks. 4/8/04 River Oaks Action Yesterday evening, JB squared off against the top player at Texas A&M, junior Lester Cook, and won fairly easily- 6-0, 7-5. Next up is Frank Dancevic, a Canadian from Niagara Falls, who upset Taylor Dent. Can't say I know much about Mr. Dancevic. Thomas lost his first round match against Hugo Armando on Monday. The brothers play doubles tomorrow. 4/5/04 Celebrity Poker Nightmare! This past Sunday, JB set off for Las Vegas with the hopes of winning some money for one of his favorite charities, The Shriner's Hospital. Unfortunately, it's now the Shriner's Hospital that owes the MGM Grand over $650,000! 2003 World Champ of Poker Chris Moneymaker (yes, the guy on ESPN) cleaned house, winning money from all the celebrities on hand for the charity event, including JB, Freddy Prinze Jr., Darius Rucker of Hootie, and that guy from the Verizon Wireless commercials. "I started off well, I was up like 50 Gs" James emailed me, "but things quickly got out of hand after that third gin and juice. Oh, and the vodka and tonic didn't help me much either. But those cocktail waitresses are so HOT! I guess I'm going to have to win the French Open or something to get this money to bail out the Hospital." Okay, so I have no idea how the celebrity poker event went on Sunday, but this makes for some good copy. JB and his bro Thomas are in Houston now for the River Oaks exhibition. Thomas plays singles today. The duo are playing dubs together as well. See results at: http://www.riveroaksinternational.com/ Ready to gear up for the 2004 season? Visit Tennis Warehouse for the latest and greatest from all the top tennis brands. Profits help keep this site fresh and clean. So use the link above or the links on JB's gear page to make some purchases. Thanks. 4/2/04 Before Anyone Goes to Vegas Yesterday's news item was an April Fool's Day joke. The Celebrity Poker Tour news item was real though. 4/1/04 Ladies Night in Vegas Learned today that James is adding an additional stop to his Vegas itinerary this Sunday. After he finishes up his poker match for charity (see below), he will be doing more charity work at the "Men Show" at the Seven Nightclub. I'm assuming all the money he raises from, err...shedding his clothes will be donated to the charity of his choice. So all you ladies better head out to Vegas! In other news, James and Thomas are both playing in the River Oaks exhibition tournament. Follow the action at the tournament's website: http://www.riveroaksinternational.com/ 3/31/04 Celebrity Poker JB is going to be in Vegas this weekend taping an episode of the Celebrity Poker Tour in the name of charity. He is currently holed up in front of his computer practicing, so he can earn some cash for the Shriner's Hospital on Sunday. This is the program that airs on the Bravo network I believe. I'll pass along details about when it will air as soon as I hear. 3/25/04 Davis Cup Team Announced Patrick McEnroe today announced that Andy Roddick, Mardy Fish, and the Bryan brothers will compete for the US in their Davis Cup tie against the Swedes next week. Unfortunately, that's a couple squads in a row that JB hasn't been named to. Read more here. Also, in case you haven't seen it, the Nike campaign that James shot late last year is hitting pages in current periodicals. The image you saw on the "Intro Page" of the site comes from the current issue of Maxim. If you;ve seen others and can scan them, please let me know! Ready to gear up for the 2004 season? Visit Tennis Warehouse for the latest and greatest from all the top tennis brands. Profits help keep this site fresh and clean. So use the link above or the links on JB's gear page to make some purchases. Thanks. 3/25/04 Rough Night Tough day at the (home) office yesterday. JB lost in three sets to Spadea and then the alma mater went out in the tournament. JB began the day around 3:30 and played about as close a first set as possible. At 5 - 5 in the first set tiebreak the rains hit Key Biscayne and play didn't resume until last night. The breaker ended up going to 14-12, JB's way. The second set also hit a tiebreaker, but Spadea won that one 7-4. Before you knew it, Vince was up 4-0 in the third and that was it for this year's NASDAQ (in singles at least). Haven't seen a doubles draw yet. Not too long after that, Syracuse went out to Alabama in the NCAAs. The Tide played well, and SU made a few bad plays after tieing it up in the 2nd half. Hopefully UConn can carry the Big East torch into the semis and beyond. We'll see how the Davis Cup squad turns out. Pat Mac is to announce the lineup following the NASDAQ. FYI- the Olympic squad will be selected after the French Open. 3/23/04 Nasdaq 100 Draw The Gods of the Draw didn't look down too favorably this week on James. First up is a rematch with Vince Spadea. The winner gets Marat Safin. Then it's most likely Nalbandian. Ouch. We'll see if James is out of luck as well- ankle injuries and chicken pox have no doubt helped his cause so far this year. The match will be Thursday around 3pm EST. 3/22/04 New Faves Updated the faves section today with some Tour specific items. Have a look. 3/20/04 Quarterfinal Action James went three sets again, and the score was the same as the previous round, but this time it was James on the losing end of a 6-1 score in the third set. JB won the first set tiebreak easily 7-1, but was then broken in the second at 4-5. I didn't get to follow the third set, but it obviously wasn't particularly close. James will jump some in the Champions Race and Entry Points rankings since he won four matches this year in Indian Wells to reach the quarters (they expanded the field this year). Next up is the Nasdaq 100 where JB went out to Ginepri in the 2nd round last year. The draw will be announced on Monday. With the weather warming up it's time to hit the courts again. Visit Tennis Warehouse for great deals on all your equipment needs. Proceeds help keep this site fresh and clean. Thanks. 3/17/04 JB in Three James played a great match today against Taylor Dent, and it was actually on ESPN, in its entirety! The match started out a little slowly, and then things got interesting. There were four consecutive breaks of serve and we (the James Blake Nation) ended up in a tiebreak, after James saved a set point with a backhand passing shot. James was down a mini-break when he caught fire in the tiebreak, rifling one passing shot crosscourt on the run, and from that point he never looked back. A routine second set, on serve until 4-4 when James donated three double faults in the game and was broken. Dent wasn't able to capitalize on his momentum though in the third set; he was down a couple breaks in no time. James served it out for a 7-6, 4-6, 6-1 win. Aside from the first couple games of the first set, James had his backhand working well today. He hit some very nice balanced, under control passing shots with it. The forehand was hit or miss early on, but picked up along the way as well. As usual he came into net very effectively. He also returned serve well, blocking back most of Dent's serves. Dent only had one ace for the match. Here's the post match press conference. Next up is Labadze. James will have his second shot at making a TMS semi- he lost to Novak in Rome in 2002, after holding a match point. Also, JB and Mardy lost their doubles match yesterday, 6-7, 2-6. A couple pix from the match in the gallery. Check out the one where he's hitting a backhand- the ball is completely smooshed! 3/16/04 Broadcast Blues In what can only be described as a coincidence Mardy Fish will probably never want to have happen again, JB was a guest in the ESPN booth during Mardy's match against Federer this afternoon. As soon as James took his seat, his close friend Fish was broken to lose the first set and then promptly dropped the second set 6-1. Mardy had been playing solid tennis up until that point. "I went up there with only the best intentions," said James, reached after the match. "It's really ESPN's fault, they wanted me up there. Just, please don't tell Mardy about the coincidence." While in the booth, Blake also predicted UConn would win the men's NCAA title- only time will tell if he ruined their season as well...developing jj folks... 3/15/04 James Wins in 3 Sets James dropped the first set in under a half hour, but then turned it on in the second, and traded some breaks in the third to make it through to the fourth round today in the desert. The scores against Gaudio were 3-6, 6-2, 6-3. After not having any break points in the first set, JB broke Gaston twice in the second and three times in the third. James also fired in 9 aces during the match. Read a post match press conference here. On Wednesday, James faces Taylor Dent, who beat Lapentti in straight sets. The draw is really shaping up well for James; Moya, the top seed in the top half of the draw is out as well. In doubles action JB and Mardy Fish teamed up to take out Pavel and Santoro in straight sets. Next they will face off against Arthurs and Hanley on Tuesday. 3/14/04 James Downs Ginepri James got off to a quick lead in the first set, 4-1, and then I fell asleep. But he won anyways! 6-4, 7-5. It's always good to know he can get a win without any assistance from me sitting in front of the computer. An off day today before a third round match against Gaston Gaudio and a doubles match with Mardy tomorow. The draw looks pretty good with Ferrero dropping out due to the chicken pox. Surprisingly no pictures or interviews following yesterday's match. 3/13/04 Match Today around 8pm EST After a convincing first round win agasint Radek Stepanek (6-2, 6-2) James gets to measure up against friend and fellow Davis Cupper Robby Ginepri. This will be a rematch of a second round match at the Nasdaq 100 from last year, when Ginepri handled JB pretty easily 3 and 2. Matchtime will be around 8pm EST. James and Mardy received a wildcard and are playing doubles as well this tournament. They play Pavel and Santoro in the first round. 3/12/04 Match Today around 5pm EST James will play today on the Stadium court at around 5pm EST (10pm London time). If he can win today and take out Ginepri in round 2, he doesn't have to worry about the number 2 seed in his section of the draw- Juan Carlos Ferrero pulled out yesterday with the chicken pox. 3/10/04 Tennis Masters Series James received a decent draw yesterday for Indian Wells. He faces Radek Stepanek in the first round, with a potential second round opponent of Robby Ginepri. James has quite a few points to defend at Indian Wells; last year he made it through three matches, including a win over Moya. Not sure when the match will be- right now they are still in the middle of qualifying. On Monday he shot a Nike commercial. I believe this is the one promoting their casual wear. 3/6/04 James Loses 7-5 in the 3rd Another close match yesterday with compatriot Vincent Spadea- this one James came out on the losing end 7-5 in the third. First two sets were 6-4 in favor of Spadea and 6-2 in favor of James. A couple images are up in the gallery. James has been donning the ole headband the past few matches, and I must say in the one where it looks like he has a little gap in his teeth, he looks a good bit like Baron Davis of the New Orleans Hornets. Next up is Indian Wells, the first Masters Series event of the year. THe singels draw will be out Tuesday. I believe James is doing a Nike commercial that same day- I'll see what details I can find out.
3/4/04 2nd Round Win vs. Andreev After being broken in his first service game to start the contest, James took command of the entire match last night against Igor Andreev. He immediately broke back and cruised to a 6-3 first set win, and then took a 4-0 lead in the second before winning 6-2. Along the way he fired a 129 mph serve, which is about as fast as I can recall him serving. Next up is Vince Spadea, who reached the quarters by downing Wayne Arthurs. That match will take place on Friday. 3/2/04 Singles Today/Dubs Loss James won his first round singles match today pretty handily- 3 and 1 against Italian Martin Vassallo Arguello. According to James, "I played pretty well today. The start was rough because the guy didn't miss much, but I started attacking him and playing a lot better as the match went on." As for his second round opponent Igor Andreev, "I watched some of his first round. He has a very good serve that he mixes up well. His forehand looks huge, but possibly I'll be able to attack. We'll see." Last night he and Mark Merklein lost 3 and 3 to the Memphis finalists Coetzee and Haggard. 2/29/04 Scottsdale Draws The singles and doubles draws are out for the Scottsdale tournament, and they look favorable for JB. He has Martin Vassallo Arguello in the first round in singles. In doubles he's teaming with Mark Merklein for the first time this year to face Coetzee and Haggard. He and Mark are the second seed. They will play their first match tomorrow. 2/22/04 Misc. News and Lock Power First, a quick update on all things JB as it pertains to the immediate future. This coming week he will be doing a Public Service Announcement on behalf of the Shriner's Hospital. In March JB is to shoot a commercial with Nike promoting its 'White Label' line of casual wear. He is also set to do an interview with Vibe, a magazine that focuses on urban music and culture. The profile should be out in June. And, this has been in the news in the past, but I have failed to post it- JB is donating $100 per charity per match win to the Harlem Junior Tennis Center and the Shriner's Hospital. We're going to try to start up a fund on the site for fans to contribute as well. Also, according to the Memphis tournament website, James pulled out of the doubles draw with gastroenteritis (stomach issues). Now on to the 'Power of the Lock' story. As most of you know, we recently auctioned off JB's dreadlocks as part of a charity drive. We raised over $2300. During the auction I'm sure many of you probably wondered 'What in the hell am I going to do with a lock of scraggly hair?" Well, turns out these locks might just have some sort of supernatural power. Stories have been flooding in about the power JB's locks have had as tennis charms. Read the following:
Good news! Because a few people bid, but did not pay up (boo!) we have a few locks left over. We'll use them as prizes for website contests this year! 2/19/04 Doubly Disappointing JB had another rough encounter with Joachim Johansson this morning, losing 6-3, 6-3. Today's second round loss in Memphis comes one week after a second round loss to Johansson in San Jose. Hear a dismayed JB discuss the outcome here: http://www.krogerstjude.com/ (Click on the audio icon). If form holds from last week however, James and Mardy will go on to win the doubles title. They face the Bryan twins tomorrow. 2/18/04 Quick Match After a tight first set that reached a tiebreaker, James made quick work of South African Wesley Moodie, winning 6-1 in the second. JB faced no break points in the hour long contest. Next up is the Swede Joachim Johansson, who beat James in San Jose last week. The match is scheduled for tomorrow at 11:30am EST. James and Mardy also continue to roll in doubles. Yesterday evening they beat Burgsmuller and Popp 4 and 3. Their next opponents will be the number one doubles team in the world, the Bryan twins. 2/17/04 In Memphis JB and Mardy play their first round doubles match today against Burgsmuller and Popp in Memphis. Follow the action on atptennis.com. James will be playing singles tomorrow evening. 2/15/04 Doubles Champs Don't know many details other than the score, but James did add doubles title number 3 to his resume this evening when he and Mardy Fish beat Leach and Macphie 6-2, 7-5. James had this to say after the match:
Next up, James plays in Memphis where he will once again partner with Mardy in dubs, and he faces Wesley Moodie of South Africa in the first round in singles. 2/14/04 Your Qs Answered! James took time out recently to answer some of the questions you sent into the site. Read his responses here. Click on the Latest Responses link to see if your question was answered! In San Jose, JB and Mardy play in the semis tonight against Melzer and Braasch. 2/13/04 Taken Out in San Jose Yesterday James lost his second round match against Joachim Johansson 6-4, 6-2. I believe he was broken in the 7th game in the first set and the first and seventh games in the second set. Fortunately he ended the day on a winning note- he teamed with Mardy Fish to win their doubles match against Kerr and Thomas. The duo wil play the winner of today's Karsten Braasch (GER)/Jurgen Melzer (AUT) vs. (3) Todd Perry (AUS)/Thomas Shimada match. 2/12/04 San Jose Last night James won his first round match against Zack Fleishman handily 1 and 3. Today he faces off against the Swede Joachim Johansson around 6pm EST/ 11pm London time. Following '"suitable rest" he teams up with Mardy Fish in doubles to face Jordan Kerr and Jim Thomas. 2/11/04 Back in Action Follow JB's first round match in singles tonight here. He probably won't be hitting the court until 12am EST / 5am London time. 2/9/04 Doubles in San Jose JB partnered with Mardy Fish today in the first round of the doubles draw in San Jose and won easily. They beat the Belgian duo of Vanhoudt and Malisse 4 and 2. James takes on California native Zack Fleishman on Wednesday evening in singles. Also, I received the signed autograph thank you cards from James today, so all the locks will be shipped out tomorrow! 2/7/04 Auction Over & San Jose Draw Thanks to all of you for helping James to raise OVER $2000 for his charitable cause! We're still in the process of getting all the locks out, so if you won one, please be patient! The San Jose draw is out and JB takes on a qualifier in round one. Hopefully the Aussie Open set the tone for the types of draws and the luck James will have this year! Also, congrats to the US Davis Cup team on their quick win over Austria in Connecticut the past couple days. 2/6/04 Complete Schedule Up See if James Blake is coming to a town/city near you! 2/2/04 Quick Update Thanks to all for bidding on James' dreads. The auctions will last a little longer, till we get rid of every last lock. I'm tired of them stinking up my office! Just joking. We're hoping to raise about $5-$10 per lock for the remaining ones. For those who have won locks, James will be signing your 'Thank You' cards today in Tampa, where he's training in preparation for the San Jose tournament. So you should get your goods by the beginning of next week. 1/27/04 Davis Cup Squad In what I'll (the webmaster) term a tough decision (certainly with James' interests in mind), James wasn't invited onto the US Davis Cup squad by Captain Patrick McEnroe today. As expected, Andy Roddick and the Bryan twins were named, in addition to Robby Ginepri and Mardy Fish. Presumably Mardy and Robby will duke it out in practice for the second singles spot. I realize James didn't face top ranked talent on his road to the 4th round of the Aussie Open, but he was certainly playing well. Ginepri was also playing well to reach the 4th round, while Mardy got a tough draw meeting Karlovic in the first, and losing. I imagine James would have been especially fired up to play in his home state and he has more Davis Cup experience than the other two guys. Share your thoughts on the messageboard! 1/25/04 James vs. Safin I was only able to follow the first set on the internet last night (a 7-6 tiebreak in Safin's favor), so it's tough to comment on this match except to say that unfortunately James lost. The scores were 6-7, 3-6, 7-6, 3-6. There were four breaks of serve in that first set. The conditions certainly didn't favor JB- it was cool and windy. With his conditioning and relatively easy first few rounds (vs. Safin's tougher matches), I'm sure James was hoping for some severe heat. Images are up in the gallery, and thepost match press conference is here. 1/24/04 James vs. Safin James' match with Safin is scheduled for third in the Vodafone Arena. It comes after a doubles match (2hours) and a Henin-Hardenne match (13 minutes), so I would expect him to start around 10:30pm EST (3:30am London Time). Agassi is playing at roughly the same time, so once again don't expect coverage in the States on ESPN. 1/23/04 James Administers Spanking Today's match was a whitewashing. 6-1, 6-3, 6-2 were the scores, and it wasn't even that close. From the look of the stats, James played very well, but I would have to imagine Mr. Olivier Patience might not have had much in the tank for this match after going through qualifying and two main draw rounds. In any case, it's on to Round 4 and a date with Marat Safin, who outlasted Todd Martin in 5 sets. A few images from the match are up. Here's the press conference. 1/22/04 Round 3 Time The schedule for tomorrow is out and James leads off the day in Margaret Court Arena at 11 am Melbourne time. That's 7pm EST tonight and 12am London time tonight. His opponent is Olivier Patience, who I'm told is a serve and volleyer. When he can't serve and volley apparently he tries to finish off points faster than Fernando Gonzalez with winners. 1/21/04 On to Round 3 James took out Nico Lapentti today in what looked to be an impressive match as far as I could tell following it on the net. Yes, I have no life. James jumped out of the box with a break in the second game of the first set and held serve throughout the set to win 6-3. In set number two it was on serve, with James saving at least 4 or 5 set points before reaching a tiebreaker that James won 7-4. The third set started out poorly and went downhill, but James got hot again in the fourth virtually ending the match after 4 games with a 4-0 lead. He cruised to a 6-1 final set win. The match lasted two hours and 40 minutes. According to James, he took a dive on a set point and knocked the wind out of himself. Here he is grimacing. And here's his post match press conference. Next up is Olivier Patience on Friday. 1/20/04 Round 1 Presser Read what James had to say following his first round win here. Interesting stuff about the off-season, a review of last season, and some up-and-coming American players. 1/19/04 Round 1 Win Moya had to withdraw, and according to James, he learned about it only 30 minutes prior to the match, so there was a mad scramble to find out about 118th ranked Ivan Miranda, Moya's replacement. From the looks of the score, James got off just a little more easily than he might have had he played Moya at full strength, well, maybe a lot more easy. 6-1, 6-4, 6-4 was the score. I haven't seen a press conference yet, but I have seen some stats:
Pictures are up in the gallery. Next up is Nicolas Lapentti of Ecuador, a 1, 3 and 1 winner today over Hernandez of Spain. The match should be on Wednesday. 1/18/04 Moya Status Here's the latest on Moya:
1/17/04 Moya Out? Carlos Moya had to withdraw from his final against Lleyton Hewitt today with a badly sprained ankle. His status for his encounter with JB is in doubt, a match originally scheduled for Monday. However, there are reports that the match might be postponed until Tuesday or Wednesday in order for Moya to recuperate. However, if he pulls out in the next day or so, I believe James would face a lucky loser, perhaps Jan Vacek on the Czech Republic. Ready to gear up for the 2004 season? Visit Tennis Warehouse for the latest and greatest from all the top tennis brands. Profits help keep this site fresh and clean. So use the link above or the links on JB's gear page to make some purchases. Thanks. 1/16/04 Aussie Open Draw The draw has been announced, and wouldn't you know it, James drew a Top 10 player in the first round. Carlos Moya and JB will duke it out either Monday or Tuesday Down Under with plenty on the line. James has a ton of points to defend from last year, not to mention the fact that a Davis Cup and perhaps even an Olympic spot may ride on how well he does at this first Grand Slam. James has beaten Moya before- last year at Indian Wells, but overall he's just 1 and 4 against the Spaniard. If anyone would like to volunteer to drop off the dead horse's head to Moya's hotel room, that would be great. Alternatively, you could go the Lawrence Taylor route and arrange to have a few of Melbourne's finest dames drop by Moya's room the night before the match. Or if you are a bellhop at his hotel and have no problem adding some , err, flavoring to his food, that could do the trick too. In all seriousness, this match should be a barnburner and let's hope they broadcast it Stateside! ESPN 2 begins its coverage Sunday night at 11pm (EST). 1/14/04 Site Redesign As regulars will have noticed, the site is undergoing a redesign. There are still a bunch of pages that need updating, and I'm working on it, but everything should be functional. Hope you like the new look. 1/12/04 Short Stay in Sydney Ugh- rough start to the first official tournament of the year today. Much like last year, after James won the Hopman Cup with impressive wins along the way, he went out in the first round, this time to Wayne Ferreira 2 and 4 (last year he lost to Moya in three sets). Guess that means more time to prepare and train in Melbourne. Let's hope for a good draw. Here's a picture of James today from his match. He obviously must have had a neck ache or perhaps an earache which led to his loss. Maybe a tooth ache?
1/11/04 On to Sydney JB is in the top half of the Adidas International tournament, with a first round matchup against Wayne Ferreira. If he can get by Wayne, who lost 0 and 1 last week to Todd Reid, it looks like the next opponent will be another Ferr- as in Juan Carlos Ferrero. James is not in the doubles draw. 1/10/04 Hopman Champs JB and Lindsay clinched the Hopman Cup today with their mixed doubles victory over Karol Kucera and Daniela Hantuchova, 6-2, 6-3. That match followed a straight set win for Lindsay over Hantuchova and a three set loss by James to Kucera, making the mixed doubles encounter the decider. Images galore now in the gallery, and the post match press conference transcript is here. Also updated is James' Gear page. Happy Shopping! Proceeds support this site. 1/9/04 Great Match vs. Safin James earned a fantastic win today over Russian Marat Safin, 6-7, 7-6, 6-4. Lindsay had already earned the US's spot in tomorrow's final with her win over Myskina, but apparently that didn't dimish the intensity with which this match was fought. Read the press conference here and check out some stellar images here. Next up is the Slovakian team, which is substituting for Australia in the final due to Alicia Molik's injury. JB faces Karol Kucera tomorrow. 1/7/04 JB Takes Out Santoro James continues to play well; today (or tomorrow atcmb) he beat Fabrice Santoro of France 3 and 4 to help the US defeat the French in team play. Lindsay beat Mauresmo, so their doubles match didn't mean anything, but they won anyway 5 and 1. Check out images from the match in the image gallery. Next up is Russia- JB will face off against Safin for the first time. 1/6/04 Grand Start! After an inauspicious trip over on the 2nd (his luggage was left behind in LA), James got the 2004 season underway in fine fashion by beating Jiri Novak in 3 sets on Tuesday. Lindsay Davenport also won her singles match, meaning the US team wins their match against the Czech Republic. (The two later teamed to win their doubles match as well). Next up is France on Wednesday. Here's a match report. Also, we have pix galore in the gallery.
First off, Happy New Year to everyone. James is in Perth now, preparing for the Hopman Cup, (or, more likely, sleeping after his long journey), which begins on the 6th. He will be teaming with Lindsay Davenport to face off against the Czech Republic and their players Jiri Novak and Barbora Strycova. Now on to the auction details. On Monday the 19th, there will be two special packages up for bid at Ebay. Each will consist of a lock of JB's dreads, a personalized letter from JB to the winning bidder, a Dunlop 300G racquet customized with James' name engraved on it, a signed poster, and (tentatively) a Nike tennis racquet bag. As soon as I have all the loot in hand I will create a special page on this site so you can see everything first-hand. Proceeds will be donated to a worthy cause selected by JB. Happy bidding!
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