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Old News - 2006 2005 2004 2003 2002
December
25,
2006
A merry Christmas to all of you out there celebrating today. My kids cleaned up. Man, do I miss the days when it was I who pulled in the loot! Good news- I was was lucky enough to recently receive a first-hand account of the clinic and fundraiser James held at the Harlem Tennis Center this past week. Andrew Friedman, who's collaborating on James' forthcoming book, was on hand for the event and snapped a few pix for the website and relayed some of the event's details. Without further ado, have a look. Want to tour the Outback in search of the reclusive, freakishly fast, bald headed James Blake? Check out the Nike WINTER Collection at Tennis Warehouse. December 21, 2006 Alrighty- a little X-Mas or Hanukkah or Kwanzaa treat for all the fans of JB's looks out there. Head on over here. Want to tour the Outback in search of the reclusive, freakishly fast, bald headed James Blake? Check out the Nike WINTER Collection at Tennis Warehouse. December 11, 2006 Hello JB Nation! Good to be back in the state of California, but what a time in Virginia. I am still recovering! Let's skip this news format and head straight to the AV format that suits the world wide web so well! Follow me here for your behind the scenes, exclusive, first person account of James' two charity exhibitions last week in Virginia!!! Want to tour the Outback in search of the reclusive, freakishly fast, bald headed James Blake? Check out the Nike WINTER Collection at Tennis Warehouse. December 1, 2006 Hello everyone! Glad to be back and writing again. I've just finished up my end-of-season siesta, which lasted a little longer than normal this year. James worked me into the ground this past season with all his successes, so I thought I'd better rest up before the arduous off-season. That's right, James is back working out and preparing for next year, and at the same time doing his annual round of exhibitions. Let's start off with that exo schedule. Things kick off in Virginia this year. The AnthemLive event will be next Thursday, December 8th in Norfolk at the Constant Center. It features the Blake Brothers vs. the Bryan Brothers, James vs. some guy named Andre Agassi, with Boyd Tinsley of the Dave Matthews Band serenading the players all the while. The following night, in my hometown of Richmond, VA, James will return the favor to Andre and participate in his Genworth Tennis Classic. The doubles action this night will feature James and Lindsay Davenport vs. Mr. and Mrs. Agassi (the later of whom has also been referred to as Steffi Graf). And for those of you in Texas, you should be positively sick of James by year's end. He'll be in Austin on December 15th for the All American Tennis Classic featuring the Blake Brothers and Mardy Fish. On the 16th, James will be in Dallas with the same crew peddling their tennis talents as part of the FedEx Shootout. Then James returns to Austin the next night as a guest for an Andy Roddick led charity dinner. Not sure if the public is invited to that or not. So there you have it. I'll have a full report from the two events next week in Virginia, so look forward to that. November 19, 2006 That's a wrap folks! I guess it might qualify as a slightly disappointing final match, but it was certainly not completely unexpected. James lost today to the proverbial 'Man', Mr. Roger Federer, 6-0, 6-3, 6-4. Damn those Swiss tennis players with their sick groundstrokes and gargantuan games! Nevertheless, James acquitted himself quite nicely in his first ever year-end Masters event. He is now the 4th ranked tennis player in the world (and beat both the 2nd and 3rd ranked players in this tournament). I'd say that's certainly deserving of some major props. Read about today's match here. I'll upload some images ASAP in the images section, and then we can all enjoy our Sunday! In the coming weeks, I'll be updating you on James' exhibition schedule, his new racquet (tease, tease), and exactly how much turkey he ate for Thanksgiving. Stay tuned! November 18, 2006 All I've seen is the score so far, but I'm happy to report that James has taken out Nalbandian in the semis 6-4, 6-1 and advanced to the finals to face Roger Federer, who beat Nadal 6-4, 7-5. To see stats from the two matches, head to the Masters website, click Live Scores, and then Today's Results, then click on the match. I'll post more as soon as it becomes available. In the meantime, keep your fingers crossed that ESPN2 elects to show some, if not all, of the match at 10pm EST tonight. Send your good luck wishes to James for his match vs. Federer! Use this email: cdgriff@gmail.com November 17, 2006 In what amounted to a 'dead rubber', James lost today to Tommy Robredo of Spain in three sets, to finish off Round Robin play at 2-1. For finishing number one in the Gold group, JB faces David Nalbandian in the second semifinal tomorrow, which should start sometime around 8am EST. In the first semifinal, tennis fans will be treated to another Nadal-Federer matchup. Should be fun! November 15, 2006 Sorry for the tardy update here (the match finished about 7 hours ago), but I had to take part in my daughter's Fun Run at school this morning (in which Chloe decided to walk the entire way), so I just now finished watching JAMES' THRILLING THREE SET WIN OVER NIKOLAY DAVYDENKO!!! I hope you had a chance to see this match. The first 14 games of which can be summed up in this image. After that, James completely turned things around, stealing the second set 6-4, and then hanging tooth and nail for a 7-5 third set win. This picture sums up the final 16 games. For those of you who have been watching James play over the past 5 years or so- is this not the best you've ever seen him play? The shots are all there, the consistency is there, and now there's an inner belief that even when things are going wrong, he can turn it around, and he has. What exceptional tennis, really. (And I'm not just saying this to get a piece of the $300,000 he's earned the past 3 days either). Read a complete match recap here. You can also hear some post match comments from JB here. James now sits at 2-0 in the Gold group, which, coupled with the other results so far, qualifies him for a semifinal berth at the Masters Cup. Not bad for the last qualifier! Want to tour the Outback in search of the reclusive, bald headed, freakishly fast James Blake? Check out the Nike WINTER Collection at Tennis Warehouse. November 13, 2006 I'm still watching the match on my TiVo (it was on here at 3am) but I had to sneak a peek at the final score, and James has now officially made Rafa Nadal his whipping boy. Okay, maybe that's a little harsh, but there's no doubt he owns the Spaniard when it comes to any sort of court other than clay. This was a very entertaining match (I've just now finished wathcing it). Both were playing at a high level (except for James at the beginning of the second set when he got down 4-0). After going down a break at 3-4 in the first set, James broke, held and then broke again to take the opening set behind some excellent serving, some agressive volleying, and very solid play off both wings. As I just mentioned, the start of the second set was a different matter. James appeared to lose a little focus and it was 4-0 Nadal awfully quickly. But James held to make it 4-1, broke with some solid returns to make it 4-2, and then broke again at 3 -4, and 4-5, to get right back in the set. In the tiebreak, James served up a bagel, winning 7-0. If you don't consider my own description of the match up to your standards, you can be traitor and go read this. Next up is a date with either Davydenko or Robredo. November 9, 2006 The draw is out and James gets the number two player in the world for starters. JB and Rafa play Monday at 7pm, which I think is 2pm the following Thursday here on the West Coast. Okay maybe not. I have no clue when that is, but I trust the folks at ESPN2 do, as does my TiVo, so I'll leave it up to those couple entities to show me the match. US Davis Cup coach Patrick McEnroe handicaps the field in this Tennis Week piece. November 7, 2006 James is busy training here in the States at the moment and will be off tomorrow (Wednesday) for Shanghai. Play gets underway Sunday, and I would imagine the round-robin formatted draw will be announced by Thursday or Friday at the latest. Catch all the action on ESPN2. Want to tour the Outback in search of the reclusive, bald headed, freakishly fast James Blake? Check out the Nike WINTER Collection at Tennis Warehouse. November 4, 2006 It's official! With a little help from Nikolay Davydenko, Dominik Hrbaty, a Tommy Haas tummyache, and a whole slew of incredible play this year by Mr. James Blake, JB finds himself off to Shanghai!!! When Tommy Haas had to pull out of his match today against Hrbaty, James automatically qualifed for the Masters Cup as the 8th ranked player in the world this year. Not bad at all! We'll talk to James in the coming days to see what his travel plans are. The event starts November 12. November 2, 2006 James finished off the 'regular season' today with a loss to Haas in Paris, 6-4, 6-2. The result is a tough one in that now James has to rely on some other folks to lose so that he might make it to the Masters Cup. It's easiest to understand this way- If TWO of the following scenarios come true, James will NOT go to Shanghai: Haas wins in Paris, Ancic reaches the semis, or Robredo reaches the Quarters. Robredo has a chance to do just that in a few hours vs. Mathieu. Ancic would have to beat Davydenko tomorrow, and Haas obviously has to run the table. So, looking at the odds, I would say the big match is going to be Davydenko-Ancic. We'll see how it goes! Want to tour the Outback in search of the elusive James Blake? Check out the Nike WINTER Collection at Tennis Warehouse. November 1, 2006 James helped his Masters Cup cause today by beating Arnaud Clement in three sets, 6-4, 3-6, 6-4. That moves him into the Round of 16 and a date with Tommy Haas. See pictures from today's match over at CBS Sportsline. In looking at the various scenarios that would get James to Shanghai, James would have gotten a huge boost had Grosjean won today. But he pulled a choke job blowing a two break lead in the second set and that was that. Gonzalez lost to Benneteau today, rendering his chances at making the event nil. So basically it's down to Nalbandian (in), James, Robredo, Ancic (needs to get to Quarters, and Haas (needs to win it all) for the final three spots. If James gets by Haas tomorrow, that would eliminate one scenario (Haas winning), and improve James' chances, so that's what we need to hope for. Follow the match tomorrow vs. Haas live here. October 30, 2006 Hey folks! Been a while since I last updated, I know...but truth be told there hasn't been a lot to report of late. Like the fact that James is writing a book for release next year and he'll be starring in a new movie next summer alongside Salma Hayek. Okay, maybe only the former news item is true. Perhaps in James' dreams the latter is true as well. TennisWeek also reported on the upcoming AnthemLive event in Norfolk. Yours truly will be there again for a behind the scenes report, so look forward to that in early December. What's with TennisWeek getting the scoop on me with all this stuff? Good question, I'll get on IMG's case pronto. As for tennis related activities- James has a bye in the first round of the Paris TMS and plays the winner of Clement - Massu. For a detailed breakdown on James' path to Shanghai, read this excellent feature on the ATP website. October 21, 2006 Spoke with James today and he has pulled out of Basel. He wants to rest up at home for a while before finishing off the season in Paris. October 20, 2006 New York City metro folks take note: I missed this news nugget about the upcoming offseason. October 18, 2006 - Madrid The boom or bust cycle continues this year for James. Today he lost in the second round (after getting a round one bye) to Belgium's Kristof Vliegen 6-4, 3-6, 7-6 (5). Here a few brief comments from James following the match here. And read a little about the match here. Here's an updated look at the race to Shanghai. Despite today's loss, James is still on track to make it to China. He certainly could have helped himself with a win, but a few of the other guys around him lost as well, so it's not a desperate situation. Not sure if James will take a quick trip back home before heading to Basel, but he will be in action early next week. October 15, 2006 - Stockholm Wow! James really has it working these days, hunh? Title number five is in the bag for 2006 and this time it came in repeat fashion. Today James successfully defended his 2005 Stockholm Open title, taking out the Flying Finn Jarkko Nieminen 6-4, 6-2. Send James another congratulatory message by emailing here (this seemed to work well enough a couple weeks back after Bangkok). We'll do our best to scour the net for all the details from the match. This result helps him the Champion's Race as well, read how here. We'll also see if we can get a few comments from James directly, but he's probably already off to Madrid... Speaking of Madrid, the draw is out and James is the 8th seed with a bye in the first round. He then gets the winner of Tursunov- Vliegen. October 14, 2006 James' best season ever continues in Stockholm! He is going for his fifth title of the year after a big win today over Soderling 7-5, 7-6 (4). Read about the match here and here. Follow the action live tomorrow on the net at 1:30 GMT, 8:30am East Coast time. Sorry for the short entry but your favorite webmaster is still recovering from some bad food poisoning. Back to bed for me. October 13, 2006 James had the serve working again today, firing in 16 aces against Olivier Rochus. He won a three setter 6-7, 7-4, 6-2. No double faults either. Here's a report from James on the match: hey,
i
served
well.
actually
probably
going
more
up
the
t
than
out
wide.
but
both
were
working
pretty
well.
the
first
set
i
felt
like
i
had
chances
on
his
serve,
but
never
really
took
advantage.
he
broke
me
at
5-5
and
then
i
broke
him
right
back.
he
played
a
great
breaker
then
and
i
missed
some
first
serves.
then
i
broke
him
at
love
to
start
the
second
and
kept
serving
really
well
so
he
couldn't
get
a
chance
to
break.
but
it
was
still
really
good
tennis.
he
makes
you
hit
a
ton
of
balls,
and
doesn't
give
you
many
free
points.
then
in
the
third,
i
got
a
break
early
again.
then
took
advantage
of
that
by
being
able
to
go
for
my
shots
a
bit
more
and
got
another
break.
then
just
kept
serving
well
and
served
it
out
without
a
problem.
Tomorrow James plays the No. 8 seed Robin Soderling. October 12, 2006 I guess Coach Barker's scouting report on Simon Greul proved effective; James won his match today 3 and 2, and only faced three break points the whole match. Up next is Olivier Rochus, whom James has beaten two out of the three times they've played. That match will be played tomorrow. October 11, 2006 A solid win for JB today over the 2004 Stockholm Open champion, Thomas Johansson. Scores were 6-3 and 6-2 in the 59 minute contest. James tells me he served very well and Johansson was expecting the imminent arrival of his first child, so he might have a had a few off-the-court distractions. Nevertheless, it's onwards and upwards through the draw, and a date with Simon Greul tomorrow. James told me that Coach Barker was out there scouting Greul's match today, so hopefully JB has the 411 on him for tomorrow's contest. October 7, 2006 James is the second seed this coming week in the If Stockholm Open. He's also in the doubles draw, with none other than Mahesh Bhupathi! That should be a formidable duo (now watch them go out in the first round). As you JB fans might remember, James won this title last year, defeating Srichaphan in the final. This year he opens up with a tough opponent- homecountry favorite Thomas Johansson. Not sure if they will play on Monday or Tuesday... What else? I saw that Dent and Venus Williams are scheduled to play the Hopman Cup this coming January, so I guess JB will be back in Adelaide to start the year. Have a look at the latest ATP Champions Race standings. James is looking okay to make it to Shanghai- let's keep our fingers crossed! October 1 , 2006 - Bangkok James was on it from the get-go today in Bangkok, dispatching Ivan Ljubicic in two quick sets 6-3, 6-1. It's James' fourth title of the year and it moves him up to 6th in the Champions Race with four tournaments (Stockholm, Basel, Madrid and Paris) remaining. A few articles (AP , ATP Tour website and BBC) from the final to pass along and some audio. Pictures from the whole tournament, including the final, are up now in the gallery. Send your congratulatory message to JB! Want to tour the Outback in search of the elusive James Blake? Check out the Nike Fall Collection at Tennis Warehouse.
September 30, 2006 An impressive victory for James today over Marat Safin. It's his second win over the big Russian in a week (albeit under completely different circumstances this go-around). Scores today were 3-6, 6-4, 7-6 (3). According to the ATP website, this win will vault James to the 7th spot in the Champions Race with a potential move to 6th should he beat Ljubicic tomorrow. Not bad at all! September 29, 2006 James fought his way through a three set battle to earn a win today against Nieminen in Bangkok. That means a date with Marat Safin in the semis tomorrow. I'm not sure exactly how all this will impact his chances at making the year-end Masters Cup event, but it certainly can't hurt! Follow the action tomorrow on the net at the Thailand Open website. September 28, 2006 Another quick match for James today in Thailand. He dropped only four games en route to a second round win over Benjamin Balleret. Up next is the five seed- Jarkko Nieminen. Check out a few pictures from today's match in the gallery. Just heard from James and he feels like he's hitting the ball well, but he'll get a tougher test with his next match. His schedule looks like this: Heading home after Thailand, then stockholm, madrid, basel and paris. September 27, 2006 James and the gang are back at work this week in Thailand. James played his first round match Wednesday evening and made quick work of a wildcard, Marin Cilic , 1 and 2. Next up is Benjamin Balleret, whose game is affectionately known in these parts as Benji Ball. That's Thursday. Since I don't have too much else to write about, check out James' ever evolving page on Wikipedia. Or how about this news item from SI.com.
September 25, 2006 - Russia Russians on clay never sounded too appetizing to me, and that combo did in the American Davis Cup squad this year. After the Bryans kept American hopes alive on Saturday with a dominating performance, Andy turned in another exemplary Davis Cup effort on Sunday against Tursunov (much as he did as vs. Nadal a couple years back), but he got the same result- an excruciating loss. James then played a meaningless match vs. Safin to wrap up the tie (which JB won), but I'm sure they were both looking to get off the court ASAP. Here's an AP recap from yesterday's matches. Also, here's an interview in MP3 format with Coach Pat Mac. What's next? Well, James is actually in Bangkok now for the Thailand Open. He's the three seed and plays Marin Cilic in the first round, most likely tomorrow (or today, or whatever time it is over there!). He is in 9th place in the Champions Race. Here's a look at what he needs to do to help himself in that dept. so that he might qualify for the year-end Masters event. September 22, 2006 - Russia No good news to report this morning from Russia; both James and Andy lost their singles matches today. Andy started off against Marat and lost in straights, while James fell to Youzhny in four. Check out the stats over at the excellent Davis Cup site. And here's an article from the Associated Press. September 19, 2006 A few Davis Cup articles to pass along to you guys. One from the South Florida Sun Sentinel and another from the Associated Press. The tie gets underway on Friday. September 15, 2006 - New York City James is making the long haul today to Russia for the Davis Cup. Last night he helped open a new pop-up Evian Detox spa in the city. Read all about it as part of a Tennis Week Interview released today. September 7, 2006 In the end, it was a fun night of tennis and, save one rough set, James has nothing to feel bad about at all in his quarterfinal loss vs. The Fed. Scores were 6-7, 0-6, 7-6, 6-4. The best thing to come out of this matchup? James showed a fighting spirit in the third and fourth sets that thoroughly satisfied the crowd and this viewing audience. It was a bit of a surprise really- in the second set and the beginning of the third, JB had that hang-dog countenance that we saw in his matches against Mirnyi at Wimbledon and Federer back at Indian Wells, when things were seemingly going against him. But I'll tell you what, I'm pretty sure it was the beginning of the third set, some dude shouted out from the stands "Put up a fight!' , and seemingly from that point on, James did. He broke Federer to stay in the match at 4-5, got to a tiebreak, and after multiple tries finally took the set. The fourth looked pretty bleak, but at 2-5 down, James hopped back on his comeback horse and almost got all the way back to 5-5. It was a good match and he certainly forced Federer to come up with some of his magic to put James away. We'll get some pictures up as soon as they are off the wires. Next up? Davis Cup vs. Russia. James was named to the squad just the other day. September 6, 2006 James played his best match of the tournament by far today, dispatching Berdych in three convincing sets. He served well, hit his groundies well, had a great gameplan, and had a good time as a result. Scores were 4, 3, and 1. Images from the match are going up in the gallery as we speak. Hopefully we can get a post match press conference transcript as well. Next up is The Big One- Roger Federer, tomorrow night. If there was ever a time...send in your good luck wishes to JB: cdgriff@gmail.com ! September 4, 2006 James' game is definitely on the upswing- he played quite well last night in defeating Carlos Moya in four sets (not that you were asking me, but I need to write something here). Solid return games, penetrating backhands, more consistent forehand, and some great defense. That's pretty much been the winning combo for James this past year or so. He also pulled a little magic act to win the second set last night. Down 6-2 in the tiebreak, he managed to reel off 6 points in a row to take it 8-6. And that was most certainly the turning point in the match. I have some images up in the gallery- James had the gladiator look going with the black shoes and black socks. Next up is the uber-talented Tomas Berdych. James got him on the hardcourts last year on the way to the final in DC, so we'll have to see if he can replicate that result tomorrow. James' post match presser form the second round is up for all to see. Check it out here. Just got home and saw the good news! I'm going to watch the match now so I can offer my completely faux expert commentary on James' four set win over Moya tomorrow morning. Until then! September 1 , 2006 James was in control of his straight set win today vs. Teimuraz Gabashvili, but I'm sure he would say there's still some work to be done on his game as he progresses in the tournament. Scores were 3, 4, and 6. I got to watch most of the first two sets, but then USA went off the air, so it was internet scoring for the third set. James failed to close it out serving at 5-4, but won the tiebreak to close the matter. Some pictures are up in the Images section, including a good one of the J-Block contingent out there today. And, if you missed it, James was wearing an Agassi insipired retro outfit today complete with white head bandana.
James is third up on Ashe Court today facing Teimuraz Gabashvili. USA Network will have coverage of the match starting around 3pm EST. James' post match interview is up for all to read. Check it out here. Interesting that the reporters didn't wait long to ask him about the new Spadea book. Want to see James at the U.S. Open? Check out the Nike Fall Collection at Tennis Warehouse. August 31, 2006James had some fun out on Armstrong Court yesterday in his first round match against Juan Monaco. With 10,000 or so cheering him on, James was pumped up to get the straight set win 6-3, 7-5, 7-6 (7). He didn't play his best tennis for sure, but he got through and next faces Teimuraz Gabashvili on Friday, who won a first-round five setter. So hopefully he can gain even more confidence during that match. For a full recap of yesterday's match, plus a look at some statistics, head here. Some great photos from the match to check out in the Images section as well.
I heard from the Evian folks this morning. My 30 cases of water will be arriving next week. Well, maybe not (that's what I had hoped they were calling about). They are unveiling a JB 'Play. Live. Detox' website for all to see. Head here to experience. August 26, 2006The draw is out and James has drawn Argentine Juan Monaco in the first round. Other players of note from his quarter: Tursunov, Ferrero, Moya, Berdych, Mathieu, and some guy named Federer. James tells me his first match will be either Tuesday or Wednesday. A few photos of James from a recent Grand Slam party. I'm sure there will be plenty of other photo opps and party stuff to pass along soon. August 23, 2006Unfortunately it's my duty to write about the end of this year's New Haven tournament for James, seemingly before it even got going. After winning the first set convincingly against Ramirez Hidlago last night, James dropped the final two sets in tie-breaks to exit in the second round. Read more here. August 22, 2006The draw is out, and James has the number one seed at the New Haven tournament, which got underway on Sunday. He had a bye in the first round, and will be playing Ramirez Hidalgo tonight at 7pm EST. I saw Thomas, James' brother, is playing as well in the doubles draw. He partnered with Roy Kalmanovich, who he's been hitting with up in Boston, and who is number one in New England and top ten in the country. James has written another diary entry for the Hartford Courant. Read it here. August 17, 2006 We're open for business (in a matter of speaking). Check out the new JB Store, where you can get everything you ever wanted (apparel, shoes, posters, bobbleheads) and more. You'll also notice new J-Block headbands, hats and womens Ts. August 16, 2006Tough match to watch today for the JB Nation. It was pretty clear early on that James was not on his game and his energy level seemed to be on par with your average zoo lion (has anyone ever actually seen a lion DO something at the zoo?). The scores reflected the match play- James lost 2 and 4. Oh yeah, he was playing Juan Carlos Ferrero out there, who played well, but you get the idea Pat Mac could have stepped down from the booth and given James a good match today. Whether or not he had bad room service, found out the IRS was auditing his tax return, or struck out trying to score with Ms. Cincinnati last night, is anyone's guess, but the bottom line is it's back to the practice courts for now. So James gets to head back to his home state (CT), sleep in his own bed, and regroup for next week's New Haven tournament. He'll have plenty of fan support there, so I would bet the house he'll be fired up and rarin' to go come Monday. In the meantime, for you fans of James' looks out there (personally I don't find him attractive; the severe facial acne doesn't sit well with me), you can see him in the current issue of Men's Vogue on newstands now. August 15, 2006James made it through his first round match last night in Cincy, beating Santoro 6-4, 6-4. The first set was routine- James was very patient and played solidly- but the second set was a little more dicey than the score indicates. A number of unforced errors hurt JB and the first serve percentage took a dip. James broke Santoro twice and Santoro got him back once (and had a chance to break again at 4-5). Nevertheless, onward and upward as James plays Juan Carlos Ferrero on Wednesday, who advanced when Jonas Bjorkman retired at 6-6 in the first set yesterday. August 14, 2006Couple items for you to read before tonight's match, which I believe will be on ESPN2 at 9pm EST. First, from the current issue of Tennis magazine, Jon Wertheim's most excellent column on Brian Barker. And from the horse's mouth, the latest installment of James' diary for the Hartford Courant. August 13, 2006James is in Cincinnati looking to do some damage in his portion of the draw. Not sure yet, but I would imagine he'll be playing Santoro tomorrow (Monday). Hopefully James makes one of his deep runs and can avenge some of his early losses the past few weeks. In the next few hours, I hope to post a few of the recent US Open-related articles printed about James. More later! August 9, 2006 Rough day at the office today in Canada for James. After starting out on fire against Gasquet, things took a rather drastic turn in the 6th game, with James leading 3-2. Gasquet started hitting some great shots, playing some solid defense, and James was at a loss for answers. I believe he held serve only once the rest of the match, and Gasquet continued his stellar play. The final score was 4-6, 3-6. James did not earn many cheap points on serve and that really made things difficult since Gasquet was his equal if not better during rallies. Gasquet planted himself well behind the baseline and James couldn't hit his customary winners. James tried to play some angles, but Gasquet had answers for those shots as well. Despite the disappointing loss, James will earn a few ranking points here this week since he didn't play in Canada last year. Cincinnati is up next and then comes a big, prolonged test; James has to defend his points from last year in New Haven and the U.S. Open. August 8, 2006James made quick work of young (17) Philip Bester tonight, in a nationally televised match. Scores were 6-4, 6-1 with no break points against, and James winning 60 of the 98 total points played. A little credit and encouragement to the young Canadian- he looked good at net when he got there, and his one handed backhand motion looks a lot like Federer (although it often landed a good 10 feet out). James played solidly, ripping quite a few backhand winners while cruising for the most part. According to something known as a draw, James plays Frenchman Richard Gasquet in the second round on Wednesday, which should be an entertaining match. Before those two make it out onto the court, James will play some doubles out on court one tomorrow. He'll team up with Robby Ginepri against Safin and Tursunov. August 7, 2006 James plays in just a few hours time (7pm EST) in Toronto. You can follow the action live on the web via scoreboard, or, if you want to fork over some money, via video. James is the 5th seed in the draw, and has a wildcard in the first round. Can't say that I've heard of him either...Andy was in James' quarter of the draw, but has since dropped out due to injury, so some future opponents might be Gasquet, Ginepri and Nadal. But first he needs to get by Mr. Bester. I also see that James and Robby Ginepri are playing some doubles together and have Safin and Tursunov in the first round. Surprised to see James playing dubs with such a tough summer schedule... With his loss in the third round in Washington, James didn't defend all his points from last year, so he has fallen from 5th to 6th in the rankings. Last year he did not play the TMS Canada and lost the first round in Cincy, so he has a great opportunity to earn a lot of ranking points prior to New Haven and the Open. August 4, 2006 A tight match last night in D.C. for James, but unfortunatley he came out on the wrong end against Marat Safin. The score was 6-7 (6), 6-7 (5), with Marat winning a total of six more points over the course of the match than James. James reached the final here last year, so I'm not sure just how much losing in the third round will affect his ranking. Next up is the first TMS event of the summer- Toronto. That draw will be out on Saturday. August 2, 2006Sorry for the late update here folks- James won his second round match in DC yesterday over American Kevin Kim 7-5, 3-6, 6-2, in a match full of service breaks. James kept it together for the most part in the third though to win going away. A big test tomorrow (Thursday) at 7pm EST though, as James gets the always dangerous Marat Safin. Marat has had an uneven year to say the least, but he's capable of beating anyone when he's on. We'll see how it goes. I am late in updating the site because I spent the day at the La Costa Resort watching the ladies play in the Acura Classic. Seeing Elena Dementieva's legs in person was worth the price of admission alone. Wow. And she can hit some groundstrokes too. It's been a while since I've seen the pros play in person, and it reminded me just how bad I really suck at tennis. July 30, 2006 Quite a few things to pass along on the eve of the Legg Mason tournament in D.C. First off, how about those Mets! I told James that in D.C. he needs to don that Beltran jersey he sported at the Open last year, so that some of his heat might rub off on JB. Speaking of D.C., James is the number one seed- have a look at the complete draw here. James will get underway on Tuesday or Wednesday with his second round match. What's
James been up to? Well, you can read it from the man
himself with this blog/diary
entry for the Hartford Courant. One item that's
not included was the photo shoot James had yesterday
at the U.S. National Tennis Center. Read all about
that over at Well, well, well. The news today comes from the endorsement arena, where James has worked out a deal with water titan Evian. You can read the official press release here. What you won't read in the release is that James will be contractually obligated to drink at least an average of 6.5 bottles of Evian a day, and he must carry a bottle around with him at all times in public (although he doesn't have to be drinking it). I jest. He will be doing plenty of ad and promotional work with the brand leading up to the U.S. Open, where Evian is a sponsor and James is a major contender. So, how soon do you think I should wait till I start hitting the man up for a few hundred cases of water? I was thinking about a week or so. You still want him to be on that high from signing the deal (and winning in Indy), but you don't want to appear too greedy and opportunistic. So I guess around early August I'll start to point out all the hard work I do on the site. :) July 26, 2006 It appears James and Andy pulled down some decent TV ratings for their encounter on Sunday, check it out here. July 24, 2006 Have pictures posted from the match yesterday. Check out the Images section. July 23, 2006Great win for James at the RCA Championships today! He beat Andy Roddick, won his third title of the year, and came away with a new pet (they handed him a puppy after he won). Scores were 4-6, 6-4, 7-6 (5). The match was well played by both, and basically even. James played one poor game in the first to lose, while in the second set JB earned two breaks to Andy's one, and the third featured a number of easy holds by Roddick and close shaves on James' serve (he saved at least 5 break points I believe). In the tiebreak, Andy went up a minibreak early on, but James stormed back with some great defense to take it. So, objectively speaking, James has now cemented his status as the best tennis player in the U.S. of A. The win will also push him up to number five in the world. Not bad, hunh! I'll post pictures and any post match press comments when they become available. July 22, 2006 James is on through to his fourth final of the year, this one at the RCA Championships in Indianapolis. Today he disposed of Xavier Malisse in three sets. Tomorrow at 1:30pm EST on NBC he gets a match with friend Andy Roddick in the final, who beat Ginepri earlier in the day. July 21, 2006 James has won his first two matches in Indianapolis so far, his best result at that tournament. Yesterday he took care of Wesley Whitehouse in a three set battle. Read more about it here. Tonight he plays in the quarters vs. Mahut. July 16, 2006 Action gets underway in Indianapolis at the RCA Championships tomorrow. As the NUMBER ONE seed, James has a bye in the first round. Have a look at the complete draw here. July 13, 2006 Got word late last night from James that Teddy Bruschi won the Comeback Athlete of the Year Award last night at the ESPY's. So I guess the Broken Neck/Death in the Family/Shingles combo just didn't cut it for the ESPY voters. As an FYI- Bruschi suffered a stroke after the season in January 2005, and came back later that year to play for the Pats. As expected the Tennis Player of the Year went to Federer. I'm not sure who won for Best Game, but James says he was 0 for 3, so his match with Andre obviously didn't get the nod. July 11, 2006 For all of you joining us after seeing James on the Today Show this morning or Quite Frankly last night- welcome! Now for all of you you have been pestering me for the past year about J-Block shirts, signs, hats, coasters, baby outfits, and mugs...your time has come! (Well, at least those of you who wanted a t-shirt). James announced today that he has selected the USTA Tennis and Education Foundation as the charity to benefit from the sales of all Nike J-Block items. Without further ado- head to the J-Block!!!! Celebrate this life changing day by helping me get rid of all my JB bobbleheads from my garage.
July
5, 2006
Hope all the Americans out there in CyberLand had a nice 4th yesterday. My family got the day underway with a nice hike in the Torrey Pines State Reserve, a little neighborhood festival action, and then fireworks at LegoLand in Carlsbad. Needless to say the kids were comatose on the ride home- just the way we like it! BIG NEWS for all you JB fans in the NYC metro area! James will be making an appearance on Quite Frankly with Stephen A. Smith this coming Monday (the 10th) and you are invited to attend for free!!! Please email me at cdgriff@gmail.com for further details, as I'm still getting info from the show's producers. What I know so far- you would need to check in at 6pm and the show starts at 7:30pm. First come, first serve basis, so email me now if you are interested! July 3, 2006 Hey
there folks- one other item I forgot to pass along during Wimbledon:
the first ever, one-of-a-kind 'Betty Blake Blogs from Britain'
extravaganza. Read all about it here. Don't forget, the next big day here in JamesBlakeLand will be Tuesday the 11th, when James tries to conquer the world, starting with the Today show, the announcement of the JBlock program, and the kickoff to the US Open Series. Be there or be square. June 30, 2006 - Wimbledon After fighting back from a set and break down, things were looking pretty good at the start of the 4th set today. But boy did things head south in a hurry on Centre Court. Mirnyi totally dominated in the 4th and 5th sets (6-1, 6-0) and James is now left with a tough exit from Wimbledon. I guess it should be said that Mirnyi really posesses the bigger grasscourt weapons with his huge serve and incredible volleys. He also dominated James whenever JB had to hit a second serve. In the 4th and 5th sets James only won 20% of his second serve points. What was the story through the first three sets? Well, after missing a few opportunities to break back in the opening set, James found his groove in the second and third sets, breaking Mirnyi with some great backhand returns and passing shots, in addition to his standard forehand blasts. Mirnyi also started missing a few first serves in those two sets, after hitting 70% of his first serves in set number one. So, it's back to the hardcourts for James (no Newport this year). He gets things going on July 17th in Indianapolis. He then plays Washington, Toronto, Cincinnati, New Haven, and the US Open. Read what James had to say following the match here. June
28, 2006
Interesting match out there today against Jimmy Wang on Court 2. For instance, have a look at the stats, and you'll notice Wang was 1 for 21 in break point chances. Ouch- good that JB was able to hold off that many, but you have to figure someone else is probably going to capitalize on a few more of those. I also overheard the announcers saying that in the third set the server held on for four consecutive 0-40 games. That's a little odd as well. Also, James was +30 in the Winners to Unforced Errors column- now thats pretty impressive! So the fairly routine 6-4, 6-2, 4-6, 6-2 scoreline maybe doesn't reflect how the match really went. In any case, James is on to round three at The Championships, which is unchartered territory for him (he's been knocked out in the second round on three previous occasions). Next up? The Belarus Beast, Max Mirnyi, who took out former finalist Mark Philippoussis in an encounter of big servers. Typically, Mirnyi serves and volleys 100% of the time, but he was actually staying back on quite a few points against Flipper. My guess is he will be serving and volleying away against James, because I'd have to favor JB in most groundstroke rallies between the two. That match will take place on Friday. June 27, 2006 Ah, yes. Nothing like waking up to a gorgeous Southern California day, the kids off to school, the wife at work, a cup of tea and a bagel, the newspaper and a JB win. As I suspected, it was a bit of a stiff test today from Mr. Kristian Pless, the Dane who made it through qualifying. Scoreline was 6-4, 7-5, 5-7, 6-4. I just got done watching the match on Tivo, and James was playing pretty well, save a few untimely double faults. Credit to Pless who played a solid match on serve, but made a few bad errors when it counted most. Hopefully there will be a press conference to post in the next day. I'm not 100% certain, but I would imagine James has to hop back onto the saddle tomorrow to play Wang, of Taipei (who beat James in San Jose earlier this year). And in other Team Blake news, head to your local Costco to see James' brother Thomas! That's right, he somehow finagled an endorsement with Purina Puppy Chow (a hair thung? I dunno) so he's giving out samples on aisle three. Uhm, no, I got that wrong. Handing out dog food samples at Costco (or some other big box retailer) was actually my first job. Thomas can be seen on the high definition televisions in the store as part of a Tennis Channel promo. Exciting stuff that I'm sure will get you into your local Costco, hunh? June 26, 2006 A special round of applause for TV studio hosts around the world who had to fill hours and hours of coverage today due to the rain at Wimbledon, which pretty much washed out the whole day. Here in the US we got to see last year's men's and women's final, interviews with Todd Martin, Dick Enberg (you gotta love it when the networks interview their own colleagues), and some British lady. Hopefully James gets on tomorrow. In other big news- James has received two ESPY nominations!!! You can help him win the award for Comeback Athlete. As for the second nomination, Male Tennis Payer of the Year, well, I'm kinda thinking someone else deserves to win that award, but I'll leave that to you to decide. Head to the ESPY website and vote!!! And in other Team Blake news, the webmaster of this website took home some hardware here in San Diego. Read more here. June 26, 2006 James will be playing his first round match today on Court 1 against Kristian Pless. They are up third, so I figure they might hit the court around 5pm GMT, or noon EST. FYI- James finished off his Boodles Challenge adventure with a loss to Mardy the other day. June 23, 2006 - Buckinghamshire James won his first exhibition the other day at the Boodles challenge against Horna, 7-6, 4-6, 6-3. It was an exciting match, with James hitting multiple between the legs shots for winners, Horna complaining vehemently to the chair ump about the quality of the grass courts, and two streakers interrupting play during the decisive third set. Those crazy Buckinghamshire ladies! Actually I have absolutely no idea what happened during the match. In fact I had forgotten that James even played the other day. I do see though that James and Mardy are set to do battle this afternoon. Battle you ask? Well, turns out the two haven't been speaking since they teamed up to play doubles during Queens last week. As you can see from this picture, Mardy began giving James the cold shoulder when he missed an easy forehand volley at net late in the second set. It escalated in the lockerroom when James blamed Mardy's weak second serving for the loss. The two then ended up on the lockerroom floor in a massive throw-down. You'll notice this picture in which James has a chipped tooth from the incident. I hope all this is as fun to read as it is to write for me. By the way, none of this is true for you newbies out there. The real news of the day is the Wimbledon draw. James is the 8th seed and trust me, that's a good thing (as opposed to the 7th seed, which is what his current world ranking is). You might notice that the 7th seed, Mario Ancic, is in the same quarter as Federer, Gasquet, Henman, Haas, Hernych, Berdych, Monfils, Srichaphan, and Karlovic. OUCH! James is in the quarter just below that one, featuring Nalbandian, Philippoussis, and Mirnyi of grasscourt note. James' first match is against Kristian Pless of Denmark, who could be dangerous considering he came through qualifying, so he already has a few matches under his belt. See the whole draw here. Play gets underway on Monday. June 20, 2006 James plays Luis Horna tomorrow in his first match as part of the Boodles exhibition. Hope to get something on the match other than just a score, we'll see. Some official business to take care of: first off, something very exciting....I got in the new JBlock logo today and it is sweet! Everything will be going down on July 11, when James will be on the Today Show helping to kick off the US Open Series. We'll have all the latest and greatest here as well on that date, so mark your calendars. In other news, I also received this interview, conducted with Prince recently. Have a read if it suits ya. June 19, 2006 My oh my, just got done watching the final round of the US Open. James may have lost yesterday, but at least he didn't go down like Phil Mickelson. That was rough to watch. Thank God Phil has won a few majors already, because that last hole out-Van De Velded Van De Velde. Quick item that just hit the webwaves: James' post match press conference following the final. Not quite as giddy as the day before, as one might imagine. June 18, 2006 - London First off, happy Father's Day to all you dads out there. I had a great one. What a sports day! James in the final in London, three World Cup games, the final round of the US Open, the Mets, and NBA Finals. Oh yeah, and I won my quarterfinal match today at the La Jolla tennis tournament. But I guess most of you are checking in to learn more about James' match, hunh? Well, unfortunately James couldn't quite close out the tournament today, losing to Hewitt 4 and 4. According to this article, James didn't get it going until he was down 1-5 in the first set (I didn't wake up until the first set was over). Nevertheless, plenty of positive momentum to carry along into Wimbledon, which begins on the 26th. Finally tracked down a press conference from the match yesterday against Andy. James sounded almost giddy in it; talking about having Thomas making him eggs and toast and going to restaurants an hour early to reserve a table for him. Man, Thomas needs to set his younger bro straight it sounds like to me! The Boodles Challenge is up next, a grass court exhibition at the Stoke Park Club in Buckinghamshire. June 17, 2006 Well, well, well, what do you know?! Mr. James took out one Andy Roddick today (on grass no less), and it's on to the final where he will meet lleyton Hewitt for the second time this year. Tough not to be impressed with the match today, a 7-5, 6-4 triumph. James broke Andy's serve three times, and was only broken once in the 1 hour 14 minute match. Hopefully there will be a post match press conference and some pictures to post by the end of the day today. June 16, 2006 Important!!!!! Before we get to the match from today, please help raise some money for the Pediatric Therapy Network. Head to EBay for more details and make a bid. James will also send you a personalized letter to thank you for your winning bid. Auction ends in three days, so don't delay! James was taking care of business on the court today vs. Monfils (up 6-1) when the Frenchman withdrew with some back problems. Next up? Mr. Andy Roddick, who took out Gonzalez in straight sets today. It's the first time James has played Andy since Washington last year, and the first time they have squared off on grass. Match will take place tomorrow on Centre Court. James and Mardy's doubles run ended today when they bowed out to Bjorkman and Mirnyi in straights.
June 15, 2006 Important!!!!! Before we get to the match from today, please help raise some money for the Pediatric Therapy Network. Head to EBay for more details and make a bid. James will also send you a personalized letter to thank you for your winning bid. Auction ends in three days, so don't delay! I haven't been able to see any highlights from the matches at Queens so far, but it would certainly appear James is playing well on the grass. Ginepri always plays James tough, so today was a good win for him. Final score was 6-3, 3-6, 6-3. Next up is a rematch with the man(child) who took JB out of the French, Gael Monfils. Hopefully it's a different story on grass when the two met up tomorrow on court 1 at 1pm GMT. James is also doing well in the doubles draw with partner Mardy Fish. The two won their second match today and take on the French Open champs, Bjorkman and Miryni, tomorrow. June 13, 2006 James made quick work of Justin Gimelstob today at Queens. Read all about it here. June 12, 2006 Hey there folks. First off, unfortunately James' US Soccer warmup jersey he was wearing during the French didn't seem to have any beneficial result for the team. What a disappointing game today, hunh? Hopefully they can shock the Azzuri on Saturday. James is in London now, playing in the Stella tournament and has Gimelstob in Round 2. James had a first round bye as the fifth seed. See the whole draw here. New rankings came out today and James is back at number 7 after his third round showing at Roland Garros. Congrats to Mr. Nadal there- is anyone ever going to beat that guy on clay? June 4, 2006 - Paris I thought James might have had a 5th set breakthrough today, but unfortunately he had to swallow another tough 5 set loss at a Grand Slam. Here's a short match report about today's action vs. Monfils (I haven't had a chance to watch the match yet). Did read Monfils' post match press conference, and he gets some props for the following:
So it's adieu to Paris and hello London. James plays Queens, the Stoke Park exhibition and the Wimbledon. For those of you who need more than just one JB page, check out the ATP's version: http://www.atptennis.com/blake/. June 3, 2006 James didn't have much working for a set and a half today against Monfils. Down a break in the second, he started to charge the net in order to finish off some points, and that tactic helped him win a tiebreak and salvage a split in sets. James motioned to the umpire that he was done for the day shortly after 9pm, packed his bags, and shortly therafter the ump did suspend play for the day. So let's hope he has the same second day magic working for him when he takes the court tomorrow (second match on Court 1) as he did vs. Almagro. See pictures from today's match in the Images section, and I also have now posted the post match press conference form the Almagro match. June 2, 2006 Holy Red Clay Batman! James played some serious ball today out on Court 1, schooling Almagro for three sets- final score was 6-7, 6-2, 6-4, 6-4. As Patrick McEnroe said during the ESPN telecast, this may have been the best match James has ever played on the dirt. The turning point came in the third set when James came back from a 4-1 deficit to reel off 5 games in a row to take it. He was playing some phenomenal defense, hitting the drop shots, you name it. The someback deflated the dirtballer, and the 4th set was over in just 37 minutes. So it's on to round three tomorrow, where James will face the talented young Frenchman Gael Monfils. That match will most certainly generate some headlines (at least in L'Equipe). Can't wait to watch that one on Chatrier (4th match of the day) tomorrow.
June 1, 2006 James got on court sometime around 8pm tonight in Paris, and he only made it through one set vs. Almagro. Unfortunately he lost that set in a tiebreak. The match is scheduled to be finished tomorrow on Court One following the Hingis match. I was able to partially follow the match today online, and I don't think there were any breaks (for some reason, they don't list break point chances as part of the online stats), and James actually won more points than Almagro, so hopefuly James can pull out the next 3 (or 3 out of 4) sets. A few pictures from today's set are up in the Images section. May 29, 2006 James looked the more prepared of the two out on Court 1 today, (fairly) easily handling Srichaphan and the conditions 6-0, 6-4, 7-6. The first set was over in 17 minutes, and the whole match lasted a very un-claycourtlike 1 hr 35 minutes. I think it's fair to say James played pretty well and Paradorn played like he was hungry for some fish and chips. It will be a whole different ballgame next round when James takes on Almagro, the proverbial 'claycourt specialist'. That match will be on Wednesday I believe. I haven't heard if James is playing doubles, but I would doubt it. No pictures that I could find from the match today, but they have posted the post match presser from today. Speaking of post match, did you see the little interview JB did with Jensen afterwards? James broke out the Nike shoes and hyperbole in such large and plentiful amounts it even made my PR a** cringe! May 28, 2006 James has a Monday start at Roland Garros. Since he's one of only a few Americans playing, there's a good chance we will see his match on the tube. See the ESPN schedule below. Spoke with Carlos Felming, James' agent the other day, and James recently shot a spread for Men's Vogue tht will be out in late August. He's also committed already to play a couple exhibitions in December: Norfolk (for Anthem Live) and Richmond, VA. He'll face Agassi in both and in Norfolk there will be a musical component as well, (just as there was for the event last year). What else? Ahh yes...for those of you wondering ab0out JBlock shirts, Nike is redesigning them as we speak and they will be ready for the masses this summer! Proceeds from sales will benefit the Tennis an education Foundation. Look out for a big announcement this July as part of the US Open Series kickoff. May 26, 2006 The draw for the French is out and it's not an entirely bad one for James. In the immediate vicinity he has Srichaphan in the first round, potentially Almagro, a tough claycourt specialist, or a qualifier in the second, and then Murray or Monfils perhaps in the third. Have a look for yourself. Of course, Safin and Nadal lurk towards the bottom of his quarter, but we'll worry about that later. Action gets underway this Sunday. For you Statesiders, see the ESPN schedule here. May 24, 2006 - Dusseldorf Andy decided to test his slightly injured shoulder in a match today at the World Team Cup. Fortunately, the shoulder held up. Unfortunately though, he sustained a foot/ankle injury forcing him to retire from his match against Massu. Robby lost as well, and the Bryans are in a rain delay now, so the U.S. aren't going to be taking home any ARAG team trophies this year. Speaking of trophies, check out the Fair Play award James won the other day in Dusseldorf. Okay, I know Germany is at the forefront of modern art, but is that an award James can show his mom? I don't think so. Goodness gracious- the thing even made me blush for a second. Not sure if James has a girlfriend at the moment, but it would appear to me she won't have much use for him anymore, if ya know what I mean! Okay, I better shut up now. May 22, 2006 James got things underway in singles today in Dusseldorf as part of the ARAG World Team Cup, losing to Ivan Ljubicic in three sets (7-6 in the third). Robby Ginepri took down Karlovic in straights, and then the Bryans lost to the same two Croats in dubs to clinch it for them. Some interesting pix from the event which you can check out in the images sction (hopefully you have widescreen computer monitor!). Next up for JB and the Americans is a rematch with the Chilean team (whom they beat in Davis Cup action a month or so ago), so that will be interesting to follow on Wednesday. May 19, 2006 James is in Dusseldorf for the World Team Cup. Read all about the mini-tourney here. May 18, 2006 - Hamburg No earache actually, just thought that was a funny picture from today's match. James had a solid showing in Hamburg, despite his third set loss today to Ancic, and I'm sure he's feeling better about his game on clay heading to Dusseldorf and eventually Paris. As I suspected, JB and Malisse pulled out of doubles since Xavier had a a shoulder injury. While James has a few days off, I submit to you an article I wrote on James' coach, Brian Barker. If you have some questions you'd like to send Brian after reading the story, please forward them to me at cdgriff23@yahoo.com, and we'll tag his answers to the piece at a later date. May 17, 2006 James straight-setted Andy Murray today 3 and 3, so it's on to the third round and a date with Mario Ancic in Hamburg. Read more, including a few quotations from James, about today's match here. The order of play for tomorrow is already up, and James 3rd round match is tomorrow on center court (after Ferrero - Ferrer). Also, it appears JB and Malisse may still be competing in doubles (I surmised below that Xavier might pull out after having to withdraw from singles). The duo are on the slate to play sometime after James' singles match. May 16, 2006 James is up fourth today in Hamburg. He faces off for the first time against Britain's Andy Murray. Should be an entertaining match, with the winner getting either Garcia Lopez or Ancic. In doubles action, James and Xavier Malisse wion their first round match on Monday, but I saw that Malisse withdrew in singles, so my guess is he may be done in Hamburg. For those of you wondering about next week, James will be part of the AMerican team in Dusseldorf, along with Andy ROddick , the Bryans, and Robby GInepri. May 15, 2006 Well, I stand corrected from the post below! First off, James got through a difficult match today on the slow clay courts in Hamburg against a tough opponent, and, second, I guess Hamburg in May (plus the challenging conditions) can produce some muscle cramping! But after a 7-5 3rd set winning score and a day off tomorrow, I'm sure James is feeling pretty good right now. On Wednesday he'll face the winner of Murray-Monfils. That should be an interesting match either way. Pictures from today's match are up in the Images section, andyou can hear a few post match comments from James here. May 14, 2006 First off, Happy Mother's Day to all you moms out there celebrating today. Hope you had a good time with your family, or some peace and quiet if that's what you consider a 'day off'! James has moved on to Germany and he gets right to action tomorrow vs. Moya, playing first on center court. He's on at 11am Hamburg time, meaning 2am here on the West Coast of the US. So the match will be long over by the time I wake up tomorrow morning. This is the first time James has played Moya since last year in Miami, when JB lost after cramping up in the humid conditions in the third set. Doubt that will happen in Hamburg in May! In any case, should be a tough match with the slow conditions in Germany. For those of you keeping track, after beating Roddick and Ginepri in the first round, James and Xavier Malisse lost in their second match in Rome this past week against Hanley and Ullyett. They team up again this week in Hamburg and have Massu and Gonzalez in round one. May 8, 2006 Quick stay in the singles draw for James in Rome. He lost today to Serra of France 4-6, 6-7 (2) in the first round, continuing the feast or famine nature of his year so far. In a short time, he'll be hitting the courts again with Xavier Malisse to take on Roddick and Ginepri in dubs. May 7, 2006 The draw is out for Rome and James is the seven seed, residing at the bottom of the draw on the same side as Federer. He has the Frenchman Serra in the first round, and if he takes that, he would get the winner of Ancic-Horna. We'll see how James takes to the clay this season. James is partnering with Xavier Malisse in doubles, and they get Roddick and Ginepri in the first round, which should be a fun matchup. Action get underway Monday. May 3 , 2006 I thought beating Agassi on the way to his first title might have done it, or perhaps all the media attention James has received over the years, or maybe even the 2 million plus in earnings, but I can finally say with certainty that James has now hit the bigtime. On Monday in Fairfield (where James grew up), his high school named the tennis courts after him. Read all about it on the atp website, and here. In other news James is getting in an exhibition match against John McEnroe tonight to benefit a hospital in Tennessee. May 2 , 2006 Here's the transcript from today's ESPN.com chat with JB. May 2 , 2006 Hey there folks, long time no see. I've been working on my Coach Brian Barker piece, and should have that up shortly. Speaking of Brian, he's been working out with James in Connecticut recently in preparation for the claycourt season. James is leaving for Rome in the next day or so. Before he leaves though, he's taking the time out to chat with fans live at ESPN.com. That will be today at 4:15pm EST. Head here: http://proxy.espn.go.com/chat/chatESPN?event_id=11574 April 19, 2006 As promised, the new Tennis Magazine cover article is now scanned and available for your critique. Check it out here. April 18, 2006 James is out of the TMS Monte Carlo this year because he had to have the old wisdom teeth removed. He has been in some pain since the procedure, so please send your get well wishes to him ASAP. (just joking about the ebay auction and well wishes) I got my copy of Tennis magazine the other day with Mr. Blake on the cover. Should be able to scan that later today and get it up on the site for you with the accompanying article. Also wanted to let you know that I am in the process of interviewing JB's coach, Brian Barker. I hope to have a piece written up for you in the coming weeks. And, the most important bit of news of the day? The Mets are 10-2!!!
April 16, 2006 - Houston Big congratulations to Mardy Fish who prevailed in Houston today, beating Melzer in the final. Much like JB last year, Mardy has had to overcome some hardships to get back on track with his career. And also much like James last year, he's doing it the hard way; he's playing the challengers and grinding it out in qualifying oftentimes. He capitalized bigtime this week, winning the title in Houston, so that's great news. Incidentally, Mardy and James made it to the semis on Saturday where they lost in a couple sets to Knowle and Melzer. I have Rome as the next tournament for James, but I'll need to check with him on that one, since that's not till May. Perhaps JB will give the TMS Monte Carlo a go? April 14, 2006 James and Mardy are still alive in the doubles draw. They won their match on Wednesday night, and play again this evening in the final match of the day against Cibulec and Minar (Minar I've heard of, but Cibulec? you got me on that one...and now that i've said that, I'm sure Cibulec will kick James' and Mardy's butts by himself). I have finally had time to update the Images section (it's been a while). There are some great shots from the past month, please check 'em out. April 12, 2006 As might have been expected after so much tennis recently, James had a short stay in the singles draw in Houston, losing in three sets last night to France's Dupuis. James is entered in the doubles draw with Mardy Fish though. Those two play Horna and Monaco today. James' brother Thomas is teaming up with Paul Goldstein, and they have the dubious task of taking on the Bryan twins today. April 10, 2006 What a win for Team USA over the weekend! I had a chance to catch a little bit of the action on Friday and Saturday on the Outdoor Life Network (whaaa...?), and the matches were awfully compelling (save the Bryan Brothers' Saturday Smackdown in doubles). In case you missed it, James played a four hour plus marathon on Friday against Gonzalez, losing in 5 sets to Gonzalez (10-8 in the 5th). Andy had his back though, taking out Massu in 3 sets. After the Bryan brothers did their thing, Andy led off Sunday's action with a four set win over Gonzalez, making James' second singles match meaningless (he lost in two). So it's on to the Davis Cup semis this September. That match will be played in Russia, and my guess would certainly be that it will be on clay. What else? James is off to Houston, where he is the second seed and faces a qualifier in he first round. He'll have a Tuesday start at the earliest. I see he is playing doubles with Mardy and SHOCK! - Thomas' "Retirement" from tennis in February carried about as much meaning as a Sugar Ray Leonard retirement; he's playing doubles with Paul Goldstein I see. April 5, 2006 Hey there folks- unfortunately I won't be around this weekend due to an unexpected trip. So I'll refer all of you to the excellent www.daviscup.com website for Davis Cup action and results. Talk to you Monday. -Management April 4, 2006 - Rancho Mirage, CA Many thanks to those of you who wrote in explaining why you deserve to be the fan taken on James' private jet. But there can be only one winner of this year's APRIL FOOL'S DAY extravaganza. I'll pass along that info to the winner, and we'll post their entry later. April 1, 2006 Many thanks to the thousands of you who sent in birthday wishes to me yesterday. I really appreciate it. Okay, so maybe there were only about 8 of you, nevertheless it's appreciated. James is back in California for a week of preparations prior to the Davis Cup tie with Chile, which begins Friday. As some of you devoted readers might have noticed back in February, James uses a private jet to get around the world...well have we got a contest for you here at JamesBlakeTennis.com! James has graciously offered up 1 (one) free trip for 2 (two) fans accompanying James aboard his private jet (which he's named Sidd Finch, after a famous Mets pitcher) to any destination across the globe. Unfortunately you will have to wait until the tennis season is over to get your trip (sometime in November), but other than that, it's up to you to email us saying why you deserve to be that fan! Be creative and be funny, this is a once-in-a-year opportunity!
March 30, 2006 I had a feeling James was going to make this edition of Blake-Federer a good bit closer than last week, and it certainly was- unfortunately though, JB still lost the match 6-7 (2), 4-6. He hung with the Fed throughout the evening; he was up a brief break midway through the first set, but couldn't muster anything special in the tiebreak (except for getting Roger to whiff on a shot completely), and then lost a close second, 6-4. Andy lost to Ferrer today as well, so hopefully the two can get in a little rest before Davis Cup next week in Rancho Mirage. And congratulations to Robert Deasey, who won the first annual Blake Headband Tanline Contest. In the great tradition of sports and commerce, Robert suggested that James rent out the tanline on his head for the purposes of a sports or stock ticker. I'll pass that suggestion along to James' IMG agent Carlos Fleming, and I'll pass along an autographed poster to you sir. It's birthday time for me tomorrow, number 34. And since my wife and daughter won't be here to celebrate, I'll accept all your well wishes, comments, and suggestions and gifts without hesitation. March 28, 2006 One of the great things about living on the West coast? 12am EST ESPN tennis matches that I previously would have had to Tivo are now on in primetime. Just got done watching James' match against Chela, and, after a shaky start (JB was broken in the first game), James changed his shirt, Thomas switched seats and Chela didn't stand a chance. James dominated the second and third sets, winning 4-6, 6-1, 6-0. Some positive things to take away from the match- James never got down on himself during or after the first set, he stuck to his gameplan, and looked much more the fit of the two players in the third set. A negative from the match? He now advances to play Roger Federer. Stupid draw. That match will be Thursday. You never know what could happen in a three set match though, so be there or be square! In other news, I neglected to point out that James won the Comeback Player of the Year award at the recent ATP Awards event held just prior to the start of the tournament. I can't imagine that vote was close. Let's hope he gets a nomination for the ESPY Award in the same category. And, just announced today, James has been named to the US Davis Cup team that will be playing Chile here in Cali. I'll be at that one- can't wait! March 27, 2006 Had a chance to watch the match today on ESPN, and it was an entertaining one. James played very well in the first set, garnering two breaks of serve, ran into some service problems in the second, and then put it on cruise control in the third. Final scores were 6-3, 4-6, 6-1 against the Finn Jarkko Niemenan. The big story of the day was the fact that James' brother Thomas totally abandoned JB to go watch the Sharapova - Kirilenko match. Okay, so they're both hot leggy Russian blondes, but doesn't family count for anything anymore? (Truth be told, Thomas is now Kirilenko's hitting parnter, so that explains the absence, but we had to talk some trash anyways). Next up is Mr. Chela, whom James has beaten the previous two times they've played, both on hard courts. The match wil be played tomorrow night around 9pm EST. One more note- James has to come up with a plan for the tan line that's created with his headband. He takes it off afterwards and it looks like a Degree antiperspirant ad. Send in your creative solution to cdgriff23@yahoo.com and you could win an autographed poster of James (as soon as I locate them in a box in our new home). March 25, 2006 James took care of business in rapid fashion today, beating Carlos Berlocq in about 47 minutes 6-0, 6-0. To the best of my recollection, that's the first double bagel JB has served up in his pro career. Things will get a little more tricky here on out though; he's in the top half of the draw with Federer, Roddick, Coria, Grosjean, and Nieminen, who might be his next round opponent (he's playing Philipoussis as I write). That match will be Monday I surmise. That's it from here. I'm still emptying boxes from the garage, painting, and getting stuff we need for the new house. I'll post a picture when we're all done, so you can all see what's kept me from posting a little more often. March 24, 2006 James is set for action tomorrow (Saturday) in Miami. As the 9th seed JB had a first round bye, and his opponent is Berlocq from Argentina, who double bageled Donald Young in the first round (ouch). James is up third on the Grandstand court. James and Andy Roddick hosted a player's party yesterday- read all about it here. A short interview with JB in the Houston Chronicle. March 19, 2006 - Indian Wells Just got back from the match today. Exciting and disappointing I guess is the best way to put it. Things started off so well, and then not much went right after that. More concisely, James was up 4-1 in the first with two breaks of serve under his belt, and the whole match pretty much turned around, with James losing 5-7, 3-6, 0-6 to Mr. Federer. It's fair to say that James' level of play dropped and Roger's picked up, and that was all she wrote. Before I go further, a big thanks to Mr. JB, who hosted me and my family in the player's box. What a thrill that was. We all expected to be in the bleachers, but we found ourselves watching the first ball toss from a luxury box right on the 50 yard line, as it were. Wow. So from that excellent vantage point I got to watch the majority of the match, save the time I spent trying to keep my son and daughter from taking yet another mini-cup of water from the water cooler and then depositing it all over themselves. What a run of late for JB though; a title in Vegas and then his first Masters Series final vs. the best player on the planet. He's now in the Top 10 in the world- exact spot TBD tomorrow, and appears to have a head of steam for the rest of the year. Pictures coming, and while you wait, here's an article from a real media outlet. March 18, 2006 I hope I'm not ruining it for anyone (the match is to be televised on ESPN later tonight), but JB did it to Nadal again today! The final score was 7-5, 6-3. Unfortunately I wasn't able to follow the match, but in judging from the stats available at the Pacific Life Open website, it looks as though James was in control of the match; he won 71 total points to Nadal's 58, converted 3 of 8 break chances to Nadal's 1 of 6, and won 42% of the receiving points. Read some post-match comments here. And see highlights here. What all this adds up to is a final vs. Mr. Federer tomorrow! That should be great, and if James has some spare tickets handy tomorrow, I will definitely be taking the family on the 2 hour trip. I'll post pictures from today's match as soon as they are available. March 17, 2006 Wow! James dominated Andreev today, and in the process moved himself into the Top 10 in the world! I watched the match on the tube and it wasn't hard to see just how well he was playing; he returned well off both sides (taking backhands especially early), mixed up his serves, played good D, and ripped his forehands as usual. Andreev was never really in the 6-1, 6-4 match. So, next up is the winner of tonight's Nadal-Baghdatis. I'll see if we can make the trip to that one tomorrow for a first-hand account. March 17, 2006 Happy St. Patrick's Day to those of you who celebrate the holiday! Hey, since I haven't been able to post images from the last few matches yet, I'll take advantage of an offer Robyn recently forwarded me. Have a look at the shots she's taken of James at Indian Wells of late on Flickr. Today's match against Andreev will be on Center Court around 12:30pm pacific time. In case you hadn't noticed on the Pacific Life Open website, there are plenty of video highlights and interviews available- a great new service! Here's to hoping James gets to raise a celebratory Killians following the match today! March 16, 2006 JB Fans- sorry again for my absence- I've just gotten back from Atlanta, where I had to help pack and load all our belongings so they could be shipped out here to San Diego. But that's all done, so no more absences for me! I'm sure you guys all know that James is continuing his strong play this year. He's reached the quarterfinals after successive wins over Tommys- Robredo (avenging his AO loss) and Haas (he had to retire in the second set due to illness). So James finds himself in a Friday matchup with Igor Andreev, whom JB beat in the final in Sydney back in January. Well done! I'll post more as soon as I can- time now to go grab the kids! March 11, 2006 James was scheduled first on Stadium Court today in Indian Wells vs. Sam Querrey (at 10am), and after an hour rain delay and a 20 minute 1-6 first set setback, James took care of business winning the final two sets 6-1, 6-3. He'll play the winner of Robredo - Carlsen on Monday I would assume. If the weather improives sufficiently, we'll be out at the Tennis Garden tomorrow to take in some action. Looking forward to that. I am off to Atlanta on Monday afternoon to supervise packing and loading of all our crap, and I won't be back until Thursday, so I'm not sure I'll be able to update the site for the next few days. Wish me luck! March 10, 2006 Hey there folks- James is now in Indian Wells, CA and I remain in moving hell for the moment. Talked to JB last night and he's doing well- he should be playing Saturday or Sunday, but that will depend on the weather since it's scheduled to rain for the next few days here in Southern California. Here's the draw for the Pacific Life Open, as you can see, JB has the winner of the Reynolds - Querrey match. Our family is planning on attending on Sunday, so hopefully we get to see his match. We are bringing our 4 and 2 year olds, so please wish us luck. March 6, 2006 Title number five is in the (Vegas) books, and a sweet one it was; James took out nemesis Lleyton Hewitt in the final in three sets 7-5, 2-6, 6-3. We'll give the match recap honors to LV Review-Journal writer Todd Dewey. In looking at the latest rankings, James is up to 14th. Not too shabby! For those of you out on the West Coast (like me now!), you can see James prior to the Indian Wells Tournament. He will be taking part in a charity event called Desert Smash tomorrow. March 4 , 2006 Sorry I missed the update yesterday- things are really crazy around the house these days with calls from loan officers, appraisers, real estate agents, movers (if you've ever moved houses you know what I'm talking about)- in any case, James continues to do well in Vegas. He beat Brian Vahaly 1 and 1 in the second round, and beat Carlsen yesterday in the quarters 4 and 4. Here's a short write-up. So today James gets the hard serving Croation Ivo Karlovic in the semis for a chance at the finals vs. either Hewitt or Goldstein. By the way, I want credit for not using one gambling term in any of my posts while James is in Vegas. March 2 , 2006 Unfortunately James and his brother Thomas weren't able to get by their opponents last night, losing 6-1, 6-4. I followed the match online for a while; as the score indicates, they weren't really in the first set at all, but they had a few break opportunities in the second, but weren't able to capitalize. So it's down to singles, where James has Brian Vahaly tonight in the featured match for a chance at the quarterfinals. Follow the action online at the Vegas website. March 1 , 2006 James got back on track yesterday, his father's birthday, winning 7-6, 6-0 over Srichaphan (saving 5 set points in the process). Read all about it in the LV Review Journal. Today, he and brother Thomas team up for the first time in a while to face Coetzee and Wassen in the final match of the day. In all likelyhood this is going to be Thomas' last professional tournament. For those of you out on the West Coast, you can see James prior to the Indian Wells Tournament. He will be taking part in a charity event called Desert Smash. February 26, 2006 James and Mardy lost a Match Break today to lose in Memphis- here's a recap from the site: http://www.rmkchampionships.com/ February 26, 2006 James and Mardy got a walkover in the semis yesterday against the Bryan brothers. According to Mardy's blog, Bob suffered some sort of shoulder injury. So today James and Mardy get Chris Haggard and Ivo Karlovic in the final. Follow the live scores on the Memphis website. The draw is out for Vegas- James has Srichaphan in singles, and he and Thomas drew Coetzee and Wassen in doubles. From what I'm told, this will be Thomas' last pro event! He will then join the rest of us in the real world. February 24, 2006 James and Mardy took care of business today, fighting off a couple match points against Gimelstob and Huss. They won in a match break. the duo get the Bryan brothers as a reward tomorrow. Guess what! After three plus years on the job, I've finally taken the time and figured out how to fix the email situation here. We have a new email address: jbinfo@jamesblaketennis.com . How professional hunh? Okay, move update: my wife Dawn is off to San Diego this Sunday, leaving me alone with two kids and a month old, non-potty trained dog for a week. Grounds for divorce? Well, it should at least get me to Vegas for a guy's weekend with no grief at some point. Also, there's a chance I will make it out to Indian Wells in a couple weeks' time, considering it is only a couple hours from San Diego. February 23, 2006 Last night I had a chance to speak with James' interim coach, his brother Thomas. I reached him as he was adding some anchovies and feta to James' pizza.
Alright, there's your comedy routine for the day. I need to go pack some more boxes for San Diego. James and Mrdy are still alive in Memphis in dubs, and they play again tomorrow. Then it is on to Vegas.... February 21, 2006 Wow- another unexpected first round exit this afternoon in Memphis. James lost to Vliegen of Belgium 4 and 4. We'll have to see if there are any post match comments to go on, but a disappointing start to the winter domestic swing. James remains in the doubles draw, but is then off for Las Vegas. February 21, 2006 Hey folks- sorry for the lack of updates the past few days. I was up in Syracuse for my annual trip to see the Orange play some hoops. In case you were wondering, we went 2-0 while I was there, and with another win or two, we should be in the Big Dance. James is freezing his rear end off at the moment in Memphis TN. He and Mardy partnered last night for a doubles win, and both of them are in action in singles today. James plays Vliegen of Belgium, while Mardy has Roddick. Speaking of Mr. Mardy- he's got blogging duties this week for the ATP website. James makes a few cameo appearances in the entries, so read away at: http://www.atptennis.com/en/blog/fish.asp . I'm afraid to say that my entries might be at a minimum over the next few weeks as my family makes it's way across the country out to San Diego. A long-a** move for those of you not familiar with US geography! So bear with me, and we'll get things rolling again after I sign up with an ISP out in San Diego. February 15, 2006 Bad news to wake up to this morning. James lost last night in straight sets to Wang in San Jose. Don't have a lot of info to go on, but it appears James fought back in the second set to reach 5-5, but then lost the last two games. I did have a couple moles planted in the crowd watching last night, so hopefully I get a few more details from them. Here are a few post match comments and commentary from Yahoo!
February 14, 2006 Back from San Diego, and oh what a vaca...err...house hunting expedition! I had a blast out there seeing the Davis Cup team, and I did actually get in some house hunting while there. Nothing like a small 3 bedroom house for $600,000. Inicidentally, tomorrow we'll be starting to charge a membership fee for JamesBlakeTennis.com. An annual membership will cost you $10,000, with monthly dues of $400, and F&B minimums of $50 a month. Should have that mortgage paid off in no time! I'm sure you are all well aware that the U.S. defeated Romania this past weekend, so I'll just throw in some juicy morcels that you may not have been privy to. First off, James had Thomas in town as his coach (unfortunately Coach Barker was back in CT taking care of his father). So I had a chance to catch up with Thomas shortly after the match, and here's how our conversation went:
Okay maybe that isn't EXACTLY how our conversation went, but believe me, he did want it to be known that he was 2-0. James plays tonight in San Jose against Wang of Taipei. Winner gets Andy Murray. For some of my photos from this weekend, head here! February 10, 2006 (part 2) It's over! James made quick work of Hanescu out there. In the first set he broke at 4-4 and held on to take set numero uno. In the second, they swapped a few breaks early on, and ended up in a tiebreak where James took command early on, going up 5-1. He ended up winning it 7-5. And James domintaed in the third, winning 6-2! So it's 1-1 in the tie with Romania after day 1. Hopefully the Bryans do their thing tomorrow! (with me in attendance- yeah!) February 10, 2006 Davis Cup play is underway, and the U.S. team is already down! Andy Roddick lost a tough five setter, during which, I've read, he was repaving the courts with the contents of his stomach! So it's up to James to pull the team back even. James has just won the first two sets. An end of match report to follow tonight. Meantime, did I mention I love my wife? Just yesterday I received clearance to head out to San Diego this weekend (leaving first thing tomorrow). So I'll get to see some Davis Cup action in person tomorrow and Sunday. All I had to do was tell her I was going to do some house hunting for us and she fell for it! (And she's gong to be a Director at Home Depot Supply- I pity the poor fools). I doubt I will be able to post anything until I get back Monday night, so your best bet is to follow all the action on the Daviscup.com site. Good luck USA! February 8, 2006 Wow! I've been falling down in my updating duties, haven't I? Well, not a whole lot to report really from the JB side of things, but big changes are afoot here at JamesBlakeTennis.com, which explains the paucity of updates over the last week. We're moving our offices to beautiful San Diego, California in the next month. By 'our offices' I'm talking about my desk, my office chair, and my laptop, and that would be the royal 'we' since I'm the only employee. That's right, the Griffin family is saying goodbye to the ATL (Atlanta, GA for those of you not up on your airport codes) and hello to doing it West Coast style. Speaking of San Diego, I just spoke with James this evening out in that beautiful city, and it sounded as though he was ready for some Davis Cup action on Friday. He was also talking trash about my Syracuse Orange, so we'll get him with a good practical joke in the very near future. His singles partner in crime, Andy Roddick, is also ready, albeit with a new coach (in case you hadn't heard), his older brother John. Action gets underway at 11am Pacific Coast time (1700hrs for you wacky GMT folks).
January 31, 2006 New James Blake Prince Posters are in the house (literally; I have them in my office)! They are $5 a piece which includes your shipping and handling to US destinations. Payment can be sent via paypal to cdgriff@adelphia.net or you can send cash or check in the mail. Email me for more info at jbinfo1@adelphia.net. January 28, 2006 James got the official word the other day that he will be competing alongside Andy Roddick and the Australian Open Champion Bryan twins in the upcoming Davis Cup tie against Romania in California.That decision necessitated his withdrawal from the Delray Beach tournament, so he could prepare for the tie. Unfortunately, ESPN2 has dropped its Davis Cup coverage this year, meaning only those lucky enough to have the Tennis Channel will be able to watch the action. January 25, 2006 James is waiting to hear from captain Patrick McEnroe about the Davis Cup team. The U.S. plays Romania in La Jolla (San Diego) California February 10-12. R.I.P.: Stomps' messageboard is coming to an end after three or four great years. Thanks to her and Tach for their efforts in keeping it alive for the fans during that time. For those of you who enjoy posting your thoughts on all things James, I invite you to head to the TennisWarehouse boards. There's a link in the upper right hand corner of this page (Talk Tennis). Keep in mind that I (and James) have absolutely nothing to do with the content of these boards. I do ask that if you join the messageboard you bring the same amount of class that James does when he's on the court (except for when he's playing Hewitt perhaps). jj January 20, 2006 James didn't have much working for him tonight in Melbourne (other than the fact the crowd and Australian Open Radio announcers were clearly rooting for him)- the serve was off, lots of unforced errors, and Tommy Robredo was his usual consistent self. That all spelled doom and a fairly routine 3-6, 4-6, 4-6 loss at the Australian Open. To top it off, James injured his ankle midway through the third set...so it was just not to be today. Still haven't seen post match comments, but there are a ton of good pix from the match now posted in the Images section. Next up is Delray Beach in Florida. January 19, 2006 Should be a throw-down tonight in Melbourne. James and Tommy Robredo do battle in Rod Laver Arena in the final match of the night, meaning it will probably be somewhere around 5am overnight here on the East Coast when they get started. James is a slight underdog, so hopefully he brings his best game for the encounter. Full report tomorrow morning for everybody! January 18, 2006 I'm watching James' match now (I TIVO'd it overnight), and he's playing quite well here in the third and fourth sets. He's really moving Faurel around, and going for his winners when they are there. According to Mary Carillo and Tim Ryan (the announcers) James was a little too impatient in the first set, trying to hit huge shots every swing. James closed out the third set with a couple great overhead smashes. The leaps weren't exactly necessary, but they did look good. On the deuce side of the court James is using his slider serve out wide to Faurel, who is about the same size as O. Rochus. James has hit some nice passing shots off the backhand side. It's 3-5 in the 4th with Faurel serving right now and James just hit a winning forehand return back so hard that Faurel was barely finished with his service motion! The two shared a laugh about that one. After a few sloppy games here late in the 4th, James finished off the match with a break. What I want to know is who is that with a Boston Red Sox cap in his box, and how can James allow that as a Mets fan? I also see his mom made the trip down under which is nice. ESPN just had some Australian blonde named Fiona on the set talking about James' bet with his coach Brian Barker to get a gold capped tooth (which he did following the Sydney win). James is on set now, talking about the rough start to the match, improving his overall attitude on court, now they're showing some match highlights, now they're looking in on the Tursonov-Robredo match and James is talking about his US Open match against Robredo at the Open last year. What else? In case you hadn't noticed, James has switched shoes this year to the new Nike Vapor 3s (from the Breathe Frees). I owe him a dinner at some point since UConn beat my Orange on Monday night. Yeah, I'll take him to Taco Bell. January 18, 2006 According to James, today's match wasn't exactly a thing of beauty, but he survived against Jean-Christophe Faurel (2-6, 6-1, 6-4,6-3) and is on though to round three in Melbourne. You can read what James had to say following the match here. So now it's on to play Tommy Robredo for a spot in the fourth round. As you might recall James played Tommy at the US Open back in September, and got a favorable result, so hopefully he can duplicate that. That match will be on Friday. Images are now up in the Images section. January 18, 2006 James plays fourth on the Vodaphone Arena court today, meaning a late afternoon/early evening start for him in Melbourne. Which also means most of us will be sound asleep here on the East Coast when he gets going. Can't say that I've ever heard of his opponent, but rest assured James won't look past him- Jean-Chistophe has already won four matches in Melbourne (he came through qualifying). And Robby Ginepri just lost to a somewhat unknown qualifier as well. What else? I've been enjoying ESPN2's coverage of the Open so far. It's nice they finally figured out the fans want live coverage of the matches, rather than tape delayed broadcasts of blowouts. It would be nice if they showed more highlights from other matches though and did more drop-ins to other courts a la USA Network. Hopefully they get it right one of these days. To me, the biggest surprise on the men's side so far was Gonazlez going down to Bogomolov Jr. And I guess some of the young guns losing rather meekly (Gasquet, Monfils, Murray) was also an eyebrow-raiser. Alrighty- here's to another win to report tomorrow morning! January 16, 2006 James made it through a tricky first round match today in Melbourne, beating Jose Acasuso 6-2, 6-3, 4-6, 7-6. James was in control during the first couple sets, but then Jose started to turn it on. The last two sets were neck and neck the whole way, with set number four taking close to an hour alone. But don't take my word for it- read what James had to say following the encounter. Also, check the Images section for a few pix from the match. Next up is a qualifier, Jean-Christophe Faurel, who beat his first round opponent Waske in straight sets. That match will be Wednesday (Tuesday night here in the States). January 14, 2006 First up today, this is pretty cool- there are highlights from the final online at the America Online site. And James has already done his daily blog duty for the ATP site, so start your reading there. Stay at the ATP site for some post-match comments. A decent match recap can be found here courtesy the Associated Press. Here's something from the paper of record in Sydney- the Morning Herald. Plenty of great images from the match are up in the IMAGES gallery. (BTW check out James' goofy ass grin in that next to last one!) In case you haven't seen it yet, have a look at JB's draw for the Aussie Open- he starts on Monday. ESPN2 has coverage Stateside. January 13, 2006 The curse of the deciding-set tiebreak is over for James, and the power of the ATP blog lives! James just wrapped up a three set win over a game Igor Andreev to win his fourth ATP title, this one coming in Sydney. It's off to bed for me now (I have a 9am USTA match myself tomorrow), but I'll add as much as I can tomorrow morning first thing. If you can't wait until then, the best place to look for images is Yahoo! Tennis. Congrats to JB!!!! January 13, 2006 Something tells me that there is going to be a MAD fracas amongst the guys to be the ATPTennis.com blogger during the Aussie Open, especially if James can bring home the Sydney title tomorrow! For those of you wondering what the heck I'm talking about, last week Ivan Ljubicic won in Chennai while he was the featured blogger, and this week James is the blogger, and lo and behold he has reached the final of Sydney! (Okay, maybe Roger isn't going to be pushing anyone out of the way to be a blogger, but you never know). Speaking of the blog, James has just updated it again with some all-important shoes news! James dispatched the second seed, Nikolay Davydenko, today 6-4, 6-2. For some post-match comments, head to the ATP site. Igor Andreev will be the final hurdle to win title number four. First ball will be hit around 1:30pm local time (they moved the start time up a half hour because of all the afternoon weather problems they've been experiencing in Sydney). By my calculations, that's 10:30pm tonight here on the east coast. Head here and click on live scoring to follow the action on the net. The Aussie Open draw has been announced. James has a DIFFICULT first round opponent- Jose Acasuso. This guy can hit some monster shots, and he's improved his consistency of late. So, in short, don't expect the same type of match James had in the first round last year. January 12, 2006 James continued his unbeaten streak against Arnaud Clement in Sydney today, winning 3-6, 6-1, 6-4. He got underway sometime around 10:30pm here on the East Coast last night, so I was able to follow the match on the net for the first set. Obviously that didn't go well, so I went to bed to help avert the upset. Guess you can chalk up another one of JB's wins to me. :) James will take on the second seed Nikolay Davydenko in the semis tomorrow. Nikolay received a walkover today because Paradorn would have had to play two matches in one day (after a 7-6, 7-6 win over Karlovic). In the top half of the draw, James' nemesis from last week, Andreas Seppi, pulled off another upset today, beating Lleyton Hewitt, so it's down to him and Andreev up there. Let's see how it goes! In Aussie Open news, James received the 20th seed- a couple notches above his actual ranking since there have been a few withdrawals, and James has had some good results in the past at the tournament. The draw will be out Friday. In unrelated news, I came across a very interesting US Open reporter's notebook that featured James quite extensively. Have a look here. And a feature in USA Today on some American men players is a decent read. James continues to be a bloggin' machine! A rather serious topic this go-around as one of his friends nearly drowned. Get your copy! Read all about it! HERE January 11, 2006 Hope no one stayed up late last night (or woke up early this morning) for the match against Moya! As we surmised below (see entry from Jan. 10), Moya's last two matches exacted a toll on him that didn't allow him to step on the court against James. So, it's on to the quarters to face Arnaud Clement, which will be the third match on court 2 tomorrow. That should be televised on the Tennis Channel for those of you who have that channel. Hopefully James does another blog entry for us at the ATP site. January 10, 2006 Wow, James is turning out to be quite the blogger! I try to get him to do this stuff and he laughs at me. But when the ATP comes calling, he does multiple entries in one day AND checks his grammar! What's going on here? He MUST be getting paid. Just joking folks, James is always game for anything I ask. In case you weren't aware, James is doing a blog this week from Sydney and you can read it on the ATP site. Good stuff. As far as the tournament goes, Moya took out Grosjean in a third set tiebreak (this after reaching the final in Chennai), so hopefully he's good and tired for James tomorrow. The match is second on center court. Surprising they didn't give Moya more turnaround time, but I'm sure James isn't complaining! January 9, 2006 Round one win today for James in Sydney. He beat Sanguinetti in a couple close sets: 7-6(4), 6-4. A few pictures to prove it as well. Next up is the winner of tomorrow's Moya-Grosjean match. Moya is coming off a loss to Ljubicic in Chennai, while Grosjean lost in the first round of Doha to El Aynaoui (nice to see him back on tour). Noticed on the ATP site that James is doing a little blogging (although I'd wager he didn't even know exactly what blogging was before this... :) January 8, 2006 The draw is out, and James has a chance for a form of rivincita, when he takes on Davide Sanguinetti tomorrow (Monday) in Sydney. After losing to Seppi (another Italian) last week, James will see if he can get back on track at 5pm local time. I'll be sure to pass along some choice Italian words for James to use in Davide's direction. Here's the complete draw. As you can see, if James can make it past Sanguinetti, he has the winner of Moya and Grosjean. And James is seeded? January 4, 2006 Rough day for the seeds in Adelaide, including James unfortunately. Robredo, Ancic and JB all suffered upset defeats. James' came at the hads of Andreas Seppi of Italy. Final tally was 6-3, 3-6, 4-6. So that's it for Adelaide this year. Believe it or not, with the first round win, James' entry ranking will actually rise a bit, since he played the Hopman Cup at this time last year (an unoffical event). On to Sydney! January 3, 2006 James earned a solid win yesterday against Alberto Martin, who, I'm sure, wasn't particularly thrilled to have drawn JB (Martin's lost 3 of their 4 encounters). To the best of my knowledge there's no way to follow live scoring (even if I were to stay up until ungodly hours here on the East Coast of the US). James is in action again tonight, facing Seppi in the second round. He'll be the final match on center court. You can see a few images from James' first couple matches (he lost in doubles on Monday) at the Getty Images site. For you tennis nuts out there (like me) you can see that Nike has James playing in the new Zoom Vapor Speed shoes that should be hitting the shelves soon, and his Prince racquet is obviously still under development.
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