Old News
December 18, 2009 - Tampa, FL - Greetings everyone! Hope the holiday season is going well for you. James has been working hard down in Florida with new coach Kelly Jones and his trainer Rory Cordial. Believe it or not, the upcoming tennis season is just a few weeks away.
He leaves for the east coast of Australia in a little over a week to get his 2010 campaign underway in Brisbane. Here's the early season schedule:
Jan 4 Brisbane
Jan 18 Australian Open
Feb 8 Rotterdam
Feb 15 Memphis
Feb 22 Delray Beach
Mar 8 Indian Wells
Mar 22 Miami
More updates soon, including the winner of our 2010 Tennis Package Giveaway!
December 7, 2009 - New York City - Looks like it was a great evening last night! James started the day off on GMA by donating some Fila coats for their Warm Hearts, Warm Coats drive. The Back Office Associates Serving For A Cure event got underway later in the day, and you can see a few of the images from it above. You can also see the streaming video on the Facebook page. Here's another sampling of images from the event...
December 1, 2009 - Tonight's the big night in NYC! And even if you can't make it to the exhibition (there are tickets left btw), you can watch it here.
November 19, 2009 - Let's welcome in the holidays with a fantastic giveaway. James's sponsors have pitched in with some delectable goodies that can be all yours! Simply click here or on the image above for your chance to win Dunlop tennis balls for the entire year of 2010 (52 cans), a brand new Dunlop Aerogel 4D racquet autographed by James, a J-Block shirt and James's book (also autographed). The quid pro quo goes this way- by signing up to win you do agree that James's sponsors and yours truly (the webmaster) can come knocking on your email inbox on occasion with news and special offers (don't worry we'll be cool about it). The drawing will be on December 20, so enter (once only) before then.
And for those of you in the NYC metro area, don't forget James's charity event December 1st! See below.
Update: Exciting news to share today: the After Party musical guest lined up for the Dec. 1 NYC exhibition is Wyclef Jean!
In other news, there's a Facebook page up for the event. And every tennis exhibition needs a Host Chef, and this one is doing it in style with legendary Executive Chef John Mooney. Read about him here.
Big news for JB fans: his annual fundraiser to benefit the Thomas Blake, Sr., Memorial Research Fund is officially set for December 1st in NYC at Pier 94. Read all about the BackOffice Associates Serving For A Cure event, which will combine tennis, music and fashion here. To see ticket prices and this year's invitation (and posters from past year's events), head here.
To buy tickets call 1-866-840-8822
or CLICK HERE.
November 12, 2009- Paris, France- James finished off the 2009 tennis season with a well played loss to Andy Murray 3-6, 7-6, 6-7. The two took the court around midnight and played until almost 2am. Needless to say the stands weren't exactly packed, but that didn't stop them from playing some entertaining tennis. No breaks of serve in the third set, but it was Murray who pulled out one extra clutch shot in the breaker that made the difference (a crosscourt backhand passing shot to be precise).
So it's relax, train and prep time for next year. James will kick off the year in Brisbane.
November 10, 2009 - Paris, France - James got the final event of the year underway early by beating France's Fabrice Santoro in Paris on Sunday. It marked Santoro's final singles match on the ATP Tour. The win moved James on to a second round encounter with the fourth seed Andy Murray. That match will take place tomorrow (Wednesday).
October 15, 2009 - For the second week in a row, James played a tough three-set match against Rafa Nadal, but unfortunately he came out on the wrong end again. The score was extremely similar to last week: 6-2, 6-7(4), 6-4. Unfortunately I didn't get a chance to watch it, but based on quite a few emails I received, James was playing some great tennis, so perhaps his new coach Kelly Jones has him firing on all cylinders. Great to hear.
Just two more tournaments left this season: Basel and Paris!
October 13, 2009 - James will be experiencing the Colbert Bump today. His segment with the popular Comedy Central host aired last night at 11:30 (and will be on again throughout the day today). You can see it online right now by heading here.
And, as some of you may recall, I had a chance to follow James while he did the Colbert show as part of his publicity tour for Fila back in September. Here is the Behind the Scenes report I filed. (Click here for a higher quality MP4 format).
Oh yeah, James is playing tennis now over in Asia! He beat Ivo Karlovic in Shanghai on Monday, and gets a return date with Rafa Nadal tomorrow in the second round.
October 8, 2009 - Beijing
Rough day in Beijing: James came up short against Nadal- the scores were 7-5, 6-7 (4), 6-3. Read a match report here.
Also, as some of you might have heard on the match telecast today, James is now working with a new coach, Kelly Jones, who has previously worked with Mardy Fish. James and Brian Barker made the mutual decision to take a break, so James could find new ways to improve. James is looking forward to his time working with Kelly at the end of this season and during the coming offseason.
James and partner Andy Ram also lost their second round match today to Benneteau and Chardy 5-7 6-4 10-4. So it's sightseeing time in Beijing, or perhaps off to Shanghai for the penultimate Masters Series event.
October 6, 2009 - Beijing
James notched a first round win in Beijing today, beating Florian Mayer 6-3, 3-6, 6-3 in an hour and a half. That makes James a perfect 3-0 against the German. After splitting the first two sets and being broken three times, James saved all five break points against in the third and capitalized on one of his two for the win. Next up is Rafael Nadal.
September 25, 2009
Hey there everyone, hope all is well. For you hard core readers, I would imagine you are awaiting my report from last Friday's Fila Media Tour. Unfortunately that's going to have to wait until the Colbert Report airs (hopefully next week). James did appear on the Fallon show and you can see his game of Poker Tennis here. And, trust me, the wait will be worth it once you see what happened on the Colbert Report. I'll let everyone know the air date as soon as I have it.
In the meantime, we'll pass along a tale of James' poker prowess. Read away.
Speaking of fashion, head over to the new Thomas Reynolds Apparel page!
September 16, 2009 - NYC
Some on-the-court news to report first up today- James will play Beijing, Shanghai, Basel and Paris to close out the season this year. So you'll have to wait until October 5th to see JB in action on the court again.
More immediate (off the court) news to report: James will be taping a segment on the Colbert Report this Friday to be played at a later date. He'll also be appearing on the Jimmy Fallon show Friday night. And for those of you in the NYC Metro area, you can catch James at Dicks Sporting Goods at the Roosevelt Field Mall in Garden City, NY where he'll do an autograph signing. That will be around 7pm on Friday evening. I'll be along for the ride that whole day, so we'll get a report and pictures up on the day's activities next week!
September 6, 2009 - U.S. Open
James's U.S. Open came to an end late last night as he went down to Spain's Tommy Robredo in the third round 6-7 (2), 4-6, 4-6 (stats and interview).
A disappointing result compounded by yet another injury concern as James sprained his ankle (beware- image contains graphic footage of James's foot) during the match. So a difficult summer has come to a close, and now we'll see what James's fall schedule looks like. You'll recall last year he played TMS Madrid, Basel and TMs Paris to close out the season. I should have that schedule for everyone shortly.
James isn't done in New York City quite yet though. He will be appearing on The Fallon Show and The Colbert Report in a couple weeks' time- and we'll have a full behind-the-scenes report from those shows when they happen!
September 4, 2009 - U.S. Open
It didn't go five sets, but that didn't minimize the drama of yesterday's match vs. Olivier Rochus. For Blake fans, things were looking awfully dicey in the third set tiebreak, as James faced a 6-3 deficit. But he pulled it together and reeled off five straight points to take the tiebreak 8-6.
The complete scoreline was 6-4, 3-6, 7-6, 6-3, but one gets the feeling that third set tiebreak was the match decider. Read a complete match recap here, which includes some of James's post match comments.
Next up for the Cardiac Kid is Tommy Robredo. The two have played six times previously. That match will be on Saturday.
Check out a pre-tournament interview James did for Yahoo! Sports here.
And here are some pictures from his Fila retail party last Thursday.
August 31 - New York City
UPDATE: James wll play his second round match Thursday.
A positive start to the US Open today for JB. He took control of his first round match vs. Ramirez Hidalgo right out of the gate. After holding serve authoritatively, he broke the Spaniard and cruised to take the first set 6-1.
Things were a little more dicey towards the latter half of the second set, when James's first serve percentage slipped slightly and he was broken once. Nevertheless, James came up with the goods to deliver the second set 6-4.
In the third Ramirez Hidalgo's game picked up and it was tight until James capitalized on his second opportunity to serve for the match, winning 7-5. (See post match interview here and all the stats here).
The match was a good one for James to get back into the groove- he hit a ton of groundstrokes and I'd say he served very well. He did seem content to mostly hang back against his opponent; we'll see if he chooses to come into the net to close out a few more points in his next match.
Speaking of which, he doesn't get a rematch vs. Igor Kunitsyn as one might have expected. The Russian lost today to the wily veteran Olivier Rochus, so its USA vs. Belgium on Wednesday.
August 31 - New York City
UPDATE: James plays today (Monday) around 3:30-4:30pm (my best estimate). Check out today's full schedule here.
Let's start out with some U.S. Open news first- the draw is out! James is in the top quadrant and has Spain's Ruben Ramirez Hidalgo in the first round. No word yet on when he'll be playing, but as soon as I get that info I'll pass it along.
James and Venus Williams were on the Today Show this morning promo-ing the Open, answering a few questions, and hitting some Ping Pong balls. Check out the video here.
James will be at Arthur Ashe Kids Day tomorrow.
August 26, 2009 - New York City
Some exciting off-the court news to report today! James's new Fila line has hit stores and we have some exclusive images and a press release from Fila to share with you!
James will be busy in and around New York City promoting the line. This Thursday is the offical Launch Party- we'll have some exclusive photos shortly thereafter.
August 19, 2009 - Cincinnati, OH
Despite the loss, it was great to see James back on court yesterday afternoon in Cincinnati. The final score against Kunitsyn was 6-7, 7-6, 4-6, but James took some encouragement from his fitness level:
“As much as I didn't feel great out there today, I know physically I'm gonna be all right for the Open because I did a ton of work in the pool, on the bike, and just in general on my legs for the last four weeks when I couldn't do much else. I have a good feeling from that. But it's tough to take positive from playing only one match and losing that match. Just gotta look forward to the Open and hope it gets better.”
So another break until the Open starts on August 31. James currently rests at 24 in the world, so his seeding will probably be somewhere around there. If he is going to make any appearances in the NYC Metro area, I'll be sure to let everyone know!
August 17, 2009 - Cincinnati, OH
James is in the draw and plans to play in Cincinnati this week. He's not on the order of play for today, so presumably he'll get things going tomorrow against Kunitsyn. Nice to have him back on the court!
August 5, 2009 - Tampa, FL
UPDATE: Check out the 'making of' video of James with his new line of Fila clothing and shoes here!
We'll start off with some positive news- today Fila announced the imminent arrival of James' signature collection of tennis apparel and footwear, named 'Thomas Reynolds,' after James's late father. Look out for it during the U.S. Open. Get all the details here.
Unfortunately it's also my duty to report that James has to pull out of Montreal due to his foot injury. He visited the doc today and is hopeful to play Cincinnati. We'll keep our fingers crossed.
July 31, 2009 - Tampa, FL
Hey there everyone- it's been a while! I was away visiting family for some time and fortunately James' playing schedule was in a lull, so no reports.
There is news to report now, but it's not the good kind- James has had to withdraw from Washington due to an injured foot he suffered while in Croatia. He's hoping to make it back in time for Montreal, but nothing's for certain at the moment.
So he's resting and recuperating in Tampa. Hopefully we'll have some positive recovery news to report in the coming week or so!
July 12, 2009 - Porec, Croatia
James's 2009 Spring/Summer European Swing came to a close today as the US Davis Cup team lost to Croatia. A tough weekend for the Americans, who managed only one meaningful win (the doubles point on Saturday).
James started off the tie by winning the first two sets against Karlovic, but it was pretty much downhill after that. The big man played solid tennis over the final three sets, edging James in the 5th 7-5. Mardy took a similarly tough loss, going down to Cilic 8-6 in the 5th. After the Bryans win, James had to notch a W over Cilic, but it wasn't to be; he went down in four earlier today.
So next up for JB is DC- that's right, he's returning for the first time since 2006. That tournament takes place August 2.
July 9, 2009 - Porec, Croatia
As many of you probably heard, Andy Roddick pulled out of this week's Davis Cup tie with Croatia (hard to blame him). Mardy Fish will pick up his load in singles and try to see Team USA through to the semifinals.
Action gets underway tomorrow as James squares off against Ivo Karlovic. The Croatian team has selected clay as the surface (surprise, surprise), but in their most recent encounter James actually took out Karlovic on the red stuff (Madrid).
Coverage gets underway on the Tennis Channel tomorrow at 10am EST.
July 2, 2009 - Wimbledon
It's certainly been a while since James has played in as meaningful a doubles match as today's. Davis Cup against France perhaps? In any case, this one went the proverbial distance and then some. In the end, it was Nestor and Zimonjic (reigning Wimbledon doubles champs) who prevailed in the 5th set, 10-8 (video highlights).
So this was a surprising Wimbledon for a couple reasons; certainly the first round singles loss stung, but this doubles run made for a memorable fortnight.
Next up? James remains in Europe for the Davis Cup tie vs. Croatia.
July 1, 2009 - Wimbledon
James and Mardy continued their Wimbledon doubles run today with a 7-6(5), 6-4, 7-6(5) win over Aspelin and Hanley. This is their first trip to a Grand Slam semi (in singles or doubles).
They get Nestor and Zimonjic, the 2 seeds in the semis. The Bryans are on the other side of the draw.
In case you missed the news, James will be sticking around Europe after Wimbledon to join the U.S. Davis Cup team as they battle Croatia starting July 10.
June 29, 2009 - Wimbledon
UPDATE: James and Mardy get Aspelin/Hanley tomorrow on court 3 at noon (7am EST). Also, James has been named to the Davis Cup team that will face Croatia.
For those that hadn't noticed yet, James and Mardy Fish have been playing doubles this fortnight at Wimbledon. And playing very well I might add!
Today the duo dispatched the 15th seeded team of Damm and Lindstedt. This follows wins over Clement and Gicquel and Dlouhy and Paes (the 3 seeds). What does this all mean? A trip to the quarterfinals! They get the winner of Mirnyi/Ram vs. Aspelin/Hanley.
June 22, 2009 - Wimbledon
James's 2009 Grand Slam struggles continued today at The Championships. He went out to Italy's Andreas Seppi 7-5, 6-4, 7-6 (5). Unfortunately that's now nine consecutive sets he's lost in Grand Slam play.
The ending to this one was particularly rough on the stomach- James held a set point at 6-5 and was then up 5-0 in the tiebreak. Speaking of stomachs, according to the ESPN announcers James called for the trainers at least once during the match for issues with his. We'll see if he has anything to say about that in the post match interview.
June 21, 2009 - Wimbledon
The draw was reset and James finds himself in the bottom half with Seppi as his first round opponent and Haas and Cilic as potential opponents down the road. We'll find out how things are going pretty quickly since he pays the first match of the day on Court 3 at noon (7am EST). Follow the match live on ESPN2.
June 14, 2009 - London
James battled Andy Murray for the Queens Club title in London today. And while JB didn't walk away with the gargantuan trophy (he got the more svelte Brancusi-inspired hardware), he was playing some confident tennis, hanging with the third ranked player in the world shot for shot. Final score was 7-5, 6-4 Murray.
Read some post-match comments from each player here (along with a match recap). And see highlights from the match here.
So, a week off for James before he embarks on his 9th Wimbledon campaign, where he looks to make it past the third round for the first time.
James is featured in the current Deuce Magazine. Check it out here. And I just updated the Images section. Also of note- welcome BackOffice Associates to the Sponsor page. Nifty picture huh?
June 12, 2009 - London
Quarterfinals of the Aegon Championships today and JB took out Mikhail Youzhny 7-6, 6-3, their first encounter since the Davis Cup finals in 2007. See video highlights here. Next up for James is Andy Roddick, whom he beat in the '06 semis at this tournament.
June 11, 2009 - London
James improved to 5-1 lifetime against Sam Querrey today in London and for the fifth time the encounter lasted three sets. In the first and third sets James faced nary a break point, and that translated to a 6-4, 4-6, 6-3 win. We'll see if we can find out James' assessment of the match and how he's playing on the green in short order.
Tomorrow James gets the winner between Youzhny and Simon.
June 9, 2009- London
Before I had a chance to alert anyone, James got in his second round match today in London (I initially thought he would play Wednesday).
James knocked off Croatian and erstwhile nemesis Ivan Ljubicic 6-1, 7-6(4). James got off to the strong start quite obviously, and then played him dead even in the second (evenly splitting the 82 points played) before prevailing in the tiebreak. Next up is the winner of Querrey and Anderson (a qualifier from Spain).
James also has doubles duty today with Mr. Stacey Gardner. They are stepping onto the court as we speak against Butorac and Lipsky.
June 8, 2009
James is busy training in England for the upcoming grass season, which he kicks off in London at the Queens Club tournament. As the 6th seed he gets a first round bye and will probably play Wednesday.
As for he rest of his summer, it looks like this so far (possible additions to come):
Wimbledon
Montreal TMS
Cincinnati TMS
US Open
May 27, 2009 - Roland Garros
If he hasn't already done so, James would probably be best crossing off 'Matador' from his potential post-tennis list of professions. For the second year in a row, James went down on the court known as the 'Bullring' at Roland Garros.
The bull inflicting the damage in this case was one Leonardo Mayer- not exactly a household name, but when it comes to claycourt tennis, that's not exactly a prerequisite. James lost 7-6, 7-5, 6-2 in the waning hours of the day in windy and damp conditions. In case you hadn't noticed, those descriptors don't usually translate well for James's aggressive game. To see the post-mortem from JB head here.
So, not much more to say other than it's time to prepare for the grasscourt season. This year James is playing Queens prior to Wimbledon. In the next few days we'll post James's U.S. Open Series schedule.
May 22, 2009 - Roland Garros
James has arrived in Paris and is ready to do battle on the red clay. The French Open draw was issued today and it's Leonardo Mayer of Argentina as a first round opponent for our favorite 14th seed. Leonardo was the 2nd seed in the qualifying draw and won three matches on his way to a berth. Not sure yet when James will hit the court first.
May 14, 2009 - Madrid, Spain
Breaks at the beginning of both sets today spelled doom for James as he tried to get past Mr. Federer into the quarters in Madrid.
In the first set, James failed to hold serve on a second occasion resulting in a 6-2 score. The one break at the outset of the second was all Roger needed for a 6-4, fairly routine, hour-long win.
So it is off to Paris for the second Grand Slam event of the year. There's certainly more reason for optimism this year based on the results of the past couple weeks. We'll have to see if the Estoril final and third round this week bump James up in the rankings at all. He's currently at 16.
May 13, 2009 - Madrid, Spain
More fun on the red clay today- James pulled out a third set tiebreak vs. Ivo Karlovic in Madrid, earning him a spot in the third round.
James got the full Karlovic treatment; 26 aces from the big dude, but James got a break in the second, and faced only one break point all day. He then took care of business in the third set tiebreak winning 7-4. All this means he gets Mr. Federer in the third round. But I will remind you the past two times James has drawn Roger he has advanced (Olympics and walkover win in Paris).
May 12, 2009 - Madrid, Spain
Hmmm, well normally this is my downtime from website duties here at JamesBlakeTennis.com. During European claycourt season, James typically loses round one or round two, so I get to enjoy the spring weather, play tennis, tend to the yard, etc. But this year James has been doing more than his fair share of winning, so here I am on the computer reporting another victory. I jest. I'm certainly happy to share the good news with everyone.
Today James took out Victor Hanescu 2 and 4 in Madrid in the first round. He has the big man next, Ivo Karlovic. That match is up third on court 2 tomorrow.
May 10, 2009 - Estoril, Portugal
James polished off Nikolay Davydenko for the 7th straight time earlier today, but didn't have enough to bring home the bacon against Albert Montanes in the final a few hours later.
James's semifinal match against the Russian carried over to today due to darkness (after multiple rain delays yesterday), and a 6-3 third set score in favor of JB meant it was on to the final vs. the Spaniard. James won the first set 7-5, and had a couple match points in the second at 5-4, but lost that set in a tiebreak. The third set started out poorly, and only got worse as our man went down at love in that set.
Nevertheless, let's take away what's quite obvious, and that's the fact that James played his best tennis this week, and he has some positive momentum going in his favor. He gets to carry that momentum into Spain, where he plays Hanescu in the first round.
May 9, 2009 - Estoril, Portugal
James made it three for three yesterday in Portugal, taking out Florent Serra in straight sets 6-4, 6-1. He gets Nikolay Davydenko in the semis today. See highlights of James's match here.
Hopefully I'll be back later today with news of a positive result!
May 7, 2009 - Estoril, Portugal
Well, well, that makes two wins in a row in James' new favorite European country- Portugal! James took out Marc Gicquel today (in straight sets no less) 7-6, 6-2.
Perhaps the remark Jim Courier once made about Americans playing on clay applies? 'If your opponent's last name ends in a vowel, you're in for a long day.' (or something to that effect). So far James has played Gil and Gicquel, perhaps that might help explain his success. Or maybe we're just shortchanging the man, and he's outplaying these guys?
I'll vote for the latter explanation considering JB faced only one break point all day today, and won a majority of the points by a nice margin 54% to 46%.
The vowel-less run will end tomorrow, when he faces Florent Serra in the quarters. James gets in a little more claycourt practice for that match this afternoon when he and Robert Kendrick face Cermak and Mertinak in dubs.
May 6, 2009 - Estoril, Portugal
I would have to imagine today's win over Frederico Gil in Portugal had to feel awfully nice for James. And, as proof, I submit to you the picture above. It's not many times that you see the 4th seed get so fired up about a round one win. But James came through today after dropping the first set 7-5 and earned himself his first claycourt singles win of the year.
I followed the internet scoring today and this one was nip and tuck through the first two sets. Late breaks were the difference on each occasion. James got an early break in the third though and never looked back. Final scores: 5-7, 6-4, 6-2. Congrats to him.
He plays a doubles match today with Kendrick (they won their first round match yesterday), and then it's on to round two tomorrow vs. Gicquel.
May 5, 2009 - Estoril, Portugal
James is celebrating this Cinqo de Mayo by playing the Estoril tournament for the first time ever. He starts today in doubles, partnering with Robert Kendrick. Have a look at the draw here.
Over on the singles side- he has Frederico Gil tomorrow in the first round.
April 27, 2009 - Roma
After a quarterfinal appeaance in Rome in 2008, one might have hoped James could get his European claycourt season off to a positive start today...but it was not to be. He fell to Victor Crivoi today 5-7, 3-6 in a little over an hour.
James will remain in Rome, where he and Mardy Fish will play the final match on Stadio Pietrangeli tomorrow evening against Aspelin and Moodie.
April 26, 2009 - Rome
James is in Rome ready to get his European claycourt season underway tomorrow (Monday). He faces a qualifier, Victor Crivoi, in the first round. I have no idea who Victor is, but if he came through qualifying, we're going to go ahead and call him a clay court specialist.
James is probably sleeping now, but when he wakes, he will be armed with some of the best claycourt suggestions he could hope to receive courtesy you fans. Okay, maybe they won't be particularly helpful, but perhaps they will give him a chuckle when he wakes up. Without further ado...
the second place runner up:
'Yell VAMOS! after key points' - Gary Pasqualicchio
the first place runner up:
'James can marry me and move with me to Valencia, where he will have plenty of opportunities to master the red surface.' - Alejandra
and the winner of the autographed shirt is:
'He should pick his butt before every point - I think it is the secret to Rafa's success'. - Noah Perez
April 16, 2009 - Tampa, FL
Hey there everyone- taxes are out of the way (until I get the annual 'Verification of Head of Household status' letter), so it's back to JamesBlakeTennis.com duties.
Today I wanted to share with you some behind the scenes stories from the Dunlop photoshoot a few weeks back in Miami, just prior to the tournament. So, without further ado, let's turn it over to a page that affords us a little more space for images and text.
A little fun before James departs for Rome and the claycourt season- I have an autographed JB shirt that I'd love to send your way. The person who comes up with the most creative suggestion(s) to help JB on the red clay this year gets it! Email me at jamesblaketennis@gmail.com.
April 9, 2009 - Houston, TX
Hello there everyone- sorry for the missed updates this week. It's Spring Break time in Florida with my two youngsters, so free time has been hard to come by.
JB is still in Houston playing, but unfortunately it's just in the doubles draw. He bowed out to Canas in round one back on Tuesday night 6-4, 6-4. I'm just judging from the stats, but it doesn't appear there was much to write home about after this one. James was broken four times in the match and seemingly struggled on serve throughout.
In the positive news dept., he and Mardy Fish are still alive in dubs and will play the Bryans tomorrow in the semis. That's the featured match on Stadium court.
Many of you have been writing in asking about James's summer schedule and it's still being finalized, so hold your horses on that one. As soon as I hear, I'll pass along the info.
March 31, 2009 - Key Biscayne, FL
James' run at the Sony Ericsson Open was a short lived one this year. He lost to Tomas Berdych 4-6, 7-6, 3-6 late Sunday night in the third round. JB's serving percentage was up over previous matches (60% for the match), but the break point opportunities continue to be elusive; James had five in the match (of which he converted one), but none in the third set. So it's off to Houston next week for the start of the claycourt season.
In more positive news, some of you may have noticed James is sporting a new patch on his Fila jerseys. He has a partnership with Back Office Associates, a data migration and data governance outfit based in Massachusetts. You probably need to be familiar with IT to understand this, but basically they prepare a company's data for a more smooth transition to the SAP ERP system. And for anyone who's ever done an SAP transition, lord knows you need all the help you can get to make it go smoothly.
James received the Arthur Ashe Humanitarian Award from the ATP last week. His efforts to set me up with that beautiful brunette in Atlanta in December earned him the award. I jest. James was rewarded for his Foundation work.
What else? James is happy to report that his NCAA brackets are looking mighty fine this year, and he'll be in the money in John Isner's pool. I got crushed when Pitt went down to Nova, but what a game that was.
March 28, 2009 - Key Biscayne, FL
A 6-4, 6-4 win for JB yesterday to get his Sony Ericsson campaign underway. He took out Frenchman Julien Benneteau, who had beaten James in their only previous encounter.
James rang up 8 aces in the match, was broken once (2nd set), and won 81% of his second serve points, which is no small feat. He moves on to face the 21st seed, Tomas Berdych, in the third round. That match should be taking place tomorrow.
March 17, 2009 - Indian Wells, CA
Not much positive news to report from JamesBlakeville after yesterday's match with Gonzalez. How to sum it up? Let's see, have you ever played NBA Jam? Do you remember when you could catch fire and do the 360/front flip/two-handed reverse dunks? Yeah, well, that was Fernando Gonzalez yesterday. And unfortunately James's 360/front flip/ two-handed reverse dunk button wasn't working. Stupid controller.
So it's sayonara to the desert and onto the tropical heat of Florida for some serious sweating on the practice court before Key Biscayne starts next week.
Happy St. Patrick's Day everyone!
March 15, 2009 - Indian Wells, CA
James had another tight encounter with Jarkko Nieminen last night in the desert, and, just as in the previous five occasions they've played, James came out the victor.
He saved five break points in the third set, and capitalized on the one he needed, to win 6-3, 6-7 (6), 6-3. Don't have many details on the match (it started after my beloved Orange lost in the Big East tourney final, so I went straight to bed), other than the fact James had one match point in the second set (presumably in the tiebreak?). Perhaps James will reveal a few details in the blog he's writing for the tournament.
Next up? You James Blake historians will appreciate this: we have a tasty encounter with one Fernando Gonzalez. That'll be on Monday.
March 6, 2009 - Birmingham, AL
James will get the USA-Switzerland tie underway today when he takes on Stan Wawrinka at 1pm CST. The entire tie will be broadcast on Tennis Channel. I'm fortunate enough to live only a couple hours from Birmingham, so I'll be offering up a full report this weekend. In the meantime, follow the action at the www.daviscup.com website.
Go USA!
February 26, 2009 - Tampa
The USTA came out with the official announcement for the Davis Cup team- read it here. James has been in Tampa prepping for the tie.
Following Davis Cup duties, he travels to California for Indian Wells and then back to Florida for Key Biscayne.
February 19, 2009 - Memphis
Did anyone else follow JB's match vs. Hewitt last night via computer scoring? Were you screaming at your monitor on those break points in the third set in the final game? No? Just me? I need to get a life?
There's something about following internet scoring in tennis that has me shouting out like I'm at a theater watching a bad horror movie. Well, unfortunately the screaming didn't help as James lost to Hewitt 6-3, 1-6, 4-6.
James' work is not yet done in Memphis; he teams with Bobby Reynolds to face Fish and Knowles today in doubles.
February 18, 2009 - Memphis
Not only did James play doubles yesterday with Bobby Reynolds and win, but he's still on the docket for action this evening against Lleyton Hewitt. Match is scheduled to start at 6:30pm Memphis time.
February 16, 2009 - Memphis
After gritting out his semifinal match against Mardy Fish on Saturday (and losing 3 and 2), James had to withdraw from his doubles match that evening. He's still hoping to play in Memphis, where he is scheduled to face Lleyton Hewitt in the first round on Wednesday.
February 14, 2009 - San Jose, CA
James defeated Sam Querrey yesterday 7-6 (9), 6-3 to set up a showdown with friend and doubles partner Mardy Fish. The two do battle at 1pm PST and will then have to follow the other singles semifinal for their dubs match.
February 13, 2009 - San Jose, CA
Another straight set win for James yesterday- this one over Frenchman Florent Serra. Score was 6-4, 6-3 and we'll turn to Darren Sabreda of the San Jose Mercury News to provide a match recap.
That sets up an intriguing showdown for today: Blake vs. Querrey. Let's hope Mr. Sam doesn't go for another 34 aces (including 10 in a row) like he did in Indy back in '07.
February 12, 2009 - San Jose, CA
A straight set win last night for James to start off the SAP Open in San Jose. He beat Mr. Spadea 3 and 4 in under an hour. The San Francisco Chronicle writer did their homework before filing their match report last night. Read it here.
JB has double duty today with a second round singles match against the Frenchman Serra and then a doubles match with Mardy against Querrey and Cerretani.
February 10, 2009 - San Jose, CA
After playing doubles earlier in the day with Mardy Fish (and winning), James had to pull out of last night's exhibition with Pete Sampras due to a strained back. He hopes to be ready to go tomorrow night against Spadea.
February 9, 2009 - San Jose, CA
James is in California to get the U.S. indoor season underway next week at the SAP Open. He plays Pete Sampras in a charity exhibition tonight. His first round singles match against Vince Spadea will take place Wednesday night.
January 26, 2009 - Melbourne
Haven't had a chance to watch the Tsonga match yet, (and I'm not sure I want to), but suffice it to say it didn't turn out as well as most of us reading this would have hoped.
James lost 6-4, 6-4, 7-6 to the Frenchman in just under 2 1/2 hours (match stats here). In looking at the stats the thing that jumps out to me is the lack of even one break opportunity in the first couple sets for James (JB talks of Tsonga's serving prowess and of not returning as well as he would have liked in his post match interview).
For a match recap, have a look at the Aussie Open website report.
So James is going to lose a little ground in the rankings dept., considering he made it one round further last year at the Aussie, meaning he didn't defend all the points he needed to.
Next up on the playing schedule is San Jose, and perhaps James will be heading to the Super Bowl, since it's in Tampa? I'll ask and let you guys know.
Have a look at the new 2009 Photo Gallery. Some insanely sweet images from the past 10 days in Australia (including my favorite above).
January 24, 2009 - Melbourne
All the clubs in JB's bag were delivering during last night's match against Andreev. Set point in the first set was the ultimate indicator; he pulled out the 60 degree wedge and inside-out forehand sliced a dropper crosscourt. Normally James hits that shot and immediately shakes his head and covers his face after he's missed it. But even that shot went for a winner last night. First set 6-3 in 30 quick minutes.
James kept up the pace in the second set, constantly looking to attack the net at every opportunity. He really treats Andreev's game like it's batting practice for him- there's no other way to put it. That set took all of 29 minutes: 6-2.
James lost his first set of the tournament in the third, as Andreev converted the only break opportunity. But it was back to business in the fourth, with a 6-1 score for James.
Next up is the Frenchman Tsonga. He got by Dudi Sela in four sets, and is looking to recapture the glory he experienced here last year when he reached the final.
Read James' post match interview here and see the match stats here.
January 22, 2009 - Melbourne
Can't ESPN pull a few strings with Tennis Australia and get one of James' matches on at an hour I'm not in R.E.M.? It was another 3:30am affair last night in Melbourne, so that meant TiVo (actually Comcast DVR) for the showdown we've all been waiting for since the inception of James' career- mano a mano with Sebastien De Chaunac. Yes, that Sebastien De Chaunac. The one who if you know who is, then you need to get out more.
First off, the conditions were less than ideal for this throwdown, unless you enjoy playing tennis when the apocalypse looks imminent. There were sand storms and wind gusts and funky colors in the sky that one might have surmised could have contributed to the 253rd player upsetting the 10th ranked player in tennis. But, alas, they did not. This was a pretty routine 3, 2 and 3 affair that got bumped on the tube (for the most part) by Venus' three set loss.
So, we're left with the match stats and my soporific recap. You're best to read this match analysis in fact.
Things are going to get a little more interesting next round, when James faces Igor Andreev. Let's hope the CERN particle accelerator hasn't screwed with the balance of order recently, because James is a perfect 5-0 against Igor.
January 20, 2009 - Melbourne
It was the dreaded 3:30am EST start time for James' first round match in Melbourne today, so unless you're an narcoleptic/insomniac/vampire residing in America you might have missed this one. I TiVo'd it and just got done watching; happy to report it was a solid start to the year's first Grand Slam for JB.
First and foremost, this was a fairly typical match for James. So if you were concerned the switch in apparel to Fila was going to disturb the balance in Blakeville, you can set that concern aside. He dictated most points from the ground, got in trouble a few times with some shorter second serves, and, in general, went for his shots per his standard m.o.
James was in control of this affair through the first two sets and two games of the third. At that point things started getting a little chippy between the American and Canadian, and Dancevic stepped up his game as well. James had to fight back from two consecutive 0-40 games to keep pace in the third, and then broke fairly easily at 5-5. He then served it out to win the 1 hour 56 minute match. Match stats here. Post-match interview here.
Next up is Frenchman Sebastien De Chaunac, who came through qualies and then got a five set win over Steve Darcis yesterday.
January 19, 2009 - Melbourne
James gets his Australian Open underway Tuesday in Melbourne, facing Canadian qualifier Frank Dancevic. James won their only other meeting back in '07 in Stockholm.
The forecast calls for triple digits in Melbourne Tuesday, but perhaps by the time the two take the court on Margaret Court arena late Tuesday afternoon/early evening it might not be quite so toasty. This will be James' first official match of 2009 after a couple exhibitions, so let's hope for a good start!
If you can't wait to see JB in some of his new Fila duds, here are some pictures over on the Getty Images website. There's also a good feature by Bonnie Ford on James over at ESPN.com.
January 14, 2009 - Melbourne
FILA AND JAMES BLAKE TO COLLABORATE ON MEN'S APPAREL AND FOOTWEAR COLLECTION
The first
collaboration of its kind in the sport of tennis - Blake to serve as
inspiration for collection
Sparks, MD- January 14, 2009 - Fila announced today that it has entered into a collaboration arrangement with ATP World Tour star James Blake to develop a collection of men's apparel and footwear. The collection will incorporate the heritage of the Fila brand with a contemporary twist inspired by Blake's signature style. He will collaborate with Fila's design team to create a co-branded collection. The yet to be named collection will target today's active male and will be the basis for the development of a long-term licensing business for Blake.
The collection will include tennis, golf, fitness and lifestyle apparel, performance and lifestyle footwear and accessories for men. Fila and James Blake will also explore other product categories as opportunities arise in the market. The collection will debut with a limited collection of tennis and fitness apparel that will be unveiled just before the 2009 US Open in New York. The collection will officially launch for the Spring Summer 2010 season.
James will wear Fila branded or co-branded tennis apparel and footwear exclusively on court and he will be featured in Fila's worldwide marketing efforts. He is the first top ten American male to sign with Fila. James will debut in Fila's Collezione Apparel Collection and the Fila Alfa shoe at the Australian Open in Melbourne.
"We are delighted to have the opportunity to work with an athlete of James Blake's caliber," said Gene Yoon, Chairman of Fila. "Fila has been associated with champions in tennis and other sports for over 35 years. We are certain that through our collaboration with James, we will create a range of products that combines the rich style of our historic brand and James' active and sophisticated lifestyle."
"I have always had an affinity for the Fila brand," said James Blake. "Ever since Borg graced the courts of Wimbledon in Fila, I have always been attracted to the Italian style, grace and sophistication of the Fila brand. My collaboration with Fila is much more than an endorsement arrangement. It will serve as the foundation of a business venture that I that will continue to build for years to come."
Fila has a long and distinguished history in the world of tennis. The company has endorsement agreements with several ATP Tour and Sony Ericsson WTA Tour athletes, is a major sponsor of the Sony Ericsson Open, Tennis Tournament at Indian Wells, and the Campbell's Hall of Fame Tennis Championships and is the footwear licensee with The Championships at Wimbledon.
About Fila: Established in Italy in 1911, Fila is a leading manufacturer of sport and leisure footwear and apparel distributed worldwide. The internationally respected company, having gained world class recognition in tennis apparel, has developed brand recognition by marketing products with a high design and style content that are endorsed by professional artists and athletes from around the world.
January 8, 2009 - Hopman Cup
UPDATE: James' schedule for the first half of the year is in. Head here to see it.
A positive finish to this year's Hopman Cup to report. James won his second consecutive match in Perth today, beating old nemesis Lleyton Hewitt 2 and 2. James was in control of this match throughout, gaining breaks early in both sets.
James then teamed with partner Meghann Shaugnessy to win in doubles over Hewitt and Dellacqua in a third set breaker.
Next up? James heads striaght to Melbourne for some serious training in preparation for the Australian Open.
January 7, 2009 - Hopman Cup
James notched his first win of the year today in Perth, beating Nicolas Kiefer in a two and a half hour three set encounter 7-6, 6-7, 6-4.
Unfortunately, the US team will not be advancing past pool play, as the German team closed out JB and Shaughnessy in a third set tiebreak in the mixed doubles. The Americans do have one more pool play match, facing the host country (Hewitt and Dellacqua). That match takes place tomorrow.
January 6, 2009 - Hopman Cup
Happy New Year to everyone! Plenty to catch up on here after a little vaction for the jamesblaketennis.com webmaster (me) and then a bad bout with the flu (unfortunately again me).
First, James is currently in Perth, western Australia, playing the Hopman Cup for the first time in four years. He's paired with Meghann Shaunessy (substituting for an injured Serena Williams). The duo had a rough start of it, losing to the Slovak Republic three matches to none. James lost to Dominik Hrbaty 6-3, 4-6, 7-6 (7/1). Up next is the German team, comprised of Kiefer and Lisicki.
Prior to the Hopman Cup, James played an exhibition in Abu Dhabi, where he lost in the opening 'round' to Andy Murray two and two. See some brief post match quotations here.
December 18, 2008
James recently updated his Yardbarker blog. Check it out here.
December 15, 2008
New Dunlop Racquet Charity Auction
Hello everyone! I realize it's been a while sans update, but you know my policy about manufacturing 'news'- I just don't do it unless I'm in a sardonic mood, and that's tough to muster during the holidays.
Well, we have plenty of real news to pass along today so let's get to it. On Saturday James was here in the ATL for an exhibition against Sam Querrey. Sam won the Infinite Energy Slam this year by taking out James 7-6, 6-3. That result sort of sullied the post exhibition plans for a big night out celebrating Bo Hodge's 27th birthday. Well, not really. A good time was had by all both during the event and afterwards.
James hopped on a chartered flight to Baton Rouge early Sunday to participate in the benefit for victims of hurricanes Gustav and Ike. James and Pete Sampras battled it out for three sets with Pete winning 6-4 in the third.
The other big news from the weekend is that James put in play his new Dunlop racquet, the Aerogel 4D 300 Tour. I had James sign one of these bad boys on Saturday and YOU CAN HAVE IT (in time for Xmas no less)! Let's raise some money for James' charity to help the battle against cancer. Send your bid to jamesblaketennis@gmail.com now! We'll start at $250. The winning bid and check can be made out straight to the charity. Get in your bid by December 22nd!
Also, just for the holidays, Tennis Warehouse has put together a James Blake FanPack special. Check it out here.
December 2, 2008
Hello there everyone, hope all is well with you this December day. A few items to pass along. First is a short recap of the annual benefit for the Harlem Junior Tennis Program held last week. To read a blog-style recap and see a few more images from the event head here.
James' early season '09 schedule is hot off the presses! Have a look:
Dec. 29- Abu Dhabi Exhibition
Jan 5- Hopman Cup
Jan 12- Practice week in Australia
Jan 19 and 26- Australian Open
Feb 9- San Jose
Feb 16- Memphis
November 27, 2008 Macao Tennis Showdown
Happy Thanksgiving to all Americans today! Just a quick blurb and image from James' second Asian exhibition last week, and then tomorrow or this weekend I'll post some pictures from the Harlem Junior Tennis benefit held earlier this week.
James was in Macao competeing against Roger Federer once again. And the Swiss star took this exhibition as well, winning 6-4, 6-4. Read more here.
November 19, 2008 - Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
James took part in the Showdown of Champions yesterday in Malaysia. He went down to Federer in a one set match but then teamed with McEnroe to beat Fed and Borg. For a full recap of the matches head here.
James' next exhibition will be the annual Harlem Junior Tennis benefit. It's called the 'Serving Up The Holidays' fundraiser, and it's at the renovated Harlem Armory on Tuesday, November 25.
James displays his acting range: 'Charming' to 'Stunned!' in a second
November 10, 2008 - CT
I received a few emails over the weekend asking about James' appearance on Lipstick Jungle. And I had no response since I didn't know anything about it (that JB is so modest). But through the magic of the internets you too can see James' acting debut! Head here (and move ahead to 31 minutes in): http://www.hulu.com/watch/43351/lipstick-jungle-chapter-14-let-the-game#s-p1-so-i0
I'm sure the performance will be up for an Emmy next year. If James doesn't win the award for Best Tennis Player Impersonating a Golf Instructor, then there will be h*ll to pay!
Speaking of awards, James is reeling them in. The ATP Tour has named him fastest talker on tour.
November 1, 2008 - Paris
James' dreams of making it to Shanghai evaporated today with a 6-4, 6-3 loss to Tsonga in Paris. JB now rests in tenth place in the Champions race, one point behind Simon.
So, barring a few Shanghai pullouts (which isn't beyond the realm of possibilities), that is all she wrote for the 2008 season for James. We can reflect on this year more in the coming weeks, but for now let's toast to another successful ATP campaign for JB.
October 31, 2008 - Paris
James got a nice treat this Halloween when Roger Federer pulled out of their match before it even began. Roger cited back pain as the reason, so it was a free pass onto the semifinals for JB. He faces Tsonga tomorrow following the Nalbandian-Davydenko match, probably sometime around 11am EST.
As for qualifying for the Masters Series in Shanghai, get your brain nice and loose and nimble because here are the possibilities:
In Saturday's semifinal Tsonga will play fellow Shanghai hopeful James Blake. The stakes couldn't be higher. Blake will qualify if he reaches the final. A win would be good enough to take Tsonga to Shanghai provided Nalbandian loses his semifinal to Davydenko.
Seventh-placed Juan Martin del Potro will qualify unless Nalbandian defeats Blake in the final. Therefore del Potro can qualify as soon as Nalbandian or Blake lose before Sunday.
Eighth-placed Gilles Simon can no longer qualify because whomever wins the Tsonga-Blake semifinal will surpass the Frenchman in eighth position in the ATP 2008 Race.
October 30, 2008 - Paris
James is posted a solid straight set victory today in Paris, beating Philipp Kohlschreiber 4 and 4 in a little over an hour.
James faced only one break point in the match and served well again. Tomorrow he has Mr. Federer, who took out Cilic in straight sets. Making things easier for his potential Shaghai qualification were two earlier results in Paris today- Roddick knocking off Simon and Nalbandian beating Del Potro. But James must not only beat Federer, but then win his semifinal match to make it. Check out thet the up-to-the-minute positioning of all those trying to qualify for Shanghai here.
October 29, 2008 - Paris
James made a positive first step today towards advancing to Shanghai, beating qualifier Simone Bolelli in the second round in Paris 6-7, 6-3, 6-4.
More strong serving to report for James, which is always a good thing. Today he won 81% of his first serves and 55% of his second serves, to go along with 17 aces. Next up he gets Kohlschreiber, who upset Ferrer today.
October 27, 2008 - Paris
After a train ride from Basel to Paris, James is ready for what he hopes will be his next-to-last tournament of the year. He's going to have to win at least three matches and hope for some help to make it to Shaghai though this year. For the precise details, read here.
As for the actual draw, have a look for yourself here. James gets Bolelli in the second round to be played Wednesday. He beat Nieminen today.
October 24, 2008 - Basel
Today's match was awfully close- James won 74 points and Lopez won 77 points, but it was the one break point that Lopez capitalized on that made the difference in today's 4-6, 6-7 loss.
James was able to produce some break opportunites himself, but credit to Lopez who saved all 8. So now it's on to the final tournament of the year, the Paris TMS, and James is going to have to do exceptionally well to qualify for Shanghai. We'll see if we can sort out all the point details for you once Basel is wrapped up.
October 22, 2008 - Basel
James is through to another quarterfinal. Today he beat Spain's Oscar Hernandez 6-7, 6-2, 6-4 in a two hour contest.
Plenty of break points for James today- he capitalized on three of the 13 he had, and he saved the only break point against. In fact, judging by the stats it was James' serve today that was the difference- he won 48 of 52 points when he got his first serve in and 17 of 29 points on his second serve. Not too shabby!
So it's on to meet another Spaniard, a lefty, Feliciano Lopez. That match will be tomorrow.
James is actually on the court now, playing his doubles match with Bobby Reynolds. Looks like they just dropped the first set.
October 21, 2008 - Basel
Hey there folks. Sorry for the delay in delivering you all the JB news that's fit to print, but I've been in Computer Hades the past few days. BOTH my computers have recently suffered major crashes (a blitzed hard drive and an operating system meltdown), so I've been reinstalling applications here, there and everywhere to get back into working order. Still not there, but at least I can update the site now.
So James is in Basel at the moment. He played doubles last night with Bobby Reynolds and won. Tomorrow is is his first round singles match against Nicolas Kiefer. Match is at 16:45 local time (those Swiss are so precise!), meaning 10:45am EST. Check out the draw here. Winner gets Oscar Hernandez (just how many Spanish players are there?).
October 17, 2008
With a little break in the tennis action before Basel gets underway next week, wanted to alert everyone in the NYC metro area that James' annual benefit with the Harlem Junior Tennis and Education Program is happening Tuesday November 25th this year. Get all the details on the event here.
October 14, 2008
Well, it would appear the TMS Madrid event has roughly the same effect on James as the end of the baseball season has on the Mets. That is to say, it's not pretty. For the fifth time in five years it was one and done in Madrid for JB.
He got off to a positive start today, winning the first set over Gilles Simon 6-3, but after going down 6-1 in the second, he lost the only break point of the third set to bow out 6-4.
I would imagine he's not sticking around Spain for long- so it's on to Switzerland, where James plays the Basel starting next week.
October 13, 2008
James is in Madrid for the TMS event, playing a little doubles today with newlywed Mardy Fish. The duo went down to hometown faves Moya and Nadal in a third set double breaker.
In singles, James is the 11th seed and has a first round bye. He faces Gilles Simon in the second round. Simon saved four match points in his opening round win today over Igor Andreev. Not sure if James' match will be tomorrow or Wednesday.
October 8, 2008
More exhibition news to pass along. James and some fellow named Sampras are going to be entertaining tennis fans in Cajun Country this December- Sunday the 14th to be precise. Get all the details here.
James is off to Madrid for the penultimate TMS event. Draw should be announced by Saturday, with play starting Sunday.
September 30, 2008
This November James is going to get his Bukit Jalil on when he appears in that Malaysian suburb as part of a fabulicious exhibition with Roger Federer, Bjorn Borg and John McEnroe. The exhibition takes place on the 18th. Read more here.
But there's still work to be done this ATP Tour tennis season, and James is prepping now for the start of the European indoor portion of the schedule. He leaves for Madrid in the next week, before playing Basel and Paris. In case you were curious, James pulled out of Vienna last week. Here's the explanation (at least I think that's what this is):
Wien - Der US-Amerikaner James Blake hat am Montag über die Tennis-Vereinigung ATP seine Absage für die nächstwöchige 23. Bank-Austria-TennisTrophy ausrichten lassen. Der 28-jährige Weltranglisten-Zehnte kommt offiziell wegen Ermüdungserscheinungen nicht nach Wien. Blake hat seit seinem Drittrunden-Out Ende August bei den US Open in New York kein Match mehr bestritten, seither auch für das Davis-Cup-Halbfinale in Madrid gegen Spanien abgesagt.
This past weekend James was in L.A. for Mardy Fish's wedding as one of the groomsmen. Here's a link to a short article on the ceremony and a great excuse for us all to have a look at Mardy's better half, beautiful bride Stacey Gardener.
J-BLOCK MERCHANDISE IS IN!!!!! TennisWarehouse.com has guys and gals shirts in stock in addition to hats. Do your part in helping James reach his goals for charity and look good while doing it!
September 22, 2008 - Tampa
Hello JB fans! Hope you guys are getting as much rest and relaxation as JB lately. And you're all coming to Mardy's wedding, right? Should be a blast.
Speaking of Mardy, he helped earn the US Davis Cup team a point in this past weekend's showdown with Spain Alas it was not enough as Nadal took out both Querrey and Roddick, and Ferrer pulled out a five setter to send the defending champs out in the semis. A good effort at repeating, no doubt, and it just goes to show how you have to have everything aligned (especially court surfaces) to win the whole shebang
So I just got in James' remaining schedule for the year, and here's how it shapes up.
That's it for now, talk soon!
September
15, 2008 - Backstage at Anthem Live 2008
Hey there everyone- happy to be back in the ATL after a fun weekend in Richmond, VA, site of this year's Anthem Live exhibition.
I got in on Friday afternoon to find Andy Roddick and his dog Billy (seen here resting when Andy was off dog duty, don't worry folks, Billy was taken care of VERY well) hanging out in the players lounge. This is typically the time the guys get in a little relaxation, watch some SportsCenter and text the girlfriends. They also sign tons of stuff, including those dedicated books and posters!
James and the Bryans arrived shortly thereafter with racquet bags (James' and the Bryan's and Andy's) in tow.
First up (3:30pm) was a short press conference on the event and its cause (pic 1 pic 2). Up next was a kids clinic for some area children.
More lounging before the sponsor meet and greet at 6pm. Then the event got going at 7pm with some doubles (video with full on chest bumping). Then James and Andy did their singles exhibition (video). Some autograph signing and that was a wrap!
Oh, you also want to hear what went on afterwards? And how much everyone made a fool of themselves on the dance floor, and visual descriptions of the swooning girls? Hmm...okay, truth be told this was a rather tame evening. After a pit stop at the players' hotel- the swanky Jefferson- we went to a bar & saloon in the Shockoe Slip area of Richmond called Blackfinn. Of course a perk of hanging out with the celebrity types is you get to walk by the line waiting outside (also nice when you are 36 yrs old like me and wouldn't wait in line anyways). A few Heineken Premium Lights, some tales of James' time spent at the Derek Jeter charity event, and some bad southern rawk music and that was a night for me. Until next year!
September 6, 2008 - Anthem Live
UPDATE: James is not going to be making it out to Spain for the Davis Cup tie against Spain in a few weeks.
Tennis fans in the mid-Atlantic region can look forward to James' annual Anthem Live Exhibition this coming Friday. As you can see from the poster above, it features James, Andy and the Bryan Brothers. This will be the first time it has been held in Richmond, VA, hometown of Arthur Ashe.
Tickets are still available and quite obviously the money goes to a great cause.
August 31, 2008 - US Open
As one might have suspected, James' match with friend Mardy Fish was a bit of an awkward affair- for the crowd and the players. But it was clear that Mardy was the better player on this night though, dominating with his serve and doing a good job at attacking James' second serve. The final score was 6-3, 6-3, 7-6(4).
USA network joined the match a game into the proceedings, and James was already down a break. He got it back, but immediately went down another break to lose 6-3.
James got only one break point opportunity in the second, also losing 6-3. James was down another break in the third and Mardy was attempting to serve out the match at 5-4, but nerves got hold of him, and the two battled to a tie-break.
After going up 4-2 in the breaker, Mardy reeled off five points in a row to take the match and move onto the fourth round for the first time ever at the Open. He gets Monfils next.
So a tough Open for James, one in which it never appeared he was totally locked in to his game. He gets to rest up some and presumably get in some clay court preparation before the Davis Cup in late September.
August 28, 2008 - US Open
James advanced today at the Open after his opponent Steve Darcis retired in the third set with an injury. Darcis came out of the gates playing well, breaking James in the first game of the match. James was struggling to find the range throughout the set, and went down another break before getting one back and losing 6-4.
Little of the second set was broadcast (USA was showing the Llodra-Murray match), but James got a higher percentage of first serves in and committed fewer unforced errors. That translated into a 6-3 scoreline.
I believe towards the end of the first set is when Darcis started looking a little gimpy, and by the beginning of set number three he was ready to throw in the towel, which he did after JB broke him to start the set.
So next up is good buddy and compatriot Mardy Fish. That match will be Saturday. Time TBA.
Here are the stats and interview from today's match.
August 26, 2008 - US Open
So anyone wake up a little groggy like me this morning? Don't these folks know the rest of us have to be functional in the a.m. hours? Jeesh. Last night's match went longer (set wise) than I was expecting, but in the end James added a W to his five set record (perhaps he just wants to pad that stat now?). He beat Donald Young 6-1, 3-6, 6-1, 4-6, 6-4 in a match that lasted two and a half hours and finished at 12:30am. (match stats and interview)
James came out for this one in his Mets gear (cap and number 16 jersey, for Dr. K presumably). He proceeded to blow away Donald in the first set 6-1, and it looked like this encounter might be over in short order. But Donald got a break in the second and James couldn't match that feat, so it was on to the third. James again made quick work of Young in the third, and was up 2-0 in the fourth, but then the wheels came off for the better part of the next 10 games; Young played very well, keeping James off balance and looking a little uncertain about things. Fortunately, James got it together at 4-4 all in the fifth, striking the ball with more confidence and looking more certain of himself. At the same time Young's errors started creeping in again and it was over with a break and hold 6-4.
So up next is Belgium's Steve Darcis, whom James beat in Davis Cup play in '05 in their only previous encounter. If memory serves, I believe that was an inconsequential match (a 'dead rubber'). That match will take place on Thursday.
August 22, 2008 - NYC
UPDATED: The US Open draw is out! James is the ninth seed and finds himself in the top half of the draw. His first opponent is American Donald Young and they will play Monday night.
Here is a great way for JB's fans to help out the quest to raise a million dollars for the Blake Cancer Research Fund.
Starting today, you can bid on some JB related auction items. They include trips to meet James, tickets to the Open, autographed memorabilia and incredible other items. Bid away!!!
James and John Mayer were at Heineken's Share the Good event the other day. Here's an amusing report filed by People magazine.
August 19, 2008 - Fairfield, CT
James is back in the States and getting ready for the US Open, which starts on Monday.
Before the Open gets underway, James is doing a number of events with some of his sponsors. As part of the Pilot Pen tournament in New Haven Connecticut, James will be at Evian Day this Thursday at 1pm.
On Friday at 11am, James will be doing an event with Heineken. Details are forthcoming.
On Saturday he takes part in Arthur Ashe Kids Day at the tennis center at the Open.
More engagements and details are to follow, so stay tuned!
August 17, 2008 - Beijing
Despite finishing off his Olympic campaign yesterday with a loss to Djokovic in his quest for a Bronze medal, James has to feel proud of his play and having had the opportunity to be a part of the American team this Olympiad.
Now it's time to head back to the States for a few pre-US Open engagements: a fundraiser for Thinking Beyond Borders in Fairfield, CT and Arthur Ashe Kids Day.
August 15, 2008 - Beijing
Semi loss to Gonzalez of Chile 4-6, 7-5, 11-9
It can be both a blessing and a curse, but one of the most unique traits in all sports is the frequency and immediacy you can arrive at emotional plateaus.
Last night James was certainly at an all-time high, after beating Roger Federer for the first time ever. In a post match interview he thought the win might have been his best ever (alongside his Davis Cup finals win). Yet today I can't help but imagine he has to feel as though this is one of his most difficult losses ever. Obviously he'd be disappointed from the result, but componding the disappointment was a disputed non-call in a crucial game in the third set.
Yet, James gets to turn right around and go for a bronze medal tomorrow against the loser of the Nadal-Djokovic match being played now.
August 14, 2008- Beijing
Yessir!!!!!! James is on to the semifinals after beating Mr. Roger Federer today in Beijing 6-4, 7-6.
James was in top shelf form, and Roger continued his mysteriously sub-par play this year, and that translated to the straight set win for JB. Much more to come in the update department today, but for now, here are the match statistics.
So James has a great shot at earning a medal for the USA- send him your well wishes here: cdgriff@gmail.com
August 13, 2008 - Beijing
On to the Olympic quarterfinals! James took care of business today against Gilles Simon, his second win over the Frenchman in a few weeks. Score today was 6-4, 6-2.
James broke in the seventh game of the first set, and he got two breaks early in set two. James held tough in the final game of the match, facing numerous break points before polishing off Simon on his 5th match point opportunity.
Next up is Mr. Federer. Hopefully that gets some TV coverage tomorrow (today's match was relegated to the internet again).
August 12, 2008 - Beijing
A great win for James today over Slovakia's Dominik Hrbaty. The score was 7-6(3), 4-6, 6-3. The two hour eight minute match finished up around midnight Beijing time.
After being down a break early in the third, James came back to break Hrbaty three times in the decisive set to win it.
James faces Gilles Simon on court 2 tomorrow in the third match. That should start around 7-8am EST tomorrow morning. Hopefully NBColympics.com will have coverage.
August 10, 2008 - Beijing
James secured an opening round win at the Olympics on Sunday, beating Australian Chris Guccione 6-3, 7-6 (3).
I was hoping to catch some of the match on the internet at nbcolympics.com last night at 10:30pm EST, but a two hour rain delay proved a little too lengthy for me. The video quality on that website is pretty good actually- so check that out.
As best I can tell from the schedule (thanks to those of you who alerted me where to look), James will most likely play his first round doubles match with Sam Querrey on Monday and then his second round singles match on Tuesday.
James has updated his blog over at Yardbarker, check it out!
August 9, 2008 - Beijing
In case you missed it, James got a little TV time during the jaw dropping Opening Ceremonies last night in Beijing. If that spectacle (the Ceremonies, not James) didn't move you, time to check in with a doctor. For images from the preparations for the ceremony, check out the Bryan Brothers blog. And James has done some Yardbarker blogging as well.
The actual tennis gets underway Sunday. James plays at 10:30am, which is in about an hour and half (add 12 hours to the Eastern Time Zone).
August 5, 2008 - Off to Beijing
UPDATE- The singles draw is out! James has Australian Chris Guccione in the first round. James and Sam have Andreev and Davydenko in the doubles draw.
James is flying the friendly skies at the moment, off to Beijing from San Francisco. He's been in California for the past few days for his 'Olympic orientation'. Not sure what that consisted of, but hopefully he's all set when the tennis action gets underway on the 10th. Here's a short piece on James and the Olympics.
What does JB do in his time off from tennis you might wonder? Unbeknownst to me he designs water bottles for Evian! And now they're for sale!
July 31, 2008 - Cincinnati, OH
In his final US tournament before the US Open, James ended up on he wrong end of a 6-3 third set score today, losing to Ernests Gulbis. Yes, the same Ernests Gulbis who beat JB at the French Open.
Unfortunately this loss is going to hurt in the ranking department, as JB reached the final of Cincinnati last year, when he lost to Mr. Federer. So now it's off to China for some Olympic tennis. James was intent on playing in the Olympics this year since he missed the prior Olympiad (in '04 due to injury). I would imagine James will be doing some blogging from Beijing for Yardbarker. Definitely check out his blog if you haven't so far!
July 30, 2008 - Cincinnati, OH
James got the proceedings going today in Cincy, taking on Gilles Simon at 11am. One wonders if that's the tennis equivalent of the dreaded 8:30am college class. Well, in any case, JB aced this match, taking out the 'in form' Simon 4 and 3 in just over an hour.
So, with the day ahead of him, James has time to get the lawn mowed, complete that chair refinishing project, and pick up the kids from school. Actually, he'll probably take a couple naps and watch Sportscenter a few times before dinner, then get to bed early.
July 26, 2008 - Toronto, Canada
Tough day for JB yesterday, as he lost handily to Nicolas Kiefer 6-1, 6-2. I'm sure he won't exactly appreciate me digging this up, but it's the worst loss (score wise) he's had since 2005 in San Jose. James gave full credit to Kiefer, who he said played incredibly.
Nevertheless, this was James' best ever TMS Canada event, having lost in the second round the previous four times. And it's another quarterfinal or better this year for JB, his 10th.
So only one more tournament before the Olympics: Cincinnati. I just checked out the draw and surprise, surprise, JB gets the winner of Kiefer-Simon (who happen to be playing each other in the semis today in Toronto).
July 24, 2008 - Toronto, Canada
Hello fine citizens of the internets! Some pleasing news to report from the past 24 hours in JB Land. After dropping the first set 6-1 to Jonas Bjorkman, James came storming back to win his second round match 6-1, 6-2.
Perhaps James was slow at the opening bell again today, 'cause he was down 2-0 when I first started following today's match against Tursunov on the net. He lost the first set 6-4. Once again he rebounded for a 6-1 second set win, and then it was on to the third.
After holding his serve to open things up, the rains hit Toronto, and there was a delay of at least an hour or so. James got a break to go up 4-1, but Dmitry got back to level it at 4-4. James fought off some break points to reach 5-4. Tursunov had a 40-15 lead and reeled off four straight first serves...but James won each point to win the match 6-4 in the third! Not too shabby.
And the Mets beat the Phillies for the second day in a row to assume first place in the NL East making this webmaster very happy!
James has Nicolas Kiefer tomorrow at 1pm on Centre Court.
July 19, 2008 - Indianapolis, IN
A double update today for ya after I missed delivering James' quarterfinal result earlier today. First off- James won- yeah! Next up, James lost! Boo!
He made short work of Yen-Hsun Lu yesterday in the quarters, winning 6-2, 6-0. But today he faced defending champion Dmitry Tursunov and lost in three sets 4-6 6-3 6-4.
So James packs his bags and heads north of the border for some TMS Canada action in Toronto. James is the 7 seed and the draw is now out. I would imagine he'll play Tuesday or Wednesday.
While you bide your time waiting for James to hit the court in Canada, give this column a read, courtesy James' hometown paper, the Connecticut Post.
July 18, 2008 - Indianapolis, IN
Another quarterfinal for James this year; last night he took out Jun Woong-Sun 6-3, 7-5 in Indianapolis. Although he didn't rate his own play as 'spectacular,' JB moves on to face Yen-Hsun Lu.
Sorry I can't offer a whole lot more on these matches, but not seeing them puts a serious crimp on my descriptive abilities. Tonight's action is on the Tennis Channel, so maybe I can head over to the neighbors to check it out. The final is on ESPN2 this Sunday at 1pm.
If you're in the mood to see a rare sight, check out this video from last week's announcement regarding the establishment of the Thomas Blake Sr. Memorial Research Fund. Yes- that's James in a coat and tie!
July 16, 2008 Indianapolis, IN
James started his summer hard court season off successfully last night in Indy, winning 7-6, 6-2 over Dudi Sela. He advances to play Jun Woong-Sun of Korea on Thursday. Jun beat Chris Guccione of Australia 6-4, 7-6.
July 14, 2008 - Indianapolis, IN
James is in Indianapolis and has already gotten one match in- a doubles encounter with Sam Querrey against Hanley and Kerr. The good guys lost 6-4, 3-6, 6-10 unfortunately. James and Sam are playing together to prepare for the Olympics, where they will represent the USA alongside the Bryan brothers in doubles.
James' tour of duty in the singles draw gets underway tomorrow, when he faces Dudi Sela.
James has been keeping busy in Indianapolis by showing off his Harvard-worthy intellect. See more here.
July 8, 2008 - New York , NY
One Set, One Match, One Cure
Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center and world-ranked tennis player James Blake have joined forces to bring new resources to bear on the early diagnosis and treatment of cancer. With the support of his family, James established the Thomas Blake Sr. Memorial Research Fund, in memory of his father. The Blake Research Fund invests seed money in leading-edge science in order to speed up the most promising work and shorten the time it takes to turn laboratory discoveries into better treatments for patients.
To date, James and his family
have raised $500,000, and their goal is to reach the $1 million mark by the
end of 2008. Please join the Blake family in supporting Memorial Sloan-Kettering
and the Thomas Blake Sr. Memorial Research Fund. One hundred percent of every
dollar donated to the Fund goes directly to cancer research at Memorial Sloan-Kettering.
How to Help
You can support the Blake Research Fund by making a contribution online or by mail. You will be given the opportunity to make your contribution in honor or in memory of someone.
