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from the Dallas Star - April 3, 2002 by Chip Brown It All Comes Together James Blake is a walking Benetton ad. He is a confluence of cultures and charisma. He's black. He's American. He's half British. He spent the first six years of his life on the crime-infested streets of Yonkers, N.Y., and eventually went on to Harvard. He learned tennis at the Harlem Junior Tennis Program, where Althea Gibson got her start, and used to sneak into the U.S. Open at Flushing Meadow. Now he plays on its featured courts. This weekend, he will put his 4-0 Davis Cup record on the line when the United States faces Spain in a quarterfinal tie at the Westside Tennis Club in Houston. "The strides James has made have been phenomenal," said U.S. Davis Cup captain Patrick McEnroe. "He's exceeded my original expectations of him when he came on the team. And I believe he can continue to get a lot better." Blake's unconventional assault on tennis includes overcoming scoliosis and a ridicule-inducing back brace and becoming a fashion model for IMG, which also represents the likes of Tyra Banks and Heidi Klum. Last year, at the U.S. Open, Blake nearly toppled eventual champion Lleyton Hewitt of Australia in a five-set, second-round marathon. But it was the way Blake handled a potentially explosive situation involving a comment by Hewitt perceived by some as racist that showed that Blake may be a reason to watch men's tennis again. The ATP Tour is so hungry to promote fresh talent, it launched a campaign last year - with questionable taste - titled "New Balls, Please." It's clear that ATP officials are hoping Blake, 22, can maintain his current trajectory up the rankings because they feel he is a compelling ambassador for the sport as well as a star in the making with appeal that transcends tennis. Even though he has not yet won a tournament, Blake has climbed from No. 212 to No. 42 in just more than a year. When he reached the final in Memphis this year, losing to fellow up-and-coming American Andy Roddick in three sets, Blake became the first black man to reach an ATP Tour final since MaliVai Washington lost in the 1996 Wimbledon final. Game honed in Harlem
Blake learned to play tennis
in the Harlem Junior Tennis Program,where Blake's father continues to
serve as a volunteer. Blake's family moved to a middle-class neighborhood
in Fairfield, Conn., when he was 6, but he returned to Harlem every
Sunday to play tennis until "Looking back, they worked us pretty hard," Blake said. "I realize some of the kids at the tennis academies are working a lot harder for six hours a day. But for kids who had no aspirations of being professional tennis players, we were taught a solid work ethic." Growing up, James and his older brother, Thomas, always had a curfew. Betty Blake said her boys didn't understand why they had to be home earlier than their friends. "I think it's hard for any white person to understand what it's like to be black in America," Betty said. "The boys' father always wanted them home before it got too late because he was concerned that if there was any trouble, the police would pick on our kids because they were black." Unlike most stars in pro tennis today, James Blake went to college. Education was a top priority of Tom and Betty Blake, and it paid off as James followed his older brother to Harvard. Thomas was the team's No. 1 singles player and convinced his younger brother he could balance tennis and academics. He was right. After two years at Harvard, James reached the NCAA singles final and decided to follow his brother again by turning pro. James plans on going back to finish his degree when his career is over, "hopefully in about 10 years," he said with a chuckle. "In this era of tennis, you get a lot of young people who forego their education and risk their lives on a tennis career," said Carlos Fleming, Blake's agent at IMG. "A lot of times, tennis is described as a rich-kid sport. That's deceiving. Anna Kournikova's and Andre Agassi's families weren't rich. The Capriatis aren't wealthy people. But they and their kids risked their lives on tennis. James didn't do that." It is that well-rounded,
grounded approach to life that has helped Blake take everything in stride.
Take his modeling career. He is "I'm not taking it
very seriously," Blake said. "I don't really see myself in
that light. I don't feel like I'm far from being a 5-foot-3 The back brace was the option
he chose to treat severe scoliosis from the time he was 12 until he
was 18. It was either that or tennis- Even now, he works to keep his back and stomach in "great shape" because his spine still bothers him on long flights. "I know having to wear that brace made him tougher because of the abuse he took from other kids," said his coach, Brian Barker, who has worked with Blake since he was 12. "He's used to having to grind through things." Keeping his cool Blake has gained a reputation
on the ATP Tour for having a giant forehand, an improving backhand and
a jovial disposition. His benevolent spirit became evident at last year's
U.S. Open, when he was leading Hewitt, two sets to one, in their second-round
match. Hewitt later said he made no such statement, and Blake took his word, diffusing a potentially ugly situation. Andre Agassi credited Blake with teaching everyone a lesson in class. "My parents think I might be a little too naïve and too forgiving at times," Blake said. "But I give people the benefit of the doubt. And if that's what Lleyton had to say after having time to think about it, then that's fine. We have moved past that. Hopefully, we have 10 years together on tour. Maybe one of these times, I'll actually beat him." Asked if he has encountered racism on the ATP Tour, Blake replied, "For me to say there is still a ton of racism on tour would be disrespectful to Arthur Ashe and MaliVai Washington, and all the things they've gone through. "I haven't seen the things they saw. I feel progress is being made. I've heard comments that sound more uneducated than anything else." Blake is the first black
man to crack the top 50 since Washington did it on June 23, 1997. Blake
knows the number of black men to have He feels the pressure to succeed. But he says that's a good thing. "I look at pressure
as a positive," Blake said. "Pressure only means that people
care about what you're doing and there's an opportunity |
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