Across The Net: James Blake’s Curious Ups and Downs

Posted by Dan Martin on 03.26.2007

It has always been easy to pull for James Blake. It is not always easy to know what to expect from Blake.

James Blake first made his mark on the tennis tour with a 2001 five set loss to eventual U.S. Open champion Lleyton Hewitt. In that match, Hewitt may or may not have made a racially charged comment about an African-American linesman calling the match in favor of Blake. Whatever Hewitt's intentions were, Blake made life easier for Hewitt by defusing the situation.

That incident made me want to know more about the young player. Blake had played for Harvard but dropped out to play professional tennis – when is men's tennis going to enact an age limit like the NBA? Oh, yeah men's tennis is not crazy. At any rate in the summer of 2002, James Blake beat Andre Agassi en route to his first ever ATP title in Washington, DC. Blake once again faced Lleyton Hewitt at the U.S. Open and pushed the fiery Aussie to five sets. I watched that match and Blake reminded me of a right-handed Thomas Muster. Blake hit a huge forehand, moved well and used a physical approach to tennis to win points. He did not have Muster's irascibility, but the rest of his game seemed somewhat like Muster's.

Blake had reasonable results after 2002, but tragedy struck. In 2004, Blake lost his father, fractured vertebrae in a freak accident and suffered from illness. It looked as though Blake's career was over. In 2005, he righted the ship losing to his nemesis Hewitt at the Australian Open, but taking a set off of him in the process. Blake geered up for big things during the 2005 summer. He was runner-up in DC and won a title in New Haven, CT. He then pushed Andre Agassi to five sets in an instant U.S. Open classic. Blake followed that momentum with a title in Sweeden and a rising ranking.

2006 looked even better for Blake. He started the year winning an Australian Open tune-up event in Sydney. Blake bounced back from a poor Australian Open to win in Las Vegas (this time beating Hewitt!). Blake reached the finals of the Indian Wells Masters Series event. Blake is not a clay court aficionado, but he finished as a runner-up at Queen's Club on grass and looked poised to have a nice Wimbledon. Blake once again lost early in a major, but the summer hard court season was close at hand. Blake beat Andy Roddick to win Indianapolis, but then lost a series of strange matches. He looked to be out of contention, but managed to reach the U.S. Open quarterfinals pushing Federer to four sets.

Blake's up and down streaks continued. He won Stockholm again and took the crown in Bangkok. Blake ruffed up the field at the Masters Cup and finished second to Federer at an event reserved for the top 8 players in the world. Blake has already won a title in 2007. He looked poised to have a big Australian Open.

Then a downward trend hit. Blake lost early in Australia, lost early at Indian Wells and has already lost in Miami. His ranking appears to be headed outside of the top ten.

What can anyone make of James Blake?

He can play awesome tennis that centers on a massive forehand, great movement and the daringness to go for big shots. Blake can use the crowd to his advantage in matches and his grass court wins over Andy Roddick and his clay court win over Nicholas Almagro demonstrate he is not simply a hard court guy. His athleticism and explosiveness are matched by a certain lack of stamina. Blake has never won a match that has reached a fifth set. On one day he can push Federer and the next lose to a journeyman on U.S. soil. Blake is not by any means incapable of big wins. He is 3-0 vs. Rafael Nadal. In fact, he has won 7 of the 8 sets in his matches vs. Nadal. He is also perhaps the most streaky player on the tour.

My guess is that most of Blake's streakiness comes from a lack of confidence. Blake was not groomed to be a top 5 player in the world. He did not expect the success he has had. His loss to Agassi at the 2005 U.S. Open had as much to do with Blake getting tight as it did with Agassi's courage. Against Federer in 2006 at Indian Wells and the Masters Cup, he got wiped out once Federer got on top of him. At some level, Blake seems to be incapable of believing he is as good as he is. If Blake finds his confidence, he might cash in his chips and win a huge event. The problem is that Blake is 27 years old. He is older than most of the players in the top 20. Breaking through on your first Grand Slam at 27 or 28 years of age seems unlikely. With Blake however, probability seems to have little to do with his current results.