Showing posts with label 2007 Davis Cup Win. Show all posts
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U.S. OPEN SERIES WINSTON-SALEM OPEN: James Blake And Donald Young Advance Easily On Tournament Inaugural Day
Monday, August 22, 2011
James Blake, USA
The inaugural Winston-Salem Open, a new tournament on the ATP World Tour, got underway on Sunday with five matches on the schedule. Two of those first-round matches were played and won byAmericans James Blake and Donald Young.
Blake ran his record in the city to a perfect 7-0 on Sunday night as he beat Mikhail Kukushkin 7-5, 6-1 in his first-round match in the Winston-Salem Open.
This came on Center Court at the new Wake Forest tennis complex, not across the street at Joel Coliseum, where Blake is unbeaten in six Davis Cup matches. But that didn’t seem to matter to the 31-year-old New Yorker.
"It’s great coming back here," Blake said. "Just across the street. It’s a little different being out in this heat and humidity, but it still feels great. The crowd obviously was incredibly supportive. A little different atmosphere than Davis Cup, but it’s still a lot of fun. I remember the area well and it’s good to be back and hopefully I’ll continue to play the way I did tonight, and maybe even better."
Blake won twice here in his Davis Cup debut in 2001 when the U.S. beat India in a relegation match. He tacked on two more wins in the U.S.’s quarterfinal win over Spain in 2007, then won two more in a quarterfinal win over France the following year.
"Winston-Salem has been good to me," he said. "It was such an emotional week that first time playing against India, right after 9-11, my first Davis Cup, with Andy Roddick. We had a blast. I still remember so much from that whole week, really. To be back here, it seems like not long ago, but it’s been over a decade, so that’s a little crazy. But it’s been a lot of fun from then to now, and hopefully I’ll get some more wins, too."
Blake started slowly against Kukushkin, who came into the match ranked No. 62 in the South African Airways ATP rankings.
"He has a second serve that I feel I can attack," Blake said. "One of my biggest weapons is my second serve return, being able to hurt guys with that and make them think about it a lot. I was able to do that today. I feel like the courts are pretty good for that. Hardcourts are always better for me, but these feel like they grab the ball a little bit and it gives me time to go after the second serve. Today it was effective. I feel like the only times I didn’t return it well were when I was just trying to get the ball in the court and was getting a little too tentative. Which is something I do less and less the more confident I am. But in the second set I was pretty confident going after him the whole time."
Confidence, Blake said, seems to be coming to him more and more as the summer goes on. He won two matches in Cincinnati last week before losing to Roger Federer in the third round.
"I’ve won a decent number of matches this summer and I’ve been playing pretty well and feeling like once you get into that routine, that rhythm of winning matches, it seems to snowball," Blake said. "You just feel when it’s 5-all you’re going to win that set. You just feel good out there on the court and you can go for your shots. That’s what happened at the end of the first set and then in the second."
Donald Young, USA
Donald Young needed just 68 minutes to close out a 6-3, 6-4 win over German Michael Berrer.
Source: winstonsalemopen.com
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Posted by Shelia at 3:51 AM Labels: 2007 Davis Cup Win, Andy Roddick, Donald Young, Inaugural Day, James Blake, Joel Coliseum, Michael Berrer, Roger Federer, Winston-Salem Open Email this post
Davis Cup Team Remains Unchanged
Friday, September 5, 2008
U.S. Davis Cup captain Patrick McEnroe was unswayed by recent events at Flushing Meadows when making up the team for the semifinal in Spain later this month. McEnroe passed over two hot-handed American men, Sam Querrey and Mardy Fish, and named the same team of Andy Roddick, James Blake and the doubles team of Bob and Mike Bryan to meet the Spaniards in Madrid as the Americans defend their 2007 title.
"I'm happy to see those guys doing well," McEnroe said of Querrey and Fish, who had breakthrough runs at the Open. "I hope those guys continue to put up good results and to make it a difficult decision for me in the future. But for this match it wasn't a difficult decision."
Fish beat Blake in the third round and made it to his first Open quarterfinal before falling to world No.1 Rafael Nadal. Querrey, a 20-year-old Californian, fell to Nadal in four sets in the fourth round. Blake remains the second-highest-ranked American, McEnroe argued. He also said he wanted to stay with a team he has used in 11 straight ties. "I want to go with the guys I think give us the best chance to win," McEnroe said. "At this point, I still thoroughly believe that Roddick and Blake give us the best chance."
Photo Getty Images
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Posted by Shelia at 2:43 AM Labels: 2007 Davis Cup Win, Andy Roddick, Australian Open Series James Blake, Bob Bryan, Mike Bryan, Patrick McEnroe Email this post
Go Gael Go!!!!
Tuesday, June 3, 2008
Yes, Yes, Yes! I told you all some good things were happening today.
Frenchman Gael Monfils took out Croatian Ivan Ljubicic to the tune of a 7-6(7/1), 4-6, 6-3, 6-2 win.
Gael now faces the probability of becoming the first Frenchman since Sebastien Grosjean in 2001 to reach the semi-finals of the French Open, the local crowd has been waiting 25 years for Yannick Noah's successor as a champion.
"It is fabulous, incredible, I am deeply moved," Monfils said in a courtside interview.
"What is coming next will also be beautiful."
"It was a good match," he said. "I'm not thinking about [reaching the quarter-finals]. As I always say, it's a victory.
"I have a very difficult match in two days, but for me it doesn't matter if it's a quarter-final or something else.
"It's just a big match and I might reach the semi-final."
Read the rest of this post...........Posted by Shelia at 2:38 AM Labels: 2007 Davis Cup Win, French Open, Gael Monfils, Roland Garros, Yannick Noah Email this post
Gael And Robby, There Is Still Hope: It's Not Over!
Saturday, May 31, 2008
I'm shocked too Gael! And very pleased at the same time.
It's a new day and I'm refocused after Friday's debacle. There is some light at the tournament and a lot of shouting factor remains.
Frenchman Gael Monfils and American Robby Ginepri are two of my favorites on the tour. They have hung in there, gotten the job done and I shall begin supporting and celebrating accordingly. Yesterday is gone.
Both gentlemen are into the fourth round and that is definitely something to shout about. So YAAAAAAY!!!
Robby Ginepri defeated Frenchman Florent Serra 6-4, 6-4, 6-4; Gael Monfils defeated Austrian Jurgen Melzer 4-6, 7-5, 4-6, 6-0, 6-2.
Work it out guys, work it out!
Posted by Shelia at 1:29 PM Labels: 2007 Davis Cup Win, French Open, Gael Monfils, Robby Ginepri, Roland Garros Email this post
Monfils Says No To Aces From Karlovic
Thursday, April 24, 2008
Frenchman Gael Monfils did not concede one ace against 6' 10'' Ivo Karlovic in a 7-6(8), 6-1 win over the Croatian. It was the first time in Karlovic's 225-match ATP career that he had failed to serve an ace in a match.
Monfils, who has not won a tournament since his first ATP title in Sopot almost three years ago, had won just two matches this season before arriving in Monte Carlo.
"I was stressed about Karlovic's game because I wanted to make him play as many balls as possible because I know he's not so good at that. But thinking about that stressed me, and I played too short."
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Posted by Shelia at 3:44 AM Labels: 2007 Davis Cup Win, Gael Monfils, Monte Carlo Masters Series Email this post
Muhammad On The Move
Friday, March 7, 2008
Sweet Sixteen Asia Muhammad is into the semifinals at the Tennis Channel Open in Las Vegas, Nevada, also her home town.
After a two hour and twenty-one minute match, Asia defeated Russian Ekaterina Bychkova 3-6, 7-6(5), 6-4. Ms. Asia is showing some stamina already. Go for it girl!!
Posted by Shelia at 6:48 PM Labels: 2007 Davis Cup Win, Asia Muhammad, Tennis Channel Open Email this post
Haynes And Washington Into Memphis Final, The Young One Knocked Out
Friday, February 29, 2008
Americans Angela Haynes and Mashona Washington have teamed together to play good game at the Regions Morgan Keegen Tennis Championships in Memphis, Tennessee. The doubles team defeated American Varvara Lepchenko and Russian Evgeniya Rodina 6-3, 6-1.
Haynes and Washington have their work cut out for them tomorrow. Their opponents are none other than fellow Americans Lindsay Davenport and Lisa Raymond. Get some rest tonight ladies, you're gonna need it!
On the men's side of the same tournament, the Young one made it to the quarterfinal round, but did not pack enough punch to finish off Swede Jonas Bjorkman. Bjorkman defeated American Donald Young 1-6, 6-2, 7-6(6).
Young had match point on Bjorkman at 5-6 in the tiebreaker, but the veteran played very smart on the next few big points, and it was Young who would finish himself off by hitting a backhand into the net. Of course Young took the cause of the error out on the usual culprit, his racket.
When asked about the possibility of being in the semifinal and whether that was on his mind, Young said "I was definitely thinking about it ...... how could you not? .... But I still had to play and win the point. He wasn't going to give it to me. He took it."
That's okay Donald, you dramatically improved your match play in this tournament. Keep it going!
Posted by Shelia at 6:19 PM Labels: 2007 Davis Cup Win, Angela Haynes, Defeat, Donald Young, Final, Mashona Washington, Quarterfinal, re, Regions Morgan Keegan Championships Email this post
Wordless Wednesday: "More Davis Cup"
Tuesday, December 4, 2007
Posted by Shelia at 7:16 PM Labels: 2007 Davis Cup Win Email this post
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