Black Tennis Pros

This is one loss that American James Blake can take with a grain of salt. We literally watched a man without a plan come into the Estoril Open and establish and execute a grand plan.

After his semifinal match was suspended on Saturday because of rain, darkness and who knows what else, Blake came back on Sunday and finished the job, defeating Davydenko 6-7(3), 7-6(2), 6-3.

Not long thereafter Blake had to return to the court to play the final against Spainard Albert Montanes. Montanes saved two match points at 4-5 in the second set and came back to beat 5-7, 7-6(6), 6-0 just over two hours.

Yeah well, he didn't have to play two matches either (sour grapes). Congratulations to Montanes and to Blake. Blake had an absolutely fabulous run and made my tennis for the year thus far.



“Tennis is a game of inches,” said Blake. “If he missed the line by one inch on one of the match points, I would have won. It didn’t and he gained confidence. It happens to every player. Today, it happened to me in the final. With the exception of one bad set I played some high-level tennis all week.

“Of course I’m disappointed in a loss. But I’m going to try and look back in the next couple of days and think about it positively. I came in here with very little confidence on clay, having lost my last two matches. At least now I won my last four matches and put myself in a position to win a clay-court tournament. I couldn’t take advantage of it, but I will go onto next week’s tournament with a lot more confidence and try and duplicate the results.”

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MADRID (AFP) — American James Blake continued his fine form on clay by reaching the first European clay final of his career with a 6-7 (3/7), 7-6 (7/2), 6-3 win over Nikolay Davydenko at the Estoril Open on Sunday.

Blake, who had never advanced beyond the quarter-finals on the continent before, won a rain-delayed semi-final over two days and now faces a last test in the title match later on Sunday.

The fourth seed will face experienced clay campaigner Alberto Montanes, the Spanish seventh seed, who booked his spot in the final on Saturday.

Blake trailed by a set to 2003 winner Davydenko but took a 4-2 lead in the second before darkness on Saturday finally forced the contest off court after a frustrating afternoon of rain.

Davydenko, who lost the 2008 final to Roger Federer at the Estadio Nacional, levelled at 4-4 upon their return as the Russian's vast experience on the surface looked like paying off.

But the newly confident Blake fought through a second-set tiebreaker, sweeping into a third set after the Russian put a backhand wide.

Blake consolidated in the third set, sewing up his personal best performance on the surface in two and a half hours.

The American and Montanes have never met, while the 28-year-old Spaniard tries to improve a 13-13 season record and bids for a second title from a sixth career final.

Blake holds a 10-12 career record in finals as he plays only his second on clay after losing last year in Houston.

Blake becomes the second American to reach an Estoril final since Todd Martin in 1999.

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American James Blake and Russian Nikolay Davydenko are going through it in their semifinal match at the Estoril Open in Estoril, Portugal. Rain caused the first suspension and darkness the second.

The match is currently suspended in the second set with Blake up 4-2. Davydenko took the first set 7-6(3).

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A wonderfully resurgent James Blake has found his footing and a seemingly new attitude - actually his old one - in Estoril, Portugal at the Estoril Open. Blake knocked Frenchman Florent Serra out of the tournament 6-4, 6-1.

With very little fanfare after quite a few recent early round loses, Blake has moved through this tournament as if previous court failings did not exist. It can't be easy to suffer so many loses and maintain the fortitude that originally took him to the top ten.

Whatever has or has not occurred, Blake is an exciting player that lifts the heat level of any tournament when he plays like he has this week. It is a pleasure to see.

This is a high for Blake, getting past the quarterfinal round on European clay. This effort has granted him a meeting with Russian Nikolay Davydenko whom Blake has a winning record against.

Post match Blake said, "This was a good match but I hope to continue that. Davydenko is a great player and he's especially dangerous on clay. But I feel I'm ready for this match."

"My game has gotten better and better all week and I'm really dictating like I want to on court."

In his interview Davydenko said, "Physically I'm not as strong as I can be but mentally I'm very tough. I've never had such a long time away from tennis in my career.

"But since I've come back I've been playing well. Everything's not about tennis anymore for me, I have family and other interests.

"Now, I hardly think about my matches, I just go out and play relaxed. For me, it doesn't matter how you are playing, it's your mental state. It's always in your head."

These two gentlemen set up the makings of what could be a tremendous match, I hope it turns out that way.

American Venus Williams and Russian Dinara Safina

In Rome at the Internazionali BNL D'Italia, American Venus Williams successfully toiled her way to the semifinals where she was defeated today by Russian Dinara Safina 6-7(3), 6-3, 6-4.

Throughout this tournament Venus has shown the tough metal that we have come to know her for over the years. While it wasn't sufficient to pull out the championship in Rome, it should signal that she will be a tough competitor as the clay court season further heats up.

Post match Venus said, "She played well, continued to fight for every point. That's what you have to do on this surface," she said. "I congratulate her on playing good tennis the whole match."

Another aspect of Venus that we've come to know and expect - dignity.

Photos by:
Francisco Leong/AFP/Getty Images (James Blake)
Ryan Pierse/Getty Images (Venus Williams)

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