Black Tennis Pros

BEIJING (AP) — James Blake could shrug off the three match points he failed to convert, and even the misfire on an easy forehand that would have given him a berth in the Olympic final.

What stuck in his craw was the notion his opponent didn't play fair.

Blake came up one shot short Friday, losing in the semifinal to Fernando Gonzalez of Chile 4-6, 7-5, 11-9. Afterward he accused Gonzalez of failing to fess up on a disputed point two games before the finish.

"I've spoken all week about how much I've enjoyed the Olympic experience, how much I love the spirit of it," Blake said. "That's a disappointing way to exit the tournament, when you not only lose the match, but you lose a little faith in your fellow competitor."

Actually, the No. 8-seeded Blake remains in the tournament. A first-time Olympian at 28, he'll play for a bronze Saturday as the last hope for a U.S. medal in men's or women's singles.

Gonzalez, seeded 12th, will play in Sunday's final against Rafael Nadal, who clinched his first Olympic medal by beating Novak Djokovic 6-4, 1-6, 6-4.

Venus and Serena Williams won twice to reach the semifinals in doubles, but the U.S. team lost its other matches. Top-seeded Mike and Bob Bryan were beaten in the semifinals by Roger Federer and Stanislas Wawrinka, 7-6 (6), 6-4. The Swiss team clinched at least a silver — the first medal for Federer in the three Olympics he has played.

Americans Lindsay Davenport and Liezel Huber were eliminated in the doubles quarterfinals.

The incident that upset Blake occurred with Gonzalez serving at 8-9 in the final set. On the first point, Blake hit a backhand passing shot long but contended the ball ticked Gonzalez's racket before landing, as TV replays confirmed.

Blake appealed in vain to the chair umpire, and said Gonzalez should have conceded the point. Blake went on to lose the game to make it 9-all.

"Playing in the Olympics, in what's supposed to be considered a gentleman's sport, that's a time to call it on yourself," Blake said. "Fernando looked me square in the eye and didn't call it."

Gonzalez said he was uncertain whether the ball hit his racket.

"I didn't feel anything," Gonzalez said. "I mean, it's just one point. There is an umpire. If I'm 100 percent sure about it, I mean, I will give it. But I'm not sure."

Blake described Gonzalez as a great player who does everything in his power to win, "usually" within the rules.

"Whatever he wants to say is fine," Blake said. "Whatever is going to get him to have some sleep tonight, then that's fine."

New No. 1 Jelena Jankovic lost in the women's quarterfinals to No. 6 Dinara Safina of Russia, 6-2, 5-7, 6-3. Safina won her 14th match in a row and will play Li Na of China in the semifinals Saturday.

The other women's semifinal will be an all-Russian matchup between No. 5 Elena Dementieva and No. 9 Vera Zvonareva.

Nadal came to Beijing assured of earning the No. 1 ranking for the first time next week, ending Federer's 4 1/2-year reign. Now the Spaniard is one win from adding an Olympic title to the French Open and Wimbledon championships he has already claimed this year.

It was after midnight when Nadal closed out his latest victory in dramatic fashion. On match point he scrambled to retrieve two overhead slams by Djokovic. When the flustered Serb shanked a third overhead, Nadal collapsed to the hard court in jubilation.

"When I arrived here, I didn't expect for sure to be in this final. I arrived very tired," Nadal said. "But when the week is coming, I felt better and better. I'm very happy to have this experience in my life."

Federer, eliminated in singles Thursday by Blake, kept alive his bid for a medal by winning a rain-interrupted match with Wawrinka over Mahesh Bhupathi and Leander Paes of India 6-2, 6-4. Six hours later the Swiss team defeated the Bryan brothers.

"Having beaten the best in the world and going for gold, it's an incredible scenario," Federer said. "This is a big moment in my career."

The Williams sisters, both eliminated in singles Thursday, completed a suspended second-round doubles match and beat Ayumi Morita and Ai Sugiyama of Japan, 7-5, 6-2. The Williamses then defeated Zvonareva and Elena Vesnina 6-4, 6-0.

Davenport and Huber lost to Anabel Medina Garriguez and Virginia Ruano Pascual of Spain 5-7, 7-6 (6), 8-6.

Blake and Gonzalez played the first match on center court, and there was tension between them as early as the second set, when Gonzalez slammed an easy forehand at his opponent's head from point-blank range.

Blake glared at Gonzalez, who apologized. Afterward Blake said he was upset only in the "heat of the moment."

As for the later point of dispute, the match wouldn't have reached that stage had Blake converted one of his three match points after Gonzalez fell behind 5-6, love-40 serving in the final set.

At 10-9 it was Gonzalez who struggled to convert match points, but on the fifth one he smacked a service winner for the victory.

"It was really one or two points, and who played those one or two points better," Blake said. "Today he did at the end."

After beating Federer, Blake showed no sign of an upset hangover. He served well, winning 15 consecutive service points at one stretch, and repeatedly negated the big-swinging Chilean's forehand by pinning him deep in baseline rallies.

Blake even pulled off a nifty trick shot, retreating to retrieve a lob and hitting a back-to-the-net, between-the-legs forehand. Gonzalez was so startled he dumped an easy forehand into the net.

Three times in the second set, Blake was two points from victory. But the best opportunity came in the third set, when he went for a winner on his first match point and sailed a forehand long.

Gonzalez then hit four winners in a row to hold for 6-all, and eight games later he was thrusting his arms to sky after clinching a medal.

BEIJING (AFP) — Former Olympic tennis champion Lindsay Davenport pulled out of the Beijing singles tournament on Friday with a knee injury, a US official said.

The 1996 gold medallist has been struggling with the problem since it forced her to withdraw from Wimbledon.

"It's still complications from the knee injury that forced her to pull out of Wimbledon," a team spokesman said.

"There's concern about being able to play potentially 11 matches on it."

It was not clear whether Davenport, who remains in the doubles tournament, would be fit for the US Open on August 25.

The 32-year-old former world number one, who returned to the circuit last year after giving birth to a baby boy, has previously said she had "no plans" beyond the Olympics and the US Open.

Davenport remains in the doubles competition where she will partner Liezel Huber. She earlier spoke about her injury without announcing a pull-out.

"It's doing a bit better. I've been resting it since I hurt it at Wimbledon," she told a press conference on Friday.

"For me it's a thrill to be back no matter what happens."

The six-foot-two-and-a-half (1.89m) Californian is a luminary of the women's game after winning Grand Slams in three consecutive years between 1998 and 2000.

She returned to the circuit in September after giving birth to baby Jagger last June and has won in Auckland and Memphis this year, taking her career total to 55.

Davenport picked up the knee problem playing in Eastbourne in July and was forced to withdraw from Wimbledon after her first-round win against Czech player Renata Voracova.

"There's two events that I've been wanting to play since I've been back," she said at the time.

"The Olympics were number one. That's on the forefront of my mind. To play in New York another time. After that, I have no plans."

On Friday, Davenport said the Olympics were the longest time she had been away from her baby.

"It just wasn't feasible for it to happen. I figure this is probably one of the last times it'll be that way so I'm looking forward to taking advantage of it," she said.

"Unfortunately it just didn't work out this time. They're with me in spirit."

Alright, I'm going to tell you all right now that you might as well get used to a multitude of photos and a whole lot of USA, USA, USA from me. Between my love for the Olympics and plenty of photos from Bob Bryan's iPhone, there will be Olympic overload here at Black Tennis Pro's.

Let me say this up front, while I love the players from all over the world when regular tennis tournaments are being played, they can kick rocks during the Olympics, lol. Right now it is all about Team USA. It's on!!

With Venus at the tennis venue.

Arriving in the village.

In the cafeteria.

Food of champions!

In the spotlight.

8 a.m. team meeting.

Here are few candids of the U.S. Tennis Team before leaving the U.S. and after arriving in Beijing. Some of the shots are from Bob Bryan's iPhone. Bob will be blogging from the Olympics.

Welcome monitors at check in.

Our illustrious team!

Preparing to go to Beijing.

James Blake, Bob and Mike Bryan arrive in Beijing.

Venus Williams was escorted past dozens of waiting photographers as the American team arrived at the airport.

Lindsay Davenport made her way through the airport as the American team arrived.

A general exterior view of the Beijing Olympic Green Tennis Center ahead of the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games.

Serena Williams says her father and one of her doctors have advised against playing because of her injured left knee, but she still wants to go forward with the East West Bank Classic at Carson.

Williams said she had an MRI afterward [Bank of the West Classic] and it showed an inflamed joint as a result of overwork, and she acknowledged that her father Richard and one of her doctors did not want her playing on it.

"He's always really passive and I'm more aggressive," Williams said of her father's approach to injuries. Both her older sister, Venus, and Lindsay Davenport withdrew from the Carson tournament on Friday because of injured right knees.

"It's the first time all year I pulled out with a knee injury and I've been doing really well all year," she said. "Maybe it's just saying, 'Serena, take a three-day vacation.' "

When that knee talks, it's good to listen, based on history.

Because Williams has a first-round bye at Carson she can give the knee an extra day of rest and start Wednesday.

Injuries and outside interests have cut into her tournament play over the years, and interestingly, the light playing schedule could extend the careers of Venus and Serena.

Serena, at least on this day, was sounding more committed than she has in some time, looking to add to her eight Grand Slam singles titles.

"I don't feel like I'm making up for lost time," she said. "I just feel like this is what I want to do. What I want to do is play tennis and just play tournaments for this year and several years."

Despite the specter of suspensions and fines, this is a sport of diplomacy. In this case, a player can mitigate the penalty by doing half a day of promotional activity within 125 miles from the tournament site and has a year to fulfill the obligation.

"I think it's good because it works all the way around, if you can't go to another tournament because of an injury," Williams said.

Said the WTA's Chief Executive Larry Scott: "We have to have a rule that applies to all players and all tournaments. But at the same time, we need to think about all types of circumstances. One of the positive things is that we're getting out of the business of trying to decide what's a legitimate injury and a legitimate reason. Because it's very difficult.

"Trying to determine when a player could have played . . . you play God. No one can do that fairly."