Black Tennis Pros

James Blake, USA Davis Cup Press Conference
(Photos by Getty Images)

POREC, Croatia – Now that the sting of losing Davis Cup stalwart Andy Roddick is out of the way, the United States has re-grouped, come together as a team and begun its preparations to play in the 2009 Davis Cup Quarterfinals against Croatia.

The match-up took a dramatic turn on Monday when Roddick was replaced by Mardy Fish in the U.S. lineup. Roddick suffered an injured right hip flexor during his five-set loss to Roger Federer in the Wimbledon men’s singles final.

Fish, who had just returned home from England to Tampa, Fla., following the Wimbledon doubles semifinals with partner James Blake, received the news late on Sunday from U.S. Captain Patrick McEnroe that he was needed to play against Croatia.

“We are certainly disappointed that Roddick could not come to play,” said McEnroe at the team press conference on Tuesday. “He’s been a Davis Cup stalwart for many, many years, so we’ll miss him. We are certainly very happy and confident with the team that we have that we have a good chance to get a win this week.”

Last year, playing in his first Davis Cup match since the 2004 final, Fish filled in for an injured Bob Bryan and partnered with Mike Bryan to win the doubles, keeping the U.S. alive against Spain in the 2008 semifinals.

“Part of Davis Cup is being able to have other players step in,” said McEnroe. “That is what Croatia is doing in some way, and we’re doing the same. We have guys that have a lot of experience and have played a lot of big matches for us in Davis Cup.

“It is a great opportunity for these guys to do it without Andy. It’s a big challenge for us, but we’re excited about the challenge. We’re all a team. Everyone is going to pull their weight. They’re going to have to pull a little more weight this time.”

The 2009 Davis Cup by BNP Paribas quarterfinal tie between the United States and Croatia will take place from Friday, July 10, to Sunday, July 12, in Porec, Croatia, at the Zatika Sports Hall on a temporary indoor clay court.

Croatia is 2-0 against the United States in Davis Cup, making it the only country that the United States has not beaten and also the only country to have a winning record against the U.S. Davis Cup team.

Roddick had played in 18 consecutive Davis Cup matches, tied for the second longest streak in U.S. Davis Cup history with current teammate Mike Bryan.

“Andy has had a very tough recovery from Wimbledon,” said McEnroe. “He injured his right hip flexor a little bit during the match. He is pretty spent physically and emotionally.”

Coincidentally, the only other tie Roddick has missed since joining the U.S. Davis Cup team was the 2003 first round at Croatia after suffering a wrist injury during his epic five-set win over Younes El Aynaoui en route to the Australian Open semifinals.

Without Roddick, the U.S. will look to Blake to fill in as its No. 1 singles player. In a recent playing slump, including a first-round loss at Wimbledon, Blake is looking to rebound against the Croatians and carry that momentum into the Olympus US Open Series and US Open.

“I feel good about it now,” said the 17^th-ranked Blake. “I put that first-round loss way behind me. Luckily I have had a couple of weeks to distance myself from that. Hopefully here will get me going on the right track going into the summer.”

Also missing one of their key players, former top 10-ranked player Mario Ancic, the Croatians will be led by Marin Cilic and Ivo Karlovic, both coming off excellent performances at Wimbledon.

“Mario Ancic is not here, and he is very important for us as a team leader,” said Croatian Captain Goran Prpic. “We will try as much as possible to take advantage of Roddick not being here, but I don't agree that we are favorites right now. It seems that many people now think we only have to walk on the court, and that's it. It is an open tie. We have quality, there's no doubt about it, but so does the U.S. team. We can win all four singles matches, and we can lose all four."

“Croatia has a great team,” said McEnroe. “(Marin) Cilic and (Ivo) Karlovic are very, very good players. Obviously, them playing at home, the home team always has a slight advantage. But we have a lot of experience playing Davis Cup and playing against their players. I think it is a pretty even match.”

Blake is a career 2-3 against Karlovic and 2-0 against Cilic. Fish lost to Cilic in the 2008 Pilot Pen Tennis final, their only meeting, and is a career 1-4 against Karlovic.

The order of play will be determined on Thursday at the draw ceremony, scheduled to be held at 1 p.m. local time at the Istrian Council House in Porec.

The weekend schedule consists of two singles matches on Friday (10 a.m. ET), the doubles match on Saturday (9:30 a.m. ET), and two reverse singles matches on Sunday (10 a.m. ET).

Tennis Channel will air live daily coverage of Friday’s and Sunday’s singles matches at 10 a.m. ET. Saturday’s doubles match will air live at 9:30 a.m. ET.

Tennis Channel will continue its Davis Cup primetime tradition and rebroadcast matches nightly at 8 p.m. ET.

No, not a law firm, but a significant doubles match between four Americans.

Top seeds Bob and Mike Bryan survived a match tie-break against close friends James Blake and Mardy Fish before advancing Friday night to the final of the U.S. Men's Clay Court Championships in Houston. The Bryans rallied from a break down in the second set to force a tie-break, but ultimately had to go the distance to close out a 5-7, 7-6(5), 10-4 win after saving six of seven break points.

The Bryans improved to a 25-3 match record on the year and now are one win away from their fourth title of the year and their second title in Houston (2007).

The twins improved to 3-0 lifetime against their countrymen and now will play the first all-American doubles final in Houston since 2004 against Jesse Levine and Ryan Sweeting, who defeated Australians Ashley Fisher and Jordan Kerr 3-6, 6-3, 10-4.

Past champions James Blake and Mardy Fish rallied to defeat wild card duo Amer Delic and Robert Kendrick 4-6, 6-4, 10-7 in an all-American first round match Monday at the US Men’s Clay Court Championship, an ATP World Tour 250 tennis tournament.

Blake and Fish clinched the Houston title on their team’s event debut in 2004 (d. Leach-MacPhie), and were also semi-finalists in ’06. The two are playing together for the second time this year; they reached the semi-finals in February at San Jose, but withdrew prior to the match due to Blake’s right ankle injury.

March 16, 2009 - James Blake

Hello once again. I hope everyone is doing well. It’s been a very good tournament so far. The crowds have been amazing and the weather has been great.

I managed to get through my first match even though I lost the second set. It was nice and warm during the day, but I played the second match of the evening session and it was a cool night, which made the conditions a little bit slower. I was happy to win and now I can focus on my next match.

When you play on the tour, there are no easy matches, no matter who you play. Sometimes you might see a score of a match that may look like an easy win, but I’ll tell you with the depth in men’s professional tennis these days, there are no easy wins and every match is tough.

In my first blog earlier this week, I mentioned that this tournament will always be special for me because I reached the final here in 2006, but there is something that happened in nearby Rancho Mirage at the beginning of my pro career that was also very special.

It was back in 2000, the year after I turned pro, when I came to the desert to play in a USTA Challenger at the Mission Hills Country Club. The week before, I had lost to Andy (Roddick) in the second round at a Challenger in Burbank, but in Rancho Mirage everything started to click.

I beat Bob Bryan in the first round and I went on to reach the finals, where I beat Cecil Mamiit to win the tournament. It was the second Challenger title of my career. I remember getting the winners’ check for $3,600, but the important thing was the confidence it gave me. It was a really good feeling I had knowing that I could compete on the tour with those guys.

One interesting thing I remember from that tournament was that Bob (Bryan) was debating just concentrating more on doubles. I have to smile knowing I may have had something to do with him and his brother becoming one of the best doubles teams of all-time.

For sports fans, this is an awesome time of the year. Besides all of the tennis going on, there is the upcoming NCAA men’s basketball tournament. I always get together with friends and fill out tournament brackets.

If you didn’t already know, I’m a big North Carolina Tar Heels fan and I’m pretty happy they got the top seed in the South region. I hope they go all the way this year.

Besides following the basketball tournament, I’ll be following major league baseball as soon as the season starts. I’m also a big Mets fan and I hope new relief pitcher Francisco Rodriguez will help the Mets into the playoffs this year.

My coach is telling me it’s time to hit the practice courts, so I’ll say good-bye for now.

All the best.
James

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March 14, 2009 - James Blake

Greetings from Indian Wells everyone.

The good folks at the tournament here have asked me to put together a short blog this week, so I was more than happy to do it.

I love coming to Indian Wells at this time of the year when the weather is nearly perfect for playing tennis. For the most part, I play well here and I have a lot of good memories from the tournament.

In 2006 I had a “dream” tournament when I won five straight matches to get to the finals. It would have been great to win that last match and take the title, but Roger (Federer) was just too tough that day.

I’ve already noticed that this year’s tournament has a little bit of a different feel here because it has a new sponsor, BNP Paribas. I’m familiar with them because they sponsor Davis Cup and they’re a pretty big tennis sponsor in Europe.

The other day I happened to check out the men’s qualifying draw which was played this last Tuesday and Wednesday. I was happy to see guys like Kevin Kim, Robert Kendrick, Todd Widom, Michael Russell and Brendan Evans get to the main draw.

These guys spend a lot of time on the USTA challenger circuit during the year and they work hard, so it’s nice to see them win a couple of matches and get into the main draw of a big tournament like the BNP Paribas Open.

Sometimes as an American tennis player, you hear fans ask, “What’s wrong with American tennis?” If you look at the first round of the main draw, you’ll notice quite a few Americans won first-round matches including Kendrick, Widom and Russell. I was also happy to see Taylor Dent come through with a win. He’s been training hard during his comeback.

When I got here, someone asked me if I had brought my golf clubs with me. I actually didn’t this year, but who knows maybe if I have a chance later, I’ll get out on the greens.

Speaking of golf, I’ll never forget the time a couple of years ago when I went golfing at the Dunes at the La Quinta Resort here with my coach Brian Barker, Mardy Fish and Scott Humphries.

We were on the seventh hole, which is 202-yards and a par three. I used a four iron and I drove the ball, but didn’t see it drop because it rolled behind a little hill. When we got closer to the hole, I didn’t see any balls down there and then I started thinking it might have gone in.

Sure enough, it was a hole-in-one. To tell you the truth, I was excited, but it wasn’t my first one. I actually hit one about four months earlier back home in Florida.

I just found out that I’ll be playing Jarkko Nieminen of Finland in the featured match on Saturday night on Stadium Court. I’ve beaten him in all five of our previous head-to-head matches, but four of the five matches have gone to three sets. He’s a dangerous player and I certainly won’t look past this match.

If you’re at the tournament in Indian Wells, I hope you have a good time at the BNP Paribas Open. There is going to be some great tennis during the two weeks.

Until next time.
James

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PARIS (AP) — Top-ranked Serena Williams defeated Emilie Loit 6-4, 6-1 to set up a semifinal with Elena Dementieva for the third straight tournament at the Open GDF Suez on Friday.

Loit, only the second qualifier in tournament history to make the quarterfinals, broke Williams when she was serving for the first set at 5-3. Williams threw her racket on the ground but broke right back and cruised the rest of the way.

"Definitely a tricky match," said Williams, the Australian Open champion. "Definitely good to get through, you know? I don't play too many lefties.

"I definitely don't feel at my best," Williams added, "but I feel like I'm getting there."

Dementieva gave Williams her only loss of the year in the Sydney semifinals, but Williams avenged that in the Australian Open semifinals en route to her 10th Grand Slam singles title.


SAN JOSE, Calif. (AP) — James Blake beat fellow American Sam Querrey 7-6 (9), 6-3 on Friday to advance to the semifinals of the SAP Open, setting up an intriguing meeting with doubles teammate Mardy Fish.

Blake hung on to win despite rolling his ankle with two points to go. He reached the semis shortly after Fish, his close friend and teammate, beat Argentina's Juan Martin del Potro 6-3, 6-4, upsetting the world's seventh-ranked player.

After Fish and Blake meet in a semifinal match Saturday afternoon, they'll team up for a doubles match late that night. They won the doubles title at San Jose in 2004, and both say their games improve when they're working together.

"There won't be any hard feelings," Blake said with a grin. "There better not be any hard feelings, or there might be a serve to the back of the head. ... Hopefully, we can go out to dinner tonight, play each other tomorrow, and then go out to dinner again."

Americans Mike Bryan and Mardy Fish kept the defending champions’ hopes alive, defeating Spain’s Feliciano Lopez and Fernando Verdasco 4-6, 6-4, 63 4-6, 6-4, spoiling Lopez’s 27th birthday celebrations and Spain’s dream of a 3-0 sweep in the Davis Cup by BNP Paribas Semifinals. Bryan, playing Davis Cup doubles without twin brother Bob for the first time, and close friend Fish made a strong pair but their opponents also played a tough match.

“The key to this match was us bonding,” said Fish. “We’ve been great friends for years and you play your best tennis when you are having fun. I admire the way Mardy played today,” added Bryan. “It was tough to read Feliciano’s serve. It was a hard fought battle. We took our chances when we got them but it took a little while to get going.”

“It was very close. The toughest thing was to come back from two sets to one down and a break,” said Lopez. “With a bit more luck we could have won. The crowd helped us a lot in the fourth set.”

Good Start For Spain

Madrid’s Plaza de Toros de Las Ventas was rocking with nearly 21,000 fans, most hoping to see Lopez and Verdasco win the third point for Spain and propel their country into the Davis Cup by BNP Paribas Final for a sixth time. Lopez was treated to a chorus of “Happy Birthday” by the fans who were clearly in a celebratory mood but a smaller but no less noisy contingent of American fans also had their dreams of an American comeback.

The Spanish were on fire in the first set, serving better than the Americans and making only two unforced errors compared to 10 and converting the first break point opportunity in the seventh game on Bryan’s serve. Lopez served for the set, poaching a volley from Verdasco to seal the opener for Spain.

There were many celebrities on hand at Las Ventas including former IOC President Juan Antonio Samaranch, who earlier in the day received a Davis Cup replica trophy from ITF President Francesco Ricci Bitti, to LA Laker Pau Gasol, a friend of Rafa Nadal’s. The iconic bullring was clearly the place to be this weekend and the excitement levels were very high.

Bryan And Fish Find A Way Through

The Americans started more confidently in the second set, making fewer errors and generally looking stronger while the Spanish pair made a few more errors to give the USA an opening and on their first break point of the match, Fish hit a stunning forehand volley to win the second set 64.

In the third set, the Americans really began to gel, playing solid tennis and making the Spanish work for every point. The Spanish were able to save two break points on the Verdasco serve at 4-5 but, on the third, Lopez hit a return just wide but Bryan hit it anyway, a winner down the line to finish the point. Fish held serve to give the Americans a two-sets to one lead.The traditional Bryan bump was adapted to a sort of Mardy/Mike twist bump that made its first outing in this set, never to be seen again.

Grabbing the momentum with both hands, the Americans broke Lopez in the first game to take a 1-0 lead but they were not able to hold on, with the Spanish breaking Mike Bryan in the eighth game to get back on serve. At 4-5, Fish served to stay in the set, saving five break points before the Spanish were able to capitalise and level the match at two-sets all.

Vital Break For USA

Verdasco served first to open the set, saving three break points and squandering two game points before a Lopez winner gave the Spanish a 1-0 lead in the set. The set went with serve until it was Verdasco’s turn again and he was broken to give the Americans the lead. Fish struggled on his serve but held on for 4-2 then Lopez held serve easily for 4-3. Bryan held serve for 5-3 and then Verdasco, who had struggled in his last two service games, needed to hold serve if Spain were to have a chance of victory in today’s doubles. If he was nervous, the Spaniard didn’t show it and forced Fish to serve for the match at 5-4. The American had a comfortable service game, converting the first match point to win the match and keep American hopes alive.

“It means the world to me,” added Fish who played on the losing side in the 2004 Final against Spain in Seville. “Davis Cup is a huge thing. I’ve been waiting four years for this.”

“Nobody can say that our players don’t play their guts out when they are playing for their country,” said US captain Patrick McEnroe. “This is a big shot of adrenalin going into Sunday. We lost two heartbreakers yesterday, won a close one today against a great team. We will take our chances, play aggressively when we can and see what happens.”

Nadal Vs. Roddick Tomorrow

Celebrations on the American bench and the prospect of a Nadal-Roddick opener tomorrow tantalised the crowd at Las Ventas who are excited about another day of live tennis. All three of the matches played so far have registered just over 3 hrs. 15 minutes on the Rolex clocks on court and tomorrow’s could also be a long one with the Madrid altitude helping a big server like Roddick, even against a player with the clay court prowess of Nadal.

Asked if he was worried about the crowd tomorrow, McEnroe said: “Rafael Nadal worries me a lot, more than the crowd. He’s the best clay court player in the world. Andy played a tough match against David Ferrer. He got a bit frustrated, losing his serve at 6-6 in the fifth. He’s a competitor who wants to win. I’m not worried. Andy knows what he has to do. He has been in this position before.”

“The crowd behaved well. We can’t complain. This is normal in Davis Cup,” said Spanish captain Emilio Sanchez. “If I were Andy Roddick, I would be concentrating on facing Nadal. If he is worried about the crowd, he won’t be playing his best tennis.”

Madrid, SPAIN – After losing the services of No. 2 singles player James Blake last week, the U.S. Davis Cup team has been thrown another obstacle in its quest to repeat as champion.

Bob Bryan, the hard-serving, left-handed compliment to twin brother Mike, withdrew from the 2008 Davis Cup World Group Semifinal on Tuesday, citing a left shoulder injury. He had hoped a cortisone shot would allow him to play in the important tie but was told by doctors to shut down all tennis activity for several weeks.

“His shoulder has been bothering him since Wimbledon,” said Mike Bryan. “With the long summer, he was taking anti-inflammatory medicine. After the Open, he was pretty sore. I’m not a doctor, but I think it’s fairly serious. He’s going to take a few weeks off and then start rehabbing in Florida.”

Virtually inseparable over the years, the Bryans have played every doubles match together as professionals since a brief hiatus in 2002, beginning at a tournament in Long Island, N.Y., when Bob was still playing in singles qualifying matches. For the record, Mike Bryan was a career 13-2 in doubles without his twin.

“There might be some things that these guys do better than Bob. They could return a little bit better,” said Mike as the team erupted in laughter. “It’s a good experience to step away from Bob and find my own identity.”

On the heels of capturing their second US Open title, the world’s top-ranked doubles team has excelled over the years on Davis Cup Saturdays, compiling a sterling 14-2 record.

A central piece in their remarkable run to the 2007 title, the Americans knew that they could count on a point from their doubles team. Now, suddenly, that point is in jeopardy.

“Spain was always the favorite, so we don’t look at that as making any big difference,” said U.S. Captain Patrick McEnroe.

“The time is coming for us to get a couple of young guys into the mix. Obviously, this is a difficult match, we’re all well aware of that. But at the same time, I think it’s a great opportunity for us to come out and play with the kind of enthusiasm that these guys have always had for Davis Cup. In no way do we look at this as a setback but as an opportunity for these guys to show what they can do.”

An able replacement for Blake, Sam Querrey has seen his ranking spike in the past year and recently took a set off Nadal at the US Open. Twice a practice partner, how much can be reasonably expected from the Davis Cup rookie in his big debut?

“Well, let’s see… He’s playing in his first Davis Cup tie, against Spain away, against arguably the greatest clay-court player of all time, so he better win,” smirked McEnroe.

“Sam has come a long way in the past year and has earned the opportunity to play. He’s going to get a lot out of this experience.”

Drawing from a suddenly deep pool of players, McEnroe quickly filled Bryan’s vacancy with steady veteran and close team friend Mardy Fish. An in-form player on the heels of a career-best quarterfinal result at the US Open, Fish can play either singles or doubles. In 2004, Fish was a member of the U.S. team that fell to Spain before a record crowd.

“I had a couple of days to put it all together,” said Fish, who was asked to join the team last Friday after Bob Bryan was declared unfit to play. With his wedding to “Deal or No Deal” model Stacey Gardner in just three weeks time, Fish was able to squeeze in the trip.

“I’m not planning it – I just have to show up,” said Fish. “I helped with the time and the date and the place, and that’s it.”

Bryan and Fish have practiced together over the last few days and are likely to get the nod against Spain’s Feliciano Lopez and Fernando Verdasco.

Entering the series as prohibitive favorites, Spain has retained its imposing four-man unit, headlined by top-ranked Rafael Nadal, along with rugged top-5 talent David Ferrer, Lopez and Verdasco.

Four-time defending French Open champion Nadal was given extra time to rest by Captain Emilio Sanchez and will be a heavy favorite on slow, red clay, a surface he has dominated.

The best-of-five World Group Semifinal series is expected to attract over 21,000 fans daily at the Plaza de Toros Las Ventas in the heart of downtown Madrid.

Reminiscent of the final in Seville four years ago, the Americans’ task is daunting, staring down not only the best clay-court player in the world but a partisan and raucous crowd, encircling them in an intimating bullfighting ring.

“I think it’s pretty awesome,” said McEnroe. “When you walk in, it’s not your traditional tennis venue, but I think it’ll make for a great weekend. I think the guys are really excited about being here and playing in such a unique environment.

Spain’s No. 1 singles player arrived in Madrid on Sunday and has declared himself fit, following a torrid recent stretch that included a gold medal at the Beijing Olympics and a semifinal result at the US Open.

Versus and Tennis Channel will air same-day coverage of all three days of competition. Versus will broadcast each day at 12 noon ET. Tennis Channel will re-air coverage at 8 p.m. ET.

Well, at least you can't say that American James Blake gives rotten gifts. What is a more gift for a professional tennis player friend than a ticket to the fourth round of a grand slam tournament...not much.

American Mardy Fish beat Blake 6-3, 6-3, 7-6 (7-4) in the Arthur Ashe Stadium at the U.S. Open on Saturday. The good friends played until nearly midnight.

Post match Blake said, ``it's a tough feeling out there when you're the favorite, and you're expected, and you're not playing your best tennis, and can't summon your best tennis. There are some days you go out there and you feel like you can't quite string the points together that you need to, and can't make enough first serves and things don't seem to be going your way.''

Blake didn't try to cop out with the fact that he had just played in the Beijing Olympics. ``It wasn't Beijing, I don't think. It was Mardy playing some of his best tennis.''

Whatever the reason for his loss, he'll get to eat a good meal at the expense of Fish. Prior to the match Blake said that the winner had to buy the loser dinner, I don't think that Fish will mind forking up the cost of this meal.

Frenchman Gael Monfils brought the pain to Spaniard David Nalbandian at the U.S. Open today, defeating him 6-3, 6-4, 6-2. Monfils was quite the athlete out there today running down pretty much anything that Nalbandian could send back across the net.

Alternatively, Nalbandian was open to taking a swipe at anything within three feet of him, but he wasn't the least bit interested in running much of anything else down.

To celebrate his victory Monfils did a very happy, happy dance. It must be in the French water, because Frenchman Jo-Wilfried Tsonga was doing a victorious happy dance yesterday.

The best part of the happy dance was sportscaster Ian Eagle's remarks at the end of the broadcast. He said "...Gael Monfils, bringing the 'funkadelic'..." What the hell does that mean? Either he knows something that I don't, or he is woefully un-hip. Perhaps this is one of those cultural differences, whatever it is it's funny. For all of you unenlightened cats and kittens, Funkadelic was a group, not a dance or style (even though they definitely had their own). Remember Parliament/Funkadelic "Tear The Roof Off The Sucka?" That's my knowledge of Funkadelic. I don't know what he was talking about. He probably heard that word somewhere and has just been dying to use it.

Monfils awaits the American winner of the Pre-Wedding Buddy Match that will be played tonight, i.e. James Blake or Mardy Fish.