To James Blake, 1-0 sounds a lot better than 0-9.
May 31st, 2008 Posted in Tennis newsTo James Blake, 1-0 sounds a lot better than 0-9.
A year after all nine U.S. men competing at the French Open lost in the first round, Blake won his opener at the clay-court Grand Slam tourney Sunday, beating ex- top-10 team member Rainer Schuettler 6-4, 6-1, 7-6 (3).
“We’ve before now done more,” the No. 7- Blake said with a teasing. “We set the bar low enough that we’re over the bar by 3 o’timer on Sunday afternoon. It was a taxing situation last year, but now perchance it’s just like playing with line wherewithal this year.”
He lost to Ivo Karlovic in four sets at Roland Garros in 2007, part of the vilest show by American men at any chief championship in 34 years. It also continued their recent thing of on clay.
“We all feel like, you know, last year was an deviation that should on no account turn out over,” Blake said, “and this year we’re without doubt for better results.”
Or as U.S. Davis Cup skipper Patrick McEnroe self-confidently projected before the event began: “American men are ready to do better this year than last year.”
Not truthfully apothegm a whole lot, huh?
From 2004-07, only one man representing the United States made it as far as the round in Paris: Blake, two an inordinate length of time ago. That was his calling-best display in five preceding visits to Roland Garros.
“I feel like I’m a little bit better, (with) a little bit more incident on the clay,” said Blake, 9-6 on the slow surface in 2008. “Hopefully this will be the year I put it all together.”
He is one of 10 U.S. men in the turf this time, a provisional that does not take account of -graded Andy Roddick, the 2003 U.S. Open winner who pulled out of the French Open because of a shoulder harm.
The only another American man scheduled to play Sunday was John Isner, the 6-foot-9 big who led Georgia to the 2007 NCAA team title and won a set against No. 1 Roger Federer at the U.S. Open last year. But Isner’s match against Juan Ignacio Chela of Argentina was up in the air until Monday because past proceedings on their court took too long; there are no Christmas lights at Roland Garros.
Blake was nettled to have to play on Day 1 – the French Open is the only Grand Slam event that on Sunday instead of Monday – although at least he wasn’t correctly staring at a clay expert across the net.
Schuettler was the 2003 Australian Open contender-up, down the irrevocable to Andre Agassi, but he out of the top 150 in the rankings last year and now stands 90th. He’s 60-83 for his vocation on clay and has lost seven of his nine first-round matches in Paris, including four in a row.
The German, however, had won both aforementioned head-to-head with Blake.
“For him, it doesn’t exceedingly affair if he plays on hard court or if he on clay or on traitor. He his game. He goes for the ,” Schuettler said. “If he hits the shot and he hits it well, (and) he feels comfortable with the balls on the court, then he’s dangerous everywhere.”
Still, clay to slow and and make for longer , often pleasing patience while punishing hostility. It also requires a lot of good politicking. Because population in the United States tend to grow up practicing and on speedier hard , they often find it difficult to be booming on clay, which is more commonly initiate in Europe and South America.
No one from the United States won the men’s singles tournament in Paris between Tony Trabert’s title in 1955 and Michael Chang’s in 1989.
Blake used to find himself attempting to histrionically modify his methodology on clay. Not anymore.
“I to be a ‘clay courter,’ and I’m not. I’m not a relaxed mover, playing defensively on the junk, balls back, vertical 8 feet behind the baseline to coming back serves and just pushing it in. That’s not my game. I’m not good at it,” he said.
“I can’t try to be that appearance, that type of contestant. I’m going to lose to guys who are much more skilled at that. So I need to play my game and alter a little bit, be a little bit more patient, learn to play security a little bit better, possibly work in the drop shot a little bit more – but not completely changing my game.”
There are still moments when Blake patently is not nearly as comfortable as he is on hard courts. After sailing one forehand long on a bit of an out of your depth plunge in the additional set against Schuettler, Blake scolded : “Don’t slide into that! Just get over there!”
After building a 5-1 lead in the set, Blake began to bungle belongings, behind five consecutive sports. He twofold was shattered while serving for the match, but did at the end of the day pull it out in the tiebreaker, getting to match use by culmination a 16-blow argument with a runaround forehand sensation just inside the line.
“Maybe this will help my self-assurance even more to know that no difficulty what happens I can deal with ups and in ,” Blake said. “There was quite a few ups until that statement, and then there’s one little valley. I dealt with it, so I’m happy round that.”
