When James Blake's flying feet and thunderous forehands brought him victory
over Rafael Nadal in the semi-finals of the Indian Wells Masters, he found
fimself catapulted into the world's top ten for the first time in his career.
Blake's impressive run at Indian Wells did not come out of the blue. He had
already enjoyed triumphs at Sydney and Las Vegas earlier in the year and
should be a serious contender at the next few Grand Slam events.
A popular and articulate player, Blake spent 2005 trying to get his career back
on track following a disastrous year in which he fractured a vertebra in his
neck in a bizarre training accident, contracted a virus that left half his face
paralysed and lost his father to cancer. Long-time coach Brian Barker
recalls the incident that resulted in Blake breaking his neck: "He was running
full blast. His foot catches and he goes head-first into the net post as hard
as you could hit. There's a loud sound. He goes down hard. He's lying on the
ground. And my heart sank. I was scared to death. I looked at him. I gave him
kind of a dumb question. I said, 'Are you OK?' And he just whispered, 'I can't
breathe.'". Not knowing if he would ever play tennis again, Blake had to call
upon all his resilience and perseverance and eventually got himself into shape
for another stab at his tennis career. Entering the 2005 US Open as a wildcard,
he staged a remarkable comeback to knock out second seed Rafael Nadal in the
round of 32 and went on to achieve the best Grand Slam effort of his career,
reaching the quarter-finals, where he succumbed to Andre Agassi in a fifth-set
tiebreak.
Blake had already encountered plenty of adversity en route to becoming a
professional tennis player. Afflicted with a serious back condition called
scoliosis, a gradual curving of the spine, he had surgery at the age of 14 and
was obliged to wear a plastic brace under his clothes for much of his time in
high school. Nevertheless, after two years at Harvard, Blake decided to put
his education on hold and joined the ATP Tour, cutting a striking figure on
court with a shock of Sideshow Bob hair and a blur of thin legs and baggy
shorts.
The native New Yorker, who could have played Davis Cup for Britain as his
mother is English (from Banbury in Oxfordshire), started playing tennis at
the age of five with his older brother, Thomas, and was inspired to pursue
the sport after listening to Arthur Ashe speaking to the students of the
Harlem Junior Tennis Program. Brian Barker started coaching him when he reached
the age of twelve. The two have worked hard at improving the backhand in
recent months and it is beginning to pay dividends.
At age 21, Blake became the third African-American man to play Davis Cup for
the United States. Partnering Serena Williams and then Lindsay Davenport, he
has also triumphed twice in the Hopman Cup. Away from tennis, he enjoys a
round of golf and is also keen on basketball and baseball.
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