U.S. needs Blake to bounce back
Posted by Peter Bodo, TENNIS.com
Just when it looked like things couldn't get much tougher for slumping U.S. Davis Cup staple James Blake, they did. Blake, playing No. 2 singles, opens the quarterfinals between the U.S. and Spain in Winston-Salem on Friday against the Spanish No. 1 player, Disco Tommy Robredo -- a flashy, fleet, long-haired dude who's got a late 1970s vibe going with his fluffy hair and loud orange polo shirts.
Blake, by contrast, seemed to channel Don "Slick" Watts late last year, during a great run that helped bag him a season-ending world No. 4 ranking. I don't know if the other players found Blake's old-school affectations (a shaved head, girded by a white terry headband) intimidating, but whatever magic he had going cleary has worn off.
This year, Blake is already down to No. 9 at the end of a hard-court season during which he should have gathered rather than lost momentum. Robredo, meanwhile, has climbed to No. 6. And he isn't going to forget his tough win (7-5 in the third set) over Blake at the Tennis Masters Cup last November, which enabled him to crawl within a win of evening the head-to-head series (Blake leads, 3-2).
All this wouldn't be cause for inordinate concern for U.S. Davis Cup captain Patrick McEnroe were it not for Blake's patchy performance in this unique team competition. Blake is 9-7 in singles, which doesn't sound too bad. But five of those seven wins were meaningless, best-of-three triumphs against the likes of India's Harsh Mankad (your guess is as good as mine), played after the tie had already been decided. Blake's two "live" singles wins were over Romania's Victor Hanescu (rank: 666 at the time) and Mario Ancic (a quality win, especially in an away tie in Croatia). But Blake is riding a three-match Davis Cup losing streak going into Friday.
The draw has not been kind to the U.S. Sure, Blake was going to have to play Robredo sooner or later. But given Blake's backstory in Davis Cup, McEnroe probably would have felt a lot better if the draw had kicked up an Andy Roddick (U.S. No. 1) vs. Fernando Verdasco (Spain's No. 2) opening match, which would have given the U.S. go-to guy a chance to provide Blake with a nice 1-0 cushion before he played Robredo.
Davis Cup, any competitor will tell you, is all about the unique and alternately inspiring or terrifying pressure of playing not just for yourself, but your team and your country. There is an element of self-fulfilling prophecy in the Davis Cup narrative: the players all talk about how spooky and grand it is, preparing newbies to succumb to, or triumph over, the same challenges. Blake got off on the wrong foot in Davis Cup and he's pretty much stayed on it.
Really, this is the last thing Blake needs at this point in his current struggles, but there's always a silver lining: Disco Tommy has lost the last five Davis Cup matches (singles and doubles) he's played.
