James Blake

James Blake is the number two American ranked tennis player and is currently ranked number nine in the world. He is a winner of ten ATP Tournaments since turning professional and has been a runner-up a further twelve times. His Grand Slam performances have not been particularly impressive; twice a quarter finalist here at the US Open Tennis in 2005 and 2006 and was also a quarter finalist in the Australian Open earlier this year. He was knocked out in the 2nd round in the French open, where he had been seeded number 7. The same fate was dealt at Wimbledon, losing in the 2nd round. He did however have a good run in the Olympics but lost out on a bronze medal by losing to Novak Djokovic.

In the 2005 US Open quarter Final, James was beaten by Andre Agassi in a five set thriller, that some have called the greatest match ever at the US Open. In that match, James had taken the first two sets from Agassi and was set for easy win, however, Agassi, in typical fighting style, got to grips with James’s style and went on to take the next three sets to win.

James is another attacking baseliner and has a powerful aggressive forehand, probably one of the strongest on the ATP Tour. His return of serve too is usually very aggressive and has been likened to that of Agassi. He has incredible athleticism around the court, with great speed of foot, yet he does not have great footwork and often can look clumsy. He is undoubtedly suited to hard court tennis and the US Open is a Tournament that suits his style perfectly.

For any English fans who are looking for a player to support in the Tournament, James would be a good candidate as his Mother is English.