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Blake continues courageous comeback
By灱ndrew Bogush
Tuesday, May 24, 2005
James Blake has put a horrific year behind him to battle back, through
qualifying, into the first round of the French Open. Taking only the
positives from a year that he "wouldn't wish it on my worst enemy,"
the 25-year-old American is fit again, and playing tennis with a whole new
perspective.
Once the leader of the pack of young American men not named Andy Roddick,
a freak on-court accident, the death of his father and a crippling infection,
all within a few months of 2004, derailed the career. But two Challenger
circuit clay court titles earlier this month and a strong week of qualifying
here in Paris might mean Blake is finally rediscovering his form.
"Coming into the Open, I have a lot of confidence," Blake told RolandGarros.com
last week. "I've won 10 matches in a row. [They were] Challengers, but it feels
good to win on any level."
Nothing felt good for Blake, however, beginning last May.
Practising with fellow American Robby Ginepri at the Rome Masters Series,
Blake tripped while charging the net and fell into the post head-first,
breaking his neck. Only a last second turn of
the head kept Blake from being paralyzed, according to his doctors.
"It ended up being the best thing that happened to me all year," Blake admits
because, on July 3, his father Thomas lost his battle with stomach cancer.
"I got to spend those last six weeks at home with my father."
Thomas Blake's last wish was to have James play in July's event in Newport,
Rhode Island, which he did, losing in the second round. Shortly thereafter,
Blake started feeling pain in his ear and face. Diagnosed with Zoster, a
stress-induced viral infection, he suffered through blurred vision, dizziness
and paralysis to the left side of face. He missed the rest of 2004.
"Just trying to do everything normal was the challenge for me then," Blake says.
After two weeks of drug treatment, Blake had to sit and wait for the virus to
fade away.
He returned to the court at the start of this year, falling in the first round
in Auckland to Fernando Gonzalez and to Lleyton Hewitt in round two of the
Australian Open. Except for a quarterfinal appearance in Scottsdale, Blake
struggled on American hard-courts through February and March. On the clay,
though, of Tunica and Forest Hills (New York) earlier this month, his game took
off.
"I'm playing with a little less pressure because I feel like I have a different
perspective on the court," Blake says. "I feel like I can survive without
tennis and that actually, I think, is going to come in handy."
His strong play continued here at Roland Garros last week with an impressive
run through qualifying, although that was strange territory for Blake.
"You've already been there," he says, referring to the early portion of his
career when he had to qualify for most tournaments. "You've already seen what
it's like on the other side. It's kind of another mental challenge."
Blake hopes to stay in good form when his 2005 French Open begins later today
on Court 14 against fellow qualifier Tomas Telconi of Italy.
"To be healthy again, to be playing, I have a new perspective on just being
healthy," Blake says. "I know now my career is finite and I'm trying to make
the most of it while I can."
--
You know the world is going crazy when the best rapper is a white guy,
the best golfer is a black guy, the tallest guy in the NBA is Chinese,
the Swiss hold the America's Cup, France is accusing the U.S. of arrogance,
Germany doesn't want to go to war, and the three most powerful men in America
are named 'Bush', 'Dick', and 'Colon.' Need I say more?
<Chris Rock>
--
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