Posts Tagged ‘James’

James Blake – Amazing Forehands!

One of the best forehands in the modern tennis era!

How was James Blake able to defeat Roger Federer in the Olympics?

And are you proud of USA Tennis like I am!

Top Spin 4 Gameplay King Of The Court James Blake, Rafael Nadal, Gillies Simon, Nikolay Davydenko

Top Spin 4 Gameplay, lessons from Top Spin Academy, singles and mixed doubles

How did James Blake somehow beat Roger Federer at the Olympics?

Prior to Beijing 2008, Federer had never lost to Blake!

Should James Blake retire this year?

I know some of you (such as Jay) are pissed about reading this question, so for the record I actually am a James Blake fan. He was actually my 1st favourite player (then Djokovic, and now it’s Baghdatis)

His ranking has dropped to 115. His record this year is a measly 8-9 and he hasn’t even made it to the finals of a tournament. He was embarrased at Wimbledon, losing to Robin Haase in straights the first round, and he also had a spat with Pam Shriver.

To further strengthen my point, I just recently read Inside Tennis magazine. Included in that issue was an article about James Blake titled: “At a Crossroads”. It is identified that he does have/had a knee injury, and it seems pretty serious. He says he retweaked his knee in Eastbourne against Julien Benneteau. Blake has also refused to take surgery, painkillers, or anti-inflammatories. Yes, I am well aware of the fact that he has battled a major back problem, shingles, and a broken neck (or was it a vertebrate?). However, he added:

“If it doesn’t get better soon, I’m not sure how much longer I want to play in pain.”

I hate to be the breaker of bad news but I personally think that he needs to retire from tennis. My suggestion for James Blake: retire at the 2010 US Open.
I also read James Blake’s autobiography by the way. So i know what he’s been through haha
@David — You were right XD

2006 Tennis Masters Cup Final – Roger Federer Vs James Blake

Roger Federer of Switzerland faces James Blake of United States of America in 2006 Tennis Masters Cup Final

James Haskell Will Stay To Avoid England Axe After Warning From Martin Johnson ? Autumn Internationals 2010

James Haskell is ready to risk his future at Stade Francais by staying with England this weekend after being warned by Martin Johnson that he will be thrown out of the squad if he returns to his club.

The 24-year-old has been plunged into the middle of a club-versus-country row after his employers asked him to return to Paris for a Top 14 showdown with Toulouse tomorrow. The RFU turned down the request, suggesting they had an agreement with Stade clearing Haskell to remain with the squad during the RBS Six Nations.

The governing body’s director of elite rugby, Rob Andrew, conceded yesterday that no such agreement exists, but insisted England had received assurances from the player’s advisers that his contract covered all training sessions and rest periods between Tests. However, his contract does not contain such detail.

Stade owner Max Guazzini is incensed by the rigid stance of England and the RFU, given that his club have an injury crisis and have released their player whenever they have been asked to do so. They have issued a written warning to Haskell for missing training, brought in independent legal advisers to verify his absence and have made threats about re-negotiating his contract.

Haskell spoke to Stade yesterday and is aware of the scale of their anger. But the RFU are determined to avoid this becoming a test case which opens the way for French clubs to either withdraw players or demand compensation for allowing them to fulfil England duties.

Haskell has been told that if he goes back to play for Stade, he will be banished from the squad and may struggle to fight his way back. As one source put it: ‘They’re going to hang him out to dry and if it means he’s the sacrificial lamb, then so be it.’

Andrew made it clear the onus was on the player to find a solution to this complex situation, saying: ‘The position is between the player and the club. We have spoken to Stade. There is no issue here between the RFU and Stade Francais.

‘The French clubs have been fantastic. We’ve had a really good working relationship with all of them. This is the first and only incident that we have had to deal with in this first season of having players over in France. It is effectively a decision between the player and the club. It is between the player and his advisers as to what he thinks he has in his agreement with the club when he is on England duty, specifically given he is in the England 22, which is the whole basis of the agreement we set up with the Premiership.’

Yet Haskell may not be much use to Stade this weekend because he has been laid low by a stomach bug.

England boss Johnson insisted it was not a ruse designed to keep Haskell out of his club’s clutches, saying: ‘I’ve spoken to the doctor and he said, “You can’t fake those symptoms”. Joe Worsley took his place in training.’

England V South Africa Hospitality

Autumn Internationals Hospitality

Kim Clijsters and James Blake vs Ana Ivanovic and Devin Britton Ump:Will Ferrell AAKD Pt2

Part 2. Enjoy and SUBSCRIBE.

Rob Andrew Says James Haskell Affair Means England Selection Rethink ? Autumn Internationals 2010

Andrew said: “When we made the call last July about whether we should involve players based in France, having had meetings with the relevant French clubs, we knew that at some point this may happen. The policy is open to review at any stage after the end of this campaign. We have to look at who is in France, what their circumstances are and make another call on what happens next season.

“We need to be absolutely clear these are the circumstances under which players who are based in France will be considered for England. This is the one ripple we have had and we have enjoyed excellent relationships with the French clubs. We want to make sure that going into next season, which is World Cup year, that we have all this covered. We cannot have a situation where we have fights and compromises: we had plenty of those with the English clubs and do not want them again.”

Stade wanted Haskell to play against Toulouse , arguing England had to release him because a rest weekend in the Six Nations meant the International Rugby Board regulation on player release did not apply and that the 24-year old would be in breach of contract if he failed to return. The RFU refused after the player’s lawyer said Haskell had an agreement with his club that allowed him to be released for Test duty in line with the elite player deal to which Premiership clubs have signed up. Ironically, Haskell was in bed yesterday after contracting a virus.

England play New Zealand in December, a match that will not be covered by the IRB regulation governing player release. Any player based in France who does not have an agreement with his club will not be released. England also have pre-World Cup training camps for which French clubs will not be bound to release players.

“When players went to France last year, we told them all they would only be considered for the national side if they gave us assurances that they could be released for England when Martin Johnson [the team manager] wanted them,” said Andrew. “We did not want players who could not fulfil the same criteria as those based in England. Some of got that in their contracts directly, others negotiated separately with their clubs after they signed their original contracts. A misconception this week is that the RFU has an agreement with clubs in France. We do not.

“We have been given assurances by James and his advisers that he has an agreement with Stade that allows him to fulfil the release periods for England training as per the EPS agreement. The position this week has been between the player and the club. We have spoken convivially to Stade about the RFU’s position and there is no issue between us.”

Andrew said he had not seen the agreement between Stade and Haskell: “It is confidential between player and his club. If the club does not give authority for that piece of paper to be shown to us we can only go on an undertaking from a lawyer, which we have in James’s case, that they have the release rights.”

Johnson said: “We are not prepared to compromise the management of players, which is based on what we think they need. We told Stade on Sunday of our intention to keep all the players who started against Ireland to keep them fresh for Scotland and the following day they said they wanted James back. I do not think he will be affected by all this.”

Johnson said he did not expect the full-back Delon Armitage and the lock Simon Shaw, who suffered rib and shoulder injuries against Ireland, to face Scotland. Ben Foden and Louis Deacon have stayed with the squad. Joe Worsley was called up for training when Haskell fell ill.

England V Samoa Hospitality

Autumn Internationals Hospitality

ATP Tennis – James Blake Loses in the First Round and is out of Wimbledon

The American and ATP No. 17th, James Blake, was unable to win for the third straight time in Grand Slam tournaments, losing against the 50th ATP-ranked, Italian Andreas Seppi, 7-5, 6-4, 7-6(5), this past Monday.

Blake had beaten the Italian in their last two meetings, but for some reason he couldn’t do it this time at Wimbledon. Moreover, the American also lost in the first round of this year‘s French Open, after exiting in the fourth round of the Australian Open back in January.

Nevertheless, Blake thought he was ready for Wimbledon since he has trained hard and his fitness was extremely well, but maybe his confidence was the problem.

Since the beginning Blake started making too many errors, which gave Seppi an advantage in the first set by winning it 7-5.  During the second set, Blake expected to take advantage of his best shot, the forehand, but Seppi managed to neutralize it forcing Blake into exchange backhands and at the end the Italian won the second set as well, 6-4.

In the third set, Blake though he had chances to get back into the match when he held one set point with a lead of 6-5, but he missed a forehand that went too long and tied the set. Blake then missed a 5-0 lead in the tiebreaker when the Italian went into a 7-0 run to win the set and the match.

At the end of the match, the American expressed his frustration for his bad performance and the disappointment of not getting further in Wimbledon.

“I still feel like I can play with anyone in the world, but it’s just, for some reason lately, it’s been very inconsistent. I’ve been doing all the training. I’ve been doing all the conditioning. I’m fit as I’ve been. I just haven’t been as confident, I guess.  But I still have the ability. It’s just frustrating, because it’s happening at big tournaments where I’m having my not-so-good performances,” stated the former world No.4.

On the other hand, the Italian Andreas Seppi stated his satisfaction on his performance especially because he played more aggressively than usual on Blake’s serve, which used to be one of his weaknesses.  Seppi also said that he was a little happier when he found out that his opponent would be Blake, instead of Juan Martin Del Potro, as it was originally planned but changed after the bracket was modified due to Nadal’s withdraw. According to Seppi, Del Potro has a very strong serve and he considered he would have a better chance with Blake, which he proved right on Monday.

Now after this loss, James Blake expects to regain his confidence and play better in the following tournaments since he knows in spite of his age, he still can compete within the top 10 players of the ATP rankings. Whereas for Andreas Seppi, this win increases his confidence and grows his expectations to advance in the tournament.

The next opponent of the Italian will be the French Marc Gicquel and the game will be played on June 24th.

Filip Krajinovic Vs James Blake Live Streaming, Filip Krajinovic Vs James Blake Live Streaming Online, Watch Filip Krajinovic Vs James Blake Live

Watch Filip Krajinovic vs James Blake Live Online

Filip Krajinovic vs James Blake Live Streaming – Filip Krajinovic vs James Blake Sony Ericssion Open 2010 match on Wednesday, March 24, 2010.

Venue: Crandon Park

Time: 11:00 A.M

Players Report:

On Wednesday, United States star player James Blake will face Filip Krajinovic in the Sony Ericssion Open 2010 match at Miami.

Blake is known for his speed and powerful, flat forehand. His career highlights including reaching the final of the 2006 Tennis Masters Cup and the quarterfinals of the Australian Open (2008) and U.S. Open (2005, 2006). On July 3, 2007, Blake’s autobiography Breaking Back: How I Lost Everything and Won Back My Life, which discussed his comeback after his unlucky 2004 season, was released and debuted at Number 22 on the New York Times Best Seller list. He co-wrote this book with Andrew Friedman.

Blake started his 2010 campaign at the Brisbane International in Australia. He came back from a set down to defeat 5th seed Sam Querrey 4-6, 6-3, 6-4. He then defeated Marc Gicquel 6-3, 3-6, 7-6(8) surviving three match points (down 5-6, 6-7, and 7-8 in the deciding set tiebreak) to make the quarter-finals where he lost to Gaël Monfils 6-3, 3-6, 4-6. He was also entered in the men’s double draw with Andy Roddick defeating fourth seeds Marcelo Melo and Bruno Soares on the way to the semi finals before losing to eventual champions Jérémy Chardy and Marc Gicquel.

At the 2010 Australian Open Blake defeated French veteran Arnaud Clément 7-5, 7-5, 6-2 in the first round. He faced 4th seed Juan Martín del Potro in the second round, losing a classic in five grueling sets 4-6, 7-6(3), 7-5, 3-6, 8-10.

He then lost in the opening round at the 2010 ABN AMRO World Tennis Tournament against an in-form Marcos Baghdatis 4-6, 2-6.

In the first round of the Regions Morgan Keegan Championships in Memphis, Blake fell to top-seeded American counterpart Andy Roddick 3-6, 6-4, 6-7(3).

Blake started his 2010 campaign at the Brisbane International in Australia. He came back from a set down to defeat 5th seed Sam Querrey 4-6, 6-3, 6-4. He then defeated Marc Gicquel 6-3, 3-6, 7-6(8) surviving three match points (down 5-6, 6-7, and 7-8 in the deciding set tiebreak) to make the quarter-finals where he lost to Gaël Monfils 6-3, 3-6, 4-6. He was also entered in the men’s double draw with Andy Roddick defeating fourth seeds Marcelo Melo and Bruno Soares on the way to the semi finals before losing to eventual champions Jérémy Chardy and Marc Gicquel.

At the 2010 Australian Open Blake defeated French veteran Arnaud Clément 7-5, 7-5, 6-2 in the first round. He faced 4th seed Juan Martín del Potro in the second round, losing a classic in five grueling sets 4-6, 7-6(3), 7-5, 3-6, 8-10.

HQ Roger Federer vs James Blake QF Australian Open 2008

Highlights from the match of Roger Federer vs James Blake in the Australian Open 2008

Do you think Roger Federer has a reasonable chance at beating James Blake?

James Blake is playing the greatest tennis of his life right now. I just can’t see Roger Federer competing with him at that level.