If you were fortunate (or unfortunate) to catch the Madrid Open third round match between Roger Federer and James Blake, you would have seen something in Blake’s play that would have caused your brows to furrow. Whether it was the altitude, the heat, or if he wanted to play on clay, doesn’t like to play on clay, or just plain can’t play on clay, James Blake played an abysmal match against the world number 2 and it prompted me to write some commentary on a beloved American game.
First a review of today’s match: poor. For starters, his first service percentage was at one point in the 40’s but that’s not saying much as Federer’s was consistently below Blake’s. Blake ended the match at 52%. 5 double faults and a return point percentage that’s not even worth mentioning, was witnessed. By the time Blake was serving in the third game of the second set (he was down 0-2) he had accumulated 17 errors in that set alone. However, it was not so much the statistics that did Blake in, it was his defeated posture that was beyond evident by the start of the second match. His arms hanging lifelessly at his side blowing in the breeze as he waited for the ball-girls to feed him tennis balls for his serve, moving through the serve so slowly you’d think he was an old man, Blake was clearly resigned to the fact that he wasn’t going to win. Belief that you can still win, even if it’s match point other opponent, is one characteristic in a grand slam champion that almost never waivers, and one Blake lacks. I question his level of commitment on both grass and clay surfaces.
Recently pushed out of the top ten (now currently ranked 16th) Blake has only reached one final this year, a loss to Albert Montanes at the Estroril Open the previous week. He has zero ATP grass or clay titles however his upbringing may be to blame. Clay is not a surface Americans have been known to thrive on. The quick pace of the hard courts make for short points which is what we see from the Americans; so when Nadal stepped on the court as possibly the best defensive player of his generation, short points became a thing of the past on any surface but most notably on clay. The hard-hitting, heavy topspin of clay court players, and the slow movement of the ball puts even Blake out of his comfort zone. However, at 29, Blake is at the ripe old age, as tennis players go, but Andy Roddick although 3 years younger, is still managing to play on a top 10 level. Blake’s won 13 matches this year, but has lost nine, well 10 if you count today (2-6, 4-6).
There are just too many good players today that are making the quick adjustment to Nadal’s game. This includes increasing their physical fitness (Roddick, Fernando Verdasco), adding a level of patient aggression to their game to stay in the point no matter how long it goes, heavy topspin, stronger defense, and adapting to all surfaces (as Nadal has done sealing his mastery with both grass and hard court grand slam wins within the last year). Blake is struggling to keep up if he is actually playing catch-up. He isn’t the only player; Marat Safin always looks as if he can’t believe he’s losing when he loses. Blake will always manage to resurge in time for the U.S. Open but in reality, I believe we are witnessing his decline in the sport.
Source: ATP World Tour, Mutua Madrilena Madrid Open
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