Worth the Wait

The most recent frames of James Blake’s life have him reaching a tournament final, receiving a standing ovation during the match, earning accolades for his sportsmanship and poise under difficult circumstances, and lastly, modeling Kenneth Cole and DKNY threads in a glossy magazine.

Of course, the earlier frames are more interesting, telling how Blake got here, a journey that, on many levels, could not have been more drastic.

* At 13, he wore a back brace; now 22, he has a contract with IMG Models.

* As a teenager, he entered Harvard with the modest goal of playing No. 4 singles; now he’s ranked 49th in the ATP Entry System. He reached his first ATP final last month in Memphis, Tenn., losing to Andy Roddick in three sets. The occasion marked the first time an African American male made a final since Mal Washington lost at Wimbledon in 1996.

“It’s unfortunate,” Blake said of the gap. “Maybe it’s a generational thing. Mal looked up to Arthur [Ashe], and I looked up to Mal. Maybe in between there weren’t as many people to look up to. If myself and Levar Harper-Griffith do well, it’ll get some kids to come out and see us be positive role models.”

* A self-described “brat,” he used to do a pretty decent imitation of John McEnroe; now he’s acting more like another early influence, Ashe, winning sportsmanship awards and defusing heated situations.

Blake started 2000 by losing his first six matches, but by the time he finished 2001 he was on the U.S. Davis Cup team. He nearly defeated eventual champion Lleyton Hewitt at the U.S. Open, losing in five sets in the second round.

“You never know what you’re going to get,” said Brian Barker, who has coached Blake since he was 11. “He likes a different hairdo or a different headband that no one else is wearing. I think he likes to surprise me, likes to surprise everyone.”

With the recent combination of Davis Cup and the Memphis final, finally, there is another American name to put in the same sentence with Roddick. No longer does Blake’s story focus solely upon the issue of race.

For ATP officials, who hardly were counting on Blake a year ago, his arrival into prominence after victories against Alex Corretja, Tommy Haas and Xavier Malisse in 2002 is a marketing godsend.

Blake and Roddick are scheduled to make their first appearance here as the Pacific Life Open men’s event starts today with main-draw play at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden. Roddick, who is seeded 11th, may not be able to play because of illness, but if he does, he will face a qualifier in the first round; Blake, a wild-card entrant, opens against Jan-Michael Gambill.

The Blake-Gambill match could have larger implications because of the upcoming Davis Cup quarterfinal against Spain on grass next month in Houston. Blake, not Gambill, received the call from captain Patrick McEnroe to play singles in the relegation round against India in October. Blake won both his singles matches and combined with Mardy Fish to win the doubles in the first round against Slovakia.

Gambill versus Blake could be called a battle of the models. How often do you get to write that about tennis players not named Kournikova? Gambill has long had an agreement with the Ford Modeling Agency, and now Blake has a deal.

Much to his chagrin, Blake has taken some shots from the off-runway players on the tour.

“Oh yeah, plenty,” Blake said. “I think it’s going to be worse in Miami. I’m being made fun of in the locker room a little bit, just that this whole tennis thing is not even important, just to get into bigger and better things. Yeah, right. I don’t think I have much chance of that. I better go work on my forehand.”

Blake takes the teasing in stride. After all, he has had plenty of practice. When he was 13 he was diagnosed with scoliosis, a curvature of the spine, and he had to wear a brace 18 hours a day to prevent the condition from worsening. The only time he took it off was to play tennis. Even now his back hurts on long fights.

“It was very tough,” Blake said. “It probably made me more shy in school because I had a huge plastic brace under my clothes. I was very restricted in my movement. I’m lucky I haven’t had any more problems.”

He chuckled.

“I think I’d be about two inches taller if I had a straight back,” he said. “I’d have a little bigger serve.”

Blake’s rise has taken even his closest associates by surprise. Barker said his protege did not even qualify for the nationals when he was 15. Within three years, he won the U.S. National 18s Clay Courts and got to the final at Kalamazoo.

In a sense, his slow development may have helped the U.S. Davis Cup team.

With all the attention placed upon Taylor Dent and his dual American and Australian heritage, hardly anyone noticed that Blake’s mother, Betty, is British. But McEnroe put Blake in the Davis Cup lineup, ending the possibility that the youngster could join Tim Henman and Greg Rusedski.

At the Australian Open, Blake told Henman that his mother is from Oxfordshire. Henman perked up, according to Blake.

“I don’t think he knew,” Blake said. “He said, ‘Really, why don’t you play for us?’ I think Jose Higueras [of the USTA] was on the court at the same time, and he said, ‘Hey, stay away from our guy.’ They never showed that much interest. I don’t think they knew. I love England, going back there, but I was born and raised here.

“I would have been happy if they had given me a wild card into Wimbledon, but hopefully I won’t need it anymore. Maybe since I’m half-English, half the crowd will be on my side.”

Betty and his father, Tom, were tennis players and brought their sons along to the courts, which was easier than finding a baby-sitter. Young James tested their patience as well as Barker’s. Blake said he would hit three balls and start whining, and “going nuts.”

Said Barker: “So many people were on him to behave better. He did well at a couple of tournaments and no one was that fired up because he could be a pain in the neck. I think he realized what’s the sense of being good if you’re not that popular. Now he still gets angry but controls it very well.”

Blake’s older brother, Thomas, chalks it up to maturity.

“I think he just got a little bit older and started to feel ridiculous, like he was the only one out there doing it,” Thomas said.

Whether it’s college, satellites or the ATP pro tour, Blake eventually makes the journey.

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Pacific Life Open

Where: Indian Wells Tennis Garden.

When: Today-Sunday.

Today on stadium court: Starting at 10 a.m.: Tommy Robredo (Spain) vs. Tim Henman (Great Britain); Lleyton Hewitt, (Australia) vs. Carlos Moya (Spain). Starting at 6:30 p.m.: Pete Sampras vs. Mardy Fish.

Prize money: $2.95 million. (Winner: $392,000; finalist: $206,000; semifinalists $108,000; Quarterfinalists: $57,000).

Last year: Andre Agassi defeated Pete Sampras in the final, 7-6 (5), 7-5, 6-1.

Today on TV: Noon-2 p.m., ESPN (live), 8-11 p.m. (taped).

Final: Sunday, 10:30 a.m. (Ch. 7).

Web site: www.pacificlifeopen.com

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The Replacements

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