Blake Is a Real Big-Name Hunter

They admired James Blake before knowing much about him in that first moment in the spotlight at the U.S. Open four years ago, taking an instant liking to someone who left it all on the court, in a literal sense, against Lleyton Hewitt of Australia.

After Saturday, fan enthusiasm here for the 49th-ranked player in the world is now James Addiction.

Amid often-deafening cheers at a packed Arthur Ashe Stadium, admiration officially morphed into, yes, addiction on one glorious afternoon of tennis.

Blake, who needed a wild card to make it to this U.S. Open, seized the moment, and then some, against second-seeded Rafael Nadal of Spain, winning, 6-4, 4-6, 6-3, 6-1, in 2 hours 27 minutes.

Blake, 25, had never reached the fourth round at the U.S. Open.

It was a day for the young and old. Well, make that young and older.

Andre Agassi, 35, joined Blake in the final 16, beating Tomas Berdych of the Czech Republic, 3-6, 6-1, 6-4, 7-6 (2), coming back from a 3-5 deficit in the fourth set. Agassi, seeded No. 7, will face Xavier Malisse of Belgium in the fourth round.

But Agassi had to share the spotlight.

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The season-long hype around Nadal has been such that it was almost as if Blake had taken out some larger-than-life figure who has been splashed in ads all over the city. In fact, Nadal has looked something like a comic book superhero -- with ultra-tight sleeveless shirts and muscular arms, ready to match wits, and ground strokes.

Blake was a worthy adversary, armed not with kryptonite but with a potent serve and an explosive ground game. He hit 53 winners, including 10 aces, and was six for eight on break-point opportunities.

By the end, Nadal did not look like a Grand Slam champion but a frustrated 19-year-old. The French Open winner sounded like one in the interview room.

“I just lost one of the best tournaments in the world, so I am not very happy now,” said Nadal, who has won nine titles this year.

It’s not often the speedy Nadal is simply unable to get his racket on a ball. He also admitted he lost confidence in the fourth set and seemed to go through the motions the last couple of games.

His opponent had much to do with it, of course. There’s a distinct sound when Blake is hitting his forehand with authority. Not that he could always hear much at crucial junctures. His personal cheering section, known as J-Block, and the enthusiastic crowd made sure of that.

“When they got on their feet and started screaming, I really couldn’t hear a thing,” said Blake, who won the Open tuneup at New Haven, Conn., a week ago. “I started thinking, this is what people talk about when they say they can’t hear themselves think.”

There’s plenty for him to think about.

Last year, he thought his career might be over and watched the U.S. Open on TV. Before the Italian Open, he crashed into a net post and fractured vertebrae in his neck. His father, Thomas, died after a long battle with cancer in July 2004, and then Blake was hit with shingles, causing vision problems in his left eye and a temporary paralysis to his face. Shingles, which is caused by a virus, affects as many as 1 million people in the U.S. each year.

“I was wondering if I would play in the U.S. Open again,” Blake said. “At that point, I was just 24 years old. You don’t want to just have memories.”

He spoke about his father, calling him his idol.

“I always thought it was weird for people to say, but I do actually think of him every day,” Blake said. “And I never thought that was possible, but I do.

“In terms of thinking of him out on the court, it’s not often, but sometimes when things aren’t going well and I want to throw my racket

Blake may have provided Saturday’s emotional high point, but there were several other compelling men’s third-round matches. No. 13 Richard Gasquet of France, who turned 19 in June, outlasted Ivan Ljubicic of Croatia, 3-6, 7-6 (6), 6-7 (7), 6-3, 6-2, in 3 hours 48 minutes. Gasquet, who won the junior title here in 2002, and is making his U.S. Open senior debut, will play Robby Ginepri in the fourth round. Ginepri beat Tommy Haas of Germany, 7-5, 6-7 (3), 6-4, 2-6, 6-3.

Malisse’s 5-7, 1-6, 6-1, 7-5, 7-6 (1) defeat of Mikhail Youzhny of Russia was comparatively swift, just under three hours.

The women’s side finally featured some competitive matches. Last year’s finalist, No. 6 Elena Dementieva of Russia -- despite 19 double faults and 49 unforced errors -- defeated her countrywoman Anna Chakvetadze, 6-1, 4-6, 7-6 (5); No. 15 Nathalie Dechy of France beat countrywoman Tatiana Golovin, 7-5, 2-6, 6-2, and in another all-Russian battle, Elena Likhovtseva rallied to beat No. 13 Anastasia Myskina, 0-6, 6-3, 7-6 (6).

No. 2 Lindsay Davenport of Laguna Beach beat Anabel Medina Garrigues of Spain, 6-3, 6-2, and will next play Dechy.

But Davenport, who hasn’t dropped a set in three matches, says her troublesome back is acting up again.

“It’s just really been an up-and-down struggle,” she said. “It was doing really good and then two days ago, it started to get really tight on me again. For the last 48 hours, I’ve been getting treatment and then tonight it felt great again.”

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Williams vs. Williams

The head-to-head record of sisters Venus and Serena Williams, who will meet today in the fourth round of the U.S. Open (with winner, score, surface and round):

*--* 1998 Australian Open Venus 7-6, 6-1 hard round of 64 1998 Italian Open Venus 6-4, 6-2 clay quarterfinal 1999 Miami Venus 6-1, 4-6, 6-4 hard final 1999 Grand Slam Cup Serena 6-1, 3-6, 6-3 hard final 2000 Wimbledon Venus 6-2, 7-6 grass semifinal 2001 Indian Wells Serena walkover hard semifinal 2001 U.S. Open Venus 6-2, 6-4 hard final 2002 Miami Serena 6-2, 6-2 hard semifinal 2002 French Open Serena 7-5, 6-3 clay final 2002 Wimbledon Serena 7-6, 6-3 grass final 2002 U.S. Open Serena 6-4, 6-3 hard final 2003 Australian Open Serena 7-6, 3-6, 6-4 hard final 2003 Wimbledon Serena 4-6, 6-4, 6-2 grass final 2005 Miami Venus 6-1, 7-6 hard quarterfinal Note: Serena leads series, 7-6, excluding walkover

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