Blake is no longer blank

NEW YORK -- Add the James Blake-Fabrice Santoro show to the long list of night-match spectaculars at the U.S. Open.

Blake’s 6-4, 3-6, 6-2, 4-6, 6-4 victory over the 34-year old Santoro had it all. It ended at 12:12 a.m. this morning, took 3 hours 24 minutes, had one player cramping for much of the last two sets -- a la Agassi and Baghdatis last year -- and the other near collapse.

And it had the always wild and rowdy night crowd at Arthur Ashe Stadium, well. . . wild and rowdy.

In the end, it got Blake into the third round, and Santoro, a Frenchman who has made a career of being crafty and unpredictable, into the hearts of New York fans.

Blake is seeded sixth and at the height of his career at 27. Santoro is the oldest player in the men’s draw.

When it ended, Blake made a gesture of somebody removing something from his back, and later explained to anybody who might not have known that “there used to be a monkey there, and it isn’t anymore.”

It was the first time in 10 tries that Blake had won a five-set match.

Santoro’s showmanship usually is in his style of play. He slices and chops and gives his opponent no pace. He is known on the tour as perhaps the biggest headache to play and worst early round draw possible.

“I don’t want to see him across the net from me for a long time,” Blake said afterward.

This time, Santoro’s shot-making was not the main theater. In the middle of the fourth set, it became obvious that Santoro was cramping. That eventually resulted in trips on the breaks from the trainer, who rubbed both legs with vigor, especially his left. In the sixth game of the final set, Santoro hit a double fault and walked slowly to his chair in the middle of the game. He took a timeout and the trainer worked some more.

After that, during breaks, he stood near his chair and stretched, afraid to sit down for fear he wouldn’t be able to get back up. But he carried on, fought through, stayed on serve until serving at 4-5 of the fifth. At 30-all, Blake returned deep and Santoro netted his response, and suddenly there was a match point.

The still-packed stadium, which held the maximum 23,000 when the night started with Maria Sharapova’s easy victory, rose and cheered and Santoro had to wait to serve. He did, Blake got a short ball and stroked a backhand cross court for the winner.

The crowd was on its feet again, the ovation huge. Blake and Santoro hugged at the net, Santoro hanging onto both the net and Blake so he wouldn’t fall down.

“He told me it was amazing what I have done at my age,” Santoro said later, laughing. “I told him, ‘Thanks, my son.’ ”

In other matches, Andy Roddick got past Jose Acasuso of Argentina, 4-6, 6-2, 6-1 (retired), and Andy Murray of Great Britain outlasted Jonas Bjorkman of Sweden, winning, 5-7, 6-3, 6-1, 4-6, 6-1.

Bill.Dwyre@latimes.com