"Phil is great," Blake says of his partner. "We just have a lot of fun when we play together."

When it comes down to it, Blake says, it is his love of tennis that motivated him to play. Blake credits his coach at a Connecticut tennis club with being an important influence.

"I was really bad when I was 13 years old," Blake says. "I mean, I couldn't even win a match. My coach calmed me down and taught me to be more even-tempered. He was always pushing me to work harder."

It is this combination of a love of the game and a strong work ethic that have helped make Blake the player is today. He thinks learning to manage his time after last season has also helped him remain focused.

"It was obvious that he worked really hard during the summer," junior teammate Dan Chang says. "He is a very talented player, but at first I think [college tennis] was a little too much. He has shown great improvement since last year."

This improvement has translated into success for the Crimson. Blake says that he is extremely competitive, and this often leads to animated behavior on the court.

"Tom really gets up for big matches," Chang says. "He has a lot of energy out there, and we all feed off of it. He's always ready to play, and that sets the tone."

No matter what happens this weekend, Blake claims that he is going to take some time off this summer. But then there is his younger brother, a high school junior, who is "a lot better than I was when I was his age," Blake says.

Wouldn't he like to challenge Harvard's top player on the court this summer?

"Well," Blake says, "I say I am going to take time off, but that doesn't really mean anything."