Comfortably perched as the No. 1 singles player in the country, few college players can rise to the level of sophomore James Blake and offer him a challenge.
In the first round of the NCAA Tournament last Saturday, Blake met one of those few acknowledged rivals, Notre Dame junior Ryan Sachire, the No. 3 player in the nation.
Sachire took Blake to three sets on the courts at Indiana State, but the nation's best player confirmed his status once again in an epic battle.
Blake won 6-4, 3-6, 6-3, and his team rolled over the Fighting Irish, 4-2. He helped his squad pick up the doubles point as well, pairing with co-captain Kunj Majmudar to knock off Brian Patterson and Sachire 8-5.
"[Blake] handled him pretty well," year Andrew Styperek said. "There were 200 people in the crowd for Notre Dame and he had to work against it."
The Crimson's victory catapulted it into the second round against No. 15 Baylor.
Harvard, however, found no rest on Sunday against the Bears, who eliminated them from the tournament, 4-1.
While his team didn't shine, Blake dazzled.
With the Crimson trailing 1-0, he evened the match by dominating Baylor star Johann Jooste, merely ranked 16th in the nation.
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