"I still also wanted to see how far I could go with the tennis," Blake said, "so I asked my brother honestly whether I would be able to compete and put enough time into tennis here."

"I knew I could trust his answers, and he said told me that if I managed my time right I could do whatever I wanted to here," he added.

Now that the decision has been made and he has completed two years at Harvard, Blake maintains that the choice was a correct one, and has no regrets.

"I've had a great time the past two years here," Blake said. " I've made great friends and tried to enjoy every experience. I'm sure things could have been different at another school, but I don't think about what could have been. I've made the best out of being here, and have loved it."

Blake's close relationship with his teammates, is, in his opinion, what has made his experience at Harvard special and worthwhile. In fact, his relationship with Harvard players played a large role in his coming to the school.

"My relationship with my teammates is great," Blake said. "That's one of the reasons why I decided to come here. I used to visit my brother and hang out with some of the guys on the team, and we really got along well."

Blake credits the team with helping his development as both a player and a person, and has the utmost respect for them.

"They have been great for me," he said. "I'll keep in touch with them no matter what I do, and I really appreciate what they done for me, and how hard they've worked with me. I couldn't have asked for a better group of guys.

"I think a lot of teams around the country have players that get along, but aren't really that close," Blake added. "They really help keep me humble and focused, and are just basically a lot of fun."

The Road Less Traveled

Having completed one of the most impressive and successful seasons in NCAA tennis history, the natural question arises: "Will James Blake go pro?"

With little left to prove on the college level, turning pro seems the natural next step in Blake's career.

Blake, however, is not quite sure. While he is positive that he will play on the professional circuit this summer as he did last year, he is uncertain on whether he will forgo his college eligibility, and play as a professional.

"Right now for the summer I'm definitely going to do the pro circuit," Blake said, "but I haven't decided whether I will do it as a pro, or like I did last year."

While Blake has not decided on his tennis future, the decision appears to be immanent, as he does not want to drag out the process.

"I'm not going to think about the decision until I get home. Then I'll talk with my parents and coaches and come to a decision pretty soon," Blake said. "I think that would be most fair to all of the coaches involved, to get it out of the way and just concentrate on my tennis. So I will most likely make a decision pretty soon."