James R. Blake '01, the nation's No. 1 ranked college player in the 1998-99 season, gave up playing for the Crimson last month to play for the green.

Blake, who was The Crimson's Male Athlete of the Year, competed this week as a pro at the Hall of Fame Tennis Championships, a grass-court tournament in Newport, R.I., beating a former Wimbledon finalist in his debut.

Overcoming early jitters against MaliVai Washington, the 1996 Wimbledon runner-up, Blake defeated his boyhood idol, 1-6, 6-3, 6-4 Monday in the first round.

"After the first set, I told myself to stop worrying and have fun," Blake told the Associated Press earlier this week.

Blake's second round opponent Wednesday was a lanky Dane named Kenneth Carlsen. Blake could not recapture the magic he had against Washington, falling to the No. 109 player in the world, 6-3, 6-4.

Washington reached No. 11 in the international rankings at the height of his career in October 1992. At age 30, he is currently No. 401 and said, after succumbing to Blake, that he will soon be reevaluating his future in tennis.

Blake, a Fairfield, Conn., native and former Mather House resident, is currently No. 448 in the world although that will likely change once he gets more tournament experience under his belt. The ranking system is based on players' performance over the last year.

No. 440 Tom Blake '98, James' brother, also played in the Rhode Island tournament, winning a qualifying match against former top player David Wheaton, the tournament's 1994 champion.

So Long, Harvard