The kinky dreadlocks of yester-year made James R. Blake a young hot tennis sensation. Yet today, it seems what everyone can’t stop talking about is his big, humongous...forehand. The puerile locks are gone now. But hey! The ladies aren’t complaining, and neither are we. FM predicts that 2007 will be the year of Blake.
Formerly of the Harvard College class of 2001, Blake broke out into the pro tour the summer of ’99. Leveling at a decent top 50 ranking in the pros (after being No. 1 on the college circuit), Blake seemed to make the transition swimmingly. That is until 2004, when he broke his neck in practice, contracted a virus which left one side of his face paralyzed, and lost his father to cancer.
Other than being forced to shave his snazzy dreds, Blake made it through these obstacles surprisingly unscathed.
“James has a particular way of responding to a challenge” Blake’s former coach and current Harvard Tennis coach, David R. Fish ’72 says. “He has been through adversity and gained perspective...and now knows what he has to do to get to the top of the game.”
Announcing his return to top form, Blake faced Andre Agassi in the quarterfinals of the 2005 US Open. Though he lost, Blake’s play proved he was a force to be reckoned with. But according to Fish, this is not nearly enough for James Blake.
“James has an insatiable appetite,” Fish says. “He’s knocking on the door, but not quite able to open it.”
Fish credits the change in Blake’s game to, amongst other things, his “monstrous athleticism”—which, if anything, will make for much flashier tennis and a bigger forehand for Blake in 2007. To the chagrin of Harvard’s women, it looks like Blake won’t be returning anytime soon.
