Blake opens with win
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ByEurosport
Published 13/11/2006 at 13:11 GMT
James Blake opened his first ever Masters Cup campaign with a stunning victory over world number two Rafael Nadal. American Blake won a fantastic see-saw match 6-4 7-6 to give himself a great chance of progressing from the round-robin group and moving in
TENNIS, James Blake
Image credit: Reuters
Blake - making his first appearance at the season-ending championships - started the better of the two players and set his stall out early with some thumping forehands.
"I'm not one of the last guys, I actually am 'the' last guy," Blake said.
"I'm the guy that's supposed to be the easy matchup &hellip which doesn't help my confidence too much. But I'm just happy to be here."
Both players had plenty of opportunities to break, although great determination and athleticism on the baseline kept the scores tight until 5-4.
A poor service game from the young Spaniard allowed Blake to put him under pressure, and the New Yorker took the set when he got in to the net and put away a solid volley.
Impossible as it seemed, the standard got even better in an incredible second set, much to the delight of the excitable Chinese crowd.
Nadal capitalised on a slow start from Blake to break twice and cruise in to a 4-0 lead, fizzing passing shots past an advancing Blake.
But the scoreline only led to the American playing with even more freedom, and he battled back to four-all, winning a series of incredible battles from the baseline.
"That's something I'm really proud of, to get down four love against one of the best players in the world and not to hang my head, not try to change tactics, not do anything outside of my comfort zone, keep playing my game and see if I can be on top at the end," said Blake.
More fierce hitting from Blake saw him dominate the tie-break, moving in to a 6-0 lead as Nadal's head began to drop.
And Blake won the match with another heavy forehand winner to put himself in an excellent position in the Gold Group.
"The problem is not my game because I was playing very good," Nadal said.
"But in the important moments I lost my confidence. The problem is not the tennis. So the problem is a little bit confidence.
"Win one of the matches, all changes, no? So I hope I win the next after tomorrow."
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