Fans abuzz over Blake, even in rain

By JOSH GAJEWSKI
Copyright 2002 Houston Chronicle

While die-hard fans waited outside during Sunday's three-hour rain delay at the Davis Cup, James Blake went indoors and replaced his shirt with an American flag that he wore like a cape.

It was a photo shoot for USTA Magazine, snuck into the break in a meaningless match between Blake and Tommy Robredo at the Westside Tennis Club.

Blake, 22, one of tennis' "next big things," is known for many things: his big hair, like the Rockets' Moochie Norris; his Harlem upbringing; hardships including scoliosis that put him in a back brace; his good looks and modeling contract; and, oh yeah, his solid tennis game.

Sunday, Blake had plenty of time to kill. Despite the drizzle, the Spaniards wanted to continue Blake's match if at all possible. It became moot when Andy Roddick's straight-sets win over Alberto Martin earlier Sunday gave the United States the clinching third win in the quarterfinal.

That meant Blake had to wait around listening to music, shooting hoops, eating and smiling in front of a camera until the match was finally abandoned at 6:15 p.m.

It marked the end of an interesting week for Blake, who threw out the first pitch at Astros Field on Wednesday.

Sunday, after being told he would play the meaningless Davis Cup conclusion in place of Pete Sampras only a game before Roddick took the victory, Blake got off to a sluggish start and lost the first set 6-1. Blake then found the spark he lacked in the second set and was serving at 4-5 when play was halted.

"I thought Pete was going to play because I asked Jim (Courier) in the morning if Pete was going to play no matter what and he said 'Yeah,' " Blake said. "So I was out there just for support, but then actually the doctor said something -- Pete has a couple of nagging things that if there's no need for him to play, he really shouldn't. So it was a bit of a doctor's call."

Nevertheless, the fans -- who celebrated Roddick's win under a blanket of confetti and to Born in the USA as Blake got ready -- stayed noisy for the last meeting.

"I've been to Houston a bunch of times, and they always say that the fans here are great and that Houston is such a tennis town, and it really is," said Blake, who won a challenger event at Raveneaux Country Club in 2000 and will return to Houston this month for the U.S. Men's Clay Court Championships. "They stayed through the rain delay in doubles (Saturday), and (Sunday), it's a dead rubber match that really doesn't mean anything and they announced beforehand that Sampras wasn't playing, and, as much as I'd like to give myself credit, I'm no Pete Sampras."

Even still, the fans stayed. Unfortunately for them, Blake certainly wasn't playing his best in the first set, hitting numerous volleys into the net. He looked strong in the second, though, answering a Robredo break with one of his own to cut to within 3-4 before knotting the set a game later with four straight short points.

"That break back showed kind of a little bit of a chink in (Robredo's) armor and gave me hope that things were going to turn around ... ," Blake said. "But then the rain came."

But three more hours passed before Blake, who is still a perfect 5-0 in Davis Cup play and 3-0 in singles, could hit the road.