It’s all falling into place for James Blake.
The 27-year-old beat Vincent Spadea 7-6, 6-4 today in the quarterfinals of the Countrywide Classic and then saw his likely semifinal opponent, Marat Safin, fall in three sets to Hyung-Taik Lee 6-4, 5-7, 4-6.
Blake is now the top ranked player left in the tournament and the clear favorite. He’s gotten to the semifinal round with a confident, aggressive style.
"I’m not going to have runs in these kinds of tournaments if I am playing defensively," Blake said.
He called Safin the more dangerous of the two potential opponents, but he certainly didn’t underestimate Lee, who is ranked No. 42 in the world.
"(Lee) is a really smart, crafty player," Blake said. "It will be tough (to face him)."
Spadea was quite the obstacle for Blake on his way to the semifinal. The veteran had beaten him six times in seven previous matches. But it was Blake who made the big shots today.
Blake held on in the first set to win in a tiebreaker and then cruised to a 5-2 lead in the second set before winning 6-4.
"It was as much of a mental hurdle as it was a physical hurdle," Blake said.
Spadea was unable to find his best form when he most needed it. After a solid first set he fell into a quick, 5-1 hole in the tiebreaker. Blake broke his serve twice in the second set.
"I wasn’t able to attack his second serve; that’s always been the key to beating (Blake)," Spadea said. "I just have to win the big points next time."
In the second match of the day, Marat Safin was finally tripped up. The Russian star had claimed two three-set wins in the opening rounds of the tournament, but he wasn’t able to win the decisive set against the speedy Lee. Safin’s second serve abandoned him as he won less than half of his second serve points.
At times, though, Safin was dominant, especially when he was hitting his first serve. But he lost momentum at several key points in the latter sets. He led 5-4 in the second set before losing 7-5. And he was up 4-2 with Lee fading in the third set before dropping the final four games of the match.
Blake and Lee will meet Saturday at either 11:30 a.m. or 7:30 p.m. The two have only played one match in the past, which Blake won.
TENSION BETWEEN BLAKE, SPADEA: The chilly relationship between Blake and Spadea, two Americans, was evident in the post-match press conference.
Spadea had criticized Blake, and several other ATP players, in his book "The Secret Diary of a Pro Tennis Player."
At the press conference, Spadea compared Blake’s claim that the parts of the book that bashed him were untrue to President Clinton denying that he had sexual relations with Monica Lewinsky.
Blake has published his own book recently, as well.
"All I’ll say is that my book is non-fiction, and I didn’t make anything in mine up," Blake said. "It doesn’t bring anyone else in the locker room into it."
The comment on Blake wasn’t the only interesting moment during Spadea’s portion of the press conference. The 33-year-old Chicago native also rolled off a verse of his favorite rap, Notorious B.I.G.’s "Victory."
"Excellence is my presence, never tense, never hesitant," Spadea rapped.