All it took was for James Blake to show up at Stadium Court.
Serenading the court with boos and hisses just half an hour earlier, the Farmers Classic onlookers changed their attitude upon Blake’s arrival.
Before the final afternoon match, No. 5 seed Ernests Gulbis was throwing rackets while being dealt warnings and point penalties from the chair umpire. It was a frustrating match for the Latvian, who broke two rackets in his three-set loss to Colombia’s Alejandro Falla.
But when Blake, the fan favorite, stepped onto the court less than half an hour after Gulbis’ defeat, the crowd’s focus shifted from chastising the behavior of the Latvian to backing the American. Blake, fresh off a knee injury that kept him sidelined since April, entered this year’s Farmers Classic looking to regain his prominence in professional tennis.
And Blake would ride the crowd support on his way to a sweep of Germany’s Benjamin Becker, 7-5, 7-6 (7-5), in the afternoon’s final singles match of Thursday’s second round.
With the injury now behind him, Blake savored the warm reception, admitting after the match, “That’s what I miss the most, having these fans cheer for me.”
These were the same supporters who stood behind him in 2007, when he reached the finals of this same tournament only to lose to Radek Stepanek. To advance one step farther from his 2007 campaign, Blake will have to get past Spain’s Feliciano Lopez in Friday’s quarterfinal match.
“I played really well (in 2007), and this year I feel like I’m playing just as well, so there’s no reason I can’t get back there,” Blake said after the match, still donning his faded black New York Mets baseball cap.
In the opening set, the two players traded points until Blake broke Becker to go ahead 4-2. Becker would return the favor to tie the set at five games apiece.
Moments later, with Becker serving and Blake ahead 6-5, the New York native scored four straight to break Becker at love and win the first set 7-5.
Blake’s fortune with break points would quickly shift. After going 2-for-2 on break chances in the first set, Blake gave up several break points while leading 4-3 in the second set. He gave up two more break chances later in the set to go 0-for-6 in the set.
“Sometimes, when you have those break points, you don’t take advantage, and you can have a little bit of a letdown,” Blake said. “But I didn’t let that happen in the tiebreak.”
The players began the tiebreak exchanging the first few points. Blake was ahead 6-5 in the tiebreak and had his first match point, prompting an ecstatic reaction from the crowd. Blake converted the point on a forehand volley at the net to take the match.
Not the average postmatch visit
Boston Celtics forward Kevin Garnett, who was on hand to take in the afternoon match, met with Blake afterward to congratulate him on his win, and the tennis player later shared a few words about his close friend.
“His intensity on the court is just something that’s exciting to watch. I’ve had so much fun watching his games,” Blake said, adding that he followed Garnett in the Celtics’ 2008 NBA Finals win over the Lakers. “It’s a lot of fun. I hope (Boston) can do it again, next year, though I know it’s not popular to say in L.A.”
Afternoon results
Feliciano Lopez (Spain) def. Dudi Sela (Israel), 7-6 (7-2), 6-4
Alejandro Falla (Colombia) def. Ernests Gulbis (Latvia), 4-6, 6-3, 7-6 (10-8)
Ross Hutchins (Great Britain) / Jordan Kerr (Australia) def. Feliciano Lopez (Spain) / Janko Tipsarevic (Serbia), 7-6 (7-2), 7-6 (7-5)