Memphis, TN – No. 2 seed and No. 9 ranked James Blake withdrew Monday from the Regions Morgan Keegan Championships due to a right knee injury.

The 28-year-old Blake, who reached his first ATP final at the Racquet Club of Memphis six years ago, said he was disappointed to withdraw from the tournament for the second straight year.

"My knee hasn't gotten any better the last couple of weeks and unfortunately I have to withdraw," said Blake, who will be replaced in the draw by lucky loser Sam Warburg. "I was hopeful it would get better with treatment. It's pretty frustrating but I need to get past this and healthy for the rest of the year."

"I was looking forward to playing here and taking on Donald (Young) for the first time."

Blake, who has an 11-4 match record on the season, reached the final in Delray Beach two weeks ago and the quarterfinals in San Jose last week. Earlier this month he also helped the U.S. to the Davis Cup quarterfinals with a four-sets win on clay against Austria in Vienna.