Blake: "I'm looking forward to my first final."
Blake has Gambill Singing the Blues
Rising star James Blake progressed to the first ATP final of his career with a straight-sets victory over Jan-Michael Gambill at the Kroger St. Jude in Memphis.
Blake, who has had to reach the final the hard way with wins over Michael Chang, Taylor Dent and top seed Tommy Haas, came through 6-4, 7-6(8) and now awaits the winner of Andy Roddick or Xavier Malisse in Sunday's final.
"It feels great," said the 22-year-old Blake who lost his two previous semifinals in Newport and Tokyo. "I keep improving, I'm trying to get better and to do it in a big tournament like this having to beat so many good players feels good."
After both players traded breaks of serve in the opening exchanges, Blake capitalized on some rare unforced errors from Gambill, who struggled at the net throughout the match.
In the second set, Blake needed to save two set points at 5-6 on his serve, as Gambill's backhand return on the second seemed destined to be a winner. But the top of the net came to Blake's rescue on that occasion, and after a closely fought tie-break in which Gambill saved two match points and Blake another set point, it was another backhand error from Gambill that ultimately cost him the match.
"I was hitting the ball very cleanly today," said Blake. "Jan-Michael made a few more errors than he might normally make, but I fought hard and hopefully frustrated him a little bit, and I'll take the points any way I can."
Frustration
For Gambill, who showed his frustration by smashing a racquet towards the end of the tie-break, it was a disappointing day at the office. "This is a match I definitely could have won," said Gambill. "He's playing great tennis, you have to hand it to him, but I missed a lot of easy volleys today.
"I'm more angry at myself for yesterday's match [against Schuettler], which I should not have been out there for two and a half hours, and that meant I didn't have the legs today."
On the backhand he hit that just hit the net on set point, Gambill added: "I hit that ball so well, it was as clean as I'd ever hit the ball. If that goes over, it's a winner, there's no way he's getting that back. But it must have just hit the very top of the tape."
Looking ahead to tomorrow's match, Blake said: "I'm looking forward to my first final. Andy is a great player and he's been improving a lot. He has a huge forehand and he's willing to scrap for every point and win ugly, but he doesn't give anything away. As for Xavier, when I first saw him play a couple of years ago, I thought he was one of the most talented players I've ever seen."
Blake, who has had to reach the final the hard way with wins over Michael Chang, Taylor Dent and top seed Tommy Haas, came through 6-4, 7-6(8) and now awaits the winner of Andy Roddick or Xavier Malisse in Sunday's final.
"It feels great," said the 22-year-old Blake who lost his two previous semifinals in Newport and Tokyo. "I keep improving, I'm trying to get better and to do it in a big tournament like this having to beat so many good players feels good."
After both players traded breaks of serve in the opening exchanges, Blake capitalized on some rare unforced errors from Gambill, who struggled at the net throughout the match.
In the second set, Blake needed to save two set points at 5-6 on his serve, as Gambill's backhand return on the second seemed destined to be a winner. But the top of the net came to Blake's rescue on that occasion, and after a closely fought tie-break in which Gambill saved two match points and Blake another set point, it was another backhand error from Gambill that ultimately cost him the match.
"I was hitting the ball very cleanly today," said Blake. "Jan-Michael made a few more errors than he might normally make, but I fought hard and hopefully frustrated him a little bit, and I'll take the points any way I can."
Frustration
For Gambill, who showed his frustration by smashing a racquet towards the end of the tie-break, it was a disappointing day at the office. "This is a match I definitely could have won," said Gambill. "He's playing great tennis, you have to hand it to him, but I missed a lot of easy volleys today.
"I'm more angry at myself for yesterday's match [against Schuettler], which I should not have been out there for two and a half hours, and that meant I didn't have the legs today."
On the backhand he hit that just hit the net on set point, Gambill added: "I hit that ball so well, it was as clean as I'd ever hit the ball. If that goes over, it's a winner, there's no way he's getting that back. But it must have just hit the very top of the tape."
Looking ahead to tomorrow's match, Blake said: "I'm looking forward to my first final. Andy is a great player and he's been improving a lot. He has a huge forehand and he's willing to scrap for every point and win ugly, but he doesn't give anything away. As for Xavier, when I first saw him play a couple of years ago, I thought he was one of the most talented players I've ever seen."
