James Blake, American tennis player
James Riley Blake (born December 28, 1979) is an American former professional tennis player. He was known for his speed and powerful, flat forehand. During his career, Blake amassed 24 singles finals appearances (winning 10 of them), while his career-high singles ranking was world No. 4. His career highlights included reaching the final of the 2006 Tennis Masters Cup, the semifinals of the 2008 Beijing Olympics (upsetting world No. 1 Roger Federer en route), the quarterfinals of the 2008 Australian Open and 2005 and 2006 US Open, as well as two titles at the Hopman Cup (2003, 2004) and being the American men's singles No. 1. Blake was a key performer for the victorious United States 2007 Davis Cup team, going 2–0 in the championship tie vs. Russia at second singles.
In 2005, Blake was presented with the Comeback Player of the Year award for his remarkable return to the tour. Later, in 2008, Blake was awarded another honor by the ATP, where he was named the Arthur Ashe Humanitarian of the Year.
Blake's autobiography, Breaking Back: How I Lost Everything and Won Back My Life, co-written with Andrew Friedman, discussed his comeback after his 2004 season. It was released on July 3. 2007, and debuted at No. 22 on the New York Times Best Seller list.
Blake announced that he would retire from professional tennis after the 2013 US Open, where he suffered a first round singles loss in five sets against Ivo Karlovic and a 6–2, 2–6, 2–6 doubles loss.