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INDIANAPOLIS, Indiana: James Blake buried a pair of dismal recent
European showings as he earned a hardcourt victory Tuesday to reach
the second round of the Indianapolis Tennis Championships.
The top seeded American, who lost in the second
round of Roland Garros and Wimbledon, returned to his element as he
beat Israeli Dudi Sela 7-6 (7-2), 6-2.
But Blake admitted it didn’t all go his way
against the world No. 78, going down an early break before getting
it back.
The Israeli then saved a pair of set points in
the ninth game and broke Blake as he served for the set leading 5-4.
A tiebreaker finally settled the set, with Blake
finding enough form for a Michael Jordan-style leaping return of a
lob on his way to victory.
“I didn’t start great but I knew I could
still play great tennis. I knew I could get back in and win the
match,” said the world No. 8.
Blake, the 2006 champion, is chasing his first
trophy since New Haven in August of 2007.
Home soil has been good to Blake who has won
five of his 10 career titles on this side of the Atlantic.
Meanwhile, fifth seed Tommy Haas advanced over
American Jesse Levine 7-6 (7-4), 6-2, with the 30-year-old German
keen to continue his career as long as his shoulder holds up after
another surgery in late 2007.
-- AFP
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