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James Blake Accepts New Haven Wild Card
By Sean Rudolph
© Natasha Peterson/Corleve
(August 10, 2010) The J-Block will be a vocal presence in New Haven this month. Two-time Pilot Pen champion and Connecticut native James Blake has been granted a wild card into Pilot Pen Tennis at Yale, set for August 20-28 at the Connecticut Tennis Center at Yale.
Blake will be making his fourth trip to New Haven this year, with the first coming in 2005 when he ran the table to capture the title as an unseeded wild card. The win catapulted him into the US Open where he reached the quarterfinals, and played one of the most exciting matches of the Open, eventually falling in five sets to future Andre Agassi. He will be looking to conjure up a similar run this year, as debilitating foot and knee injuries have sidelined him for portions of last summer and this spring. He is completely healthy again, and his game is starting to round back into the form that saw him reach a career-high ranking of World No. 4 in 2006.
"Earlier this year was very difficult for me, but this summer I feel completely healthy and that has had a big impact on my game and how I feel about the future," said Blake. "I love playing at the Pilot Pen and have so many good memories from 2005 and 2007 when I won the titles. It’s my hometown event, which means that all of my family and friends come out in the J-Block and support me in person, which never ceases to be special."
Currently ranked No. 108, Blake reached the Los Angeles quarterfinals last month, losing to Feliciano Lopez.
The Pilot Pen is once again partnering with Blake to raise money for his charity, the Thomas Blake, Sr. Memorial Research Fund. Blake’s father passed away in 2004 from gastric cancer, thus in 2008 James created the fund to help raise money for leading-edge cancer research. The tournament will donate a percentage of all box seat tickets sold in the J-Block, the cheering section created by the Pilot Pen during his run to the title in 2005 and which has received national acclaim as well as proceeds from Fila J-Block t-shirts sold on-site at the Pro Shop.
"Adding James Blake, a two-time champion and hometown favorite, to our field is one of the best ways to strengthen our player field even more," said tournament director Anne Worcester. "James has such a strong following throughout Connecticut, it will definitely bring out all his fans far and wide, and in turn, we are delighted to help him support a cause about which he is so passionate."
Blake’s first match will be on Monday afternoon, session two, and will not start before 4:30 p.m. Tickets are available for purchase in the J-Block and are on sale starting today. In addition, Blake will be one of the featured stars at Kids Day on Sunday, August 22 (session one) and those tickets are also on sale.
The Pilot Pen still has three men’s and two women’s main draw wild cards to distribute and there are four spots in both main draws for advancing qualifiers.
For tickets, how to become a volunteer, or more information about the tournament, please call the Pilot Pen Tennis Box Office, (888) 99-PILOT, (203) 776-7331, or log on to www.pilotpentennis.com.
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