James Blake

James Blake lifted a trophy on Wimbledon Sunday this year, but he was thousands of miles from London. The former No. 4 player in the world had inquired about a wild-card spot at a challenger event in Illinois as soon as Marcos Baghdatis knocked him out of the All England Club. So less than a week after his first-round loss in London, Blake was sweeping through the Nielsen Championship on his way to 80 points, a $7,200 check and that trophy. "I wanted to get that taste out of my mouth and get some wins and gain some confidence," Blake said.

U.S. veteran James Blake upset defending champion David Nalbandian , 6-2, 6-4, on Tuesday to reach the third round of the Legg Mason Tennis Classic at Washington. Once ranked as high as No. 4 in the world, Blake won the hard-court U.S. Open tuneup in 2002 and was the runner-up in 2005. But beset by a series of injuries, most recently a bad right knee, he dropped to 173rd in the rankings in March and began this week at 90th. His victory over the eighth-seeded Nalbandian, who had a first-round bye, allowed Blake to get to the third round for only the second time in 10 tournaments this season.

Andy Murray defeated James Blake, 6-2, 6-2, Thursday to set up a semifinal meeting with Roger Federer at the inaugural Capitala World Tennis Championship at Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. In the other first-round match, Nikolay Davydenko ousted Andy Roddick, 6-4, 6-4, and will face Rafael Nadal in today's other semifinal.

James Blake lifted a trophy on Wimbledon Sunday this year, but he was thousands of miles from London. The former No. 4 player in the world had inquired about a wild-card spot at a challenger event in Illinois as soon as Marcos Baghdatis knocked him out of the All England Club. So less than a week after his first-round loss in London, Blake was sweeping through the Nielsen Championship on his way to 80 points, a $7,200 check and that trophy. "I wanted to get that taste out of my mouth and get some wins and gain some confidence," Blake said.

Reporting from Wimbledon, England — It was an unseemly match for American James Blake . He's been a major tournament quarterfinalist three times in his career, though never at Wimbledon. And he has always been a graceful winner — and loser. Yet on Tuesday, as his game unraveled on Court 5 and he was falling to unheralded Dutchman Robin Haase , 6-2, 6-4, 6-4, Blake overheard ESPN analyst Pam Shriver speaking critically of his play. Blake yelled at Shriver, herself a former player, and used an obscenity while doing it. Shriver's analysis of Blake included a mention that she thought Blake would have been eager for Wimbledon since he had been sidelined with a knee injury.

James Blake is enthusiastic about tennis. He is full of plans on how to move his ranking up from 115 so that he won't have to rely on tournament directors to give him a wild card into the main draw. Blake, who once reached No. 4 in the world, needed that wild card to get into the Farmers Classic tournament that begins Monday at the Los Angeles Tennis Center. And if being enthusiastic about the game doesn't seem news bulletin material, it is a big change from when most tennis fans last noticed Blake.

James F. Blake, the Montgomery, Ala., bus driver who had Rosa Parks arrested in 1955 when she refused to give up her seat to a white passenger, has died. He was 89. Blake died of a heart attack Thursday at his home in Montgomery. He had been in failing health for some time. The arrest of Parks for violating Montgomery's segregation laws was a galvanizing moment in the civil rights movement. It thrust a young Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.

The most recent frames of James Blake's life have him reaching a tournament final, receiving a standing ovation during the match, earning accolades for his sportsmanship and poise under difficult circumstances, and lastly, modeling Kenneth Cole and DKNY threads in a glossy magazine. Of course, the earlier frames are more interesting, telling how Blake got here, a journey that, on many levels, could not have been more drastic.

LAST week in Los Angeles was almost perfect for James Blake. Yes, he lost in the finals of the Countrywide Classic at UCLA, but on the plus side, the 27-year-old professional tennis player, currently ranked No. 10 in the world, saw his new memoir, "Breaking Back: How I Lost Everything and Won Back My Life," hit the bestseller lists.

It seems an almost casual thing for Andy Murray. He's a late-arriving but welcome guest to the Farmers Classic tennis tournament, his RSVP coming after the world's second-ranked player, Novak Djokovic, backed away from his commitment at the last minute. Murray was substituted into the draw last Friday and he made his debut Thursday night. Murray, seeded No. 1 in the tournament and ranked fourth in the world, is still working out some vacation kinks from his game It took him three sets and nearly two hours, but Murray finally beat American qualifier Tim Smyczek, 6-1, 4-6, 6-2. Also successfully working out some kinks is 30-year-old American and former top-10 player James Blake.

Andy Roddick is out of the U.S. Open, and lately when Roddick is eliminated from major tournaments, it's the end of American men in the draw. But here Thursday there was 19th-seeded Mardy Fish gliding around the Louis Armstrong Stadium court using his sweet touch, able to time his volleys, willing to change the pace on his groundstrokes. Combined with a late-career decision to become supremely physically fit, the 28-year-old Fish looks rejuvenated, especially after his 7-5, 6-0, 6-2 victory over Pablo Cuevas in his second-round match.

Farmers Classic Friday's schedule Straus Stadium Starting at noon Rainer Schuettler, Germany, vs. Sam Querrey (2); Janko Tipsarevic (6), Serbia, vs. Marcos Baghdatis (3), Cyprus Not before 4 p.m. Feliciano Lopez (4), Spain, vs. James Blake Not before 7:30 p.m. Andy Murray (1), Britain, OR Tim Smyczek vs. Alejandro Falla, Colombia; Eric Butorac and Jean-Julien Rojer, Curacao, vs. Robert Lindstedt, Sweden, and Horia Tecau, Romania (2)

It seems an almost casual thing for Andy Murray. He's a late-arriving but welcome guest to the Farmers Classic tennis tournament, his RSVP coming after the world's second-ranked player, Novak Djokovic, backed away from his commitment at the last minute. Murray was substituted into the draw last Friday and he made his debut Thursday night. Murray, seeded No. 1 in the tournament and ranked fourth in the world, is still working out some vacation kinks from his game It took him three sets and nearly two hours, but Murray finally beat American qualifier Tim Smyczek, 6-1, 4-6, 6-2. Also successfully working out some kinks is 30-year-old American and former top-10 player James Blake.

When No. 8-seeded Mardy Fish withdrew from singles competition at the Farmers Classic late Monday night, the resulting schedule change left James Blake with two matches to play on Tuesday. His first, against Leonardo Mayer, was scheduled for 4:30 p.m. After Fish's withdrawal, Blake's doubles match with partner Sam Querrey was moved to 7:30. It looked like Blake took his schedule into account against Mayer, as he began by winning five games and won the match 6-1, 6-4 in just over an hour.

Farmers Classic Thursday's schedule Straus Stadium Starting at noon Feliciano Lopez (4), Spain, vs. Dudi Sela, Israel; Alejandro Falla, Colombia, vs. Ernests Gulbis (5), Latvia; James Blake vs. Benjamin Becker, Germany. Not before 7 p.m. Andy Murray (1), Britain, vs. Tim Smyczek; Bob and Mike Bryan (1) OR Mardy Fish and Mark Knowles, Bahamas, vs. Ernests Gulbis, Latvia, and Dmitry Tursunov, Russia. Grandstand Starting at 4 p.m. Feliciano Lopez, Spain, and Janko Tipsarevic, Serbia, vs. Ross Hutchens, Britain, and Jordan Kerr, Australia.

Farmers Classic Straus Stadium Beginning at noon Kristof Vliegen, Belgium, vs. Ryan Sweeting; Ilija Bozoljac, Serbia, vs. Robby Ginepri; Leonardo Mayer, Argentina, vs. James Blake. Beginning 7:30 p.m. Benjamin Becker, Germany, vs. Mardy Fish; James Blake and Sam Querrey vs. Feliciano Lopez, Spain, and Janko Tipsarevic, Serbia. Grandstand Beginning at noon Kevin Anderson, South Africa, vs. Illya Marchenko, Ukraine; Steve Johnson vs. Somdev Devvarman, India; Karol Beck, Slovakia, vs. Alejandro Falla, Colombia; Tim Smyczek vs. Teymuraz Gabashvili, Russia; Ross Hutchins, Britain, and Jordan Kerr, Australia, vs. Martin Damm, Czech Republic and Michael Kohlmann, Germany.

Farmers Classic Straus Stadium Beginning at noon Kristof Vliegen, Belgium, vs. Ryan Sweeting; Ilija Bozoljac, Serbia, vs. Robby Ginepri; Leonardo Mayer, Argentina, vs. James Blake. Beginning 7:30 p.m. Benjamin Becker, Germany, vs. Mardy Fish; James Blake and Sam Querrey vs. Feliciano Lopez, Spain, and Janko Tipsarevic, Serbia. Grandstand Beginning at noon Kevin Anderson, South Africa, vs. Illya Marchenko, Ukraine; Steve Johnson vs. Somdev Devvarman, India; Karol Beck, Slovakia, vs. Alejandro Falla, Colombia; Tim Smyczek vs. Teymuraz Gabashvili, Russia; Ross Hutchins, Britain, and Jordan Kerr, Australia, vs. Martin Damm, Czech Republic and Michael Kohlmann, Germany.

Farmers Classic Thursday's schedule Straus Stadium Starting at noon Feliciano Lopez (4), Spain, vs. Dudi Sela, Israel; Alejandro Falla, Colombia, vs. Ernests Gulbis (5), Latvia; James Blake vs. Benjamin Becker, Germany. Not before 7 p.m. Andy Murray (1), Britain, vs. Tim Smyczek; Bob and Mike Bryan (1) OR Mardy Fish and Mark Knowles, Bahamas, vs. Ernests Gulbis, Latvia, and Dmitry Tursunov, Russia. Grandstand Starting at 4 p.m. Feliciano Lopez, Spain, and Janko Tipsarevic, Serbia, vs. Ross Hutchens, Britain, and Jordan Kerr, Australia.

When Sam Querrey opted to play professional tennis rather than accept a scholarship at USC in 2006, he didn't give up summer break. The 22-year-old Querrey, who begins doubles play with James Blake on Tuesday at the Farmers Classic at UCLA, last played at the Hall of Fame Tennis Championships on July 8. In between, Querrey set aside plenty of time to relax at his Santa Monica home. "A lot of my friends come to stay at my house; we'll go to the ocean, cook barbecue at my house, go to the movies.

James Blake is enthusiastic about tennis. He is full of plans on how to move his ranking up from 115 so that he won't have to rely on tournament directors to give him a wild card into the main draw. Blake, who once reached No. 4 in the world, needed that wild card to get into the Farmers Classic tournament that begins Monday at the Los Angeles Tennis Center. And if being enthusiastic about the game doesn't seem news bulletin material, it is a big change from when most tennis fans last noticed Blake.