Cincinnati--(lawntennismag.com) Ninth seeded James Blake of the USA rebounded from a set down Friday
night to defeat wildcard entry and 19 year old Sam Querrey also of the USA 5-7, 6-4, 6-4. Despite the loss Querrey moves from number 65 to 52 next week in
the ATP Tour rankings after beginning the year at number 756. Querrey, who only turned pro in June of this year, has also been awarded a wild card into
the upcoming US Open.
"I had a blast out there, even though I lost," said Querrey. "That was one of the most fun matches I've ever played."
With Blake serving at 5-6 in set one, Querrey netted a backhand return on his first set point before breaking Blake's serve on set point number two as Blake
hit a forehand volley wide. Then after finishing set one with 12 winners and 23 errors, Blake steadied his game in set two and broke Querrey's serve at two
all by applying
pressure with his forehand and movement around the court.
One more break of serve in set three at three all was all Blake needed to close out the match. Querrey had not been able to
serve as many aces Friday as he had averaged earlier this summer, but Blake's aggresssive but consistent play proved to be the deciding factor of the match.
"I felt like I did a great job mentally after losing that first set and not playing my best," Blake said. "Just hanging with it, still serving well, and I didn't get
broken after that and still going after my shots but they were going in."
In Saturday's semifinals Blake takes on fifth seeded Nikolay Davydenko of Russia in an evening match.
Gametime: ESPN2 live: 12pm-L Hewitt vs R Federer, 7pm-J Blake vs N Daveydenko (CST USA)
