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Former American tennis professional James Blake is about to make his comeback on the tennis circuit after nearly 10 years. He will compete in the doubles tournament at the Rancho Santa Fe Pro Open – a $15,000 ITF event.
Blake will team up with Hudson Rivera, the incoming Stanford Men's Tennis freshman, at M15 Rancho Sante Fe Open. The duo entered the competition after receiving a wild card.
The event will be played in Rancho Santa Fe, California, from May 29 to June 4.
This will be Blake's first professional tournament since losing to Ivo Karlovic in the first round of the US Open 2013.
Blake spoke about his return to tennis, saying that he is not having too many expectations from his comeback match. However, the 43-year-old added that "competitive juices" are still there, and he will try his best to win the encounter.
“It’s going to be fun. I haven’t played a tournament in 10 years since I announced my retirement. I don’t have any expectations. The competitive juices are still there, and I’ll go out there and I’m still going to want to win,” Blake said.
James Blake made his professional tennis debut in 1999 and went on to win 11 titles on the ATP tour. The American's best results on the tour include reaching the finals of ATP Finals in 2006, then called the Tennis Masters Cup.
Blake also reached the semi-finals of the Beijing Olympics 2008, the quarter-finals of the Australian Open 2008, and the US Open 2005 and 2006. He attained his highest-ever ranking of World No. 4 in November 2006.
Former tennis player Mardy Fish and journalist Steve Weismann react to James Blake's comeback
The news of James Blake's impending comeback to professional tennis drew hilarious reactions from former American tennis star Mardy Fish and tennis journalist and anchor Steve Weismann.
Fish jokingly suggested that the reason Blake is coming back on the tour is money. He tweeted that Blake is probably broke and has no cash after losing 900 times to him on the golf course.
"Let’s break down why James is doing this. 1. James is broke (prob) 2. Has no money and needs the cash because he’s lost to me on the golf course 900 times 3. 1 and 2 4. 1, 2 and 3," Fish tweeted.
James Blake also found the funny side in Fish's tweet and noted that the prize of ITF tournaments has been the same since the days they played. He also called for the prize money of lower-level tournaments to increase.
"Haha. You got me. Although on a more serious note, weren’t these 15k when we played them 1000 years ago? Shouldn’t the prize money for these lower level events have gone up by now?" Blake said.
Steve Weismann was ecstatic to see Blake's return to tennis and advised him to hit his famous overhead shots. Blake responded to Weismann, joking that his young competitors will try to "take" his head off with their shots.
"Love this!! Let’s go @JRBlake !! Hit overheads like @MardyFish says you do," Weismann tweeted.
"Haha. It will be fun, but these young kids are gonna try to take my head off for sure," Blake reacted.
