Blake Escapes in Five Set Classic Against Pusher Santoro

On paper James Blake shouldn't have had any trouble with Fabrice Santoro. Blake has been playing superb tennis as of late. His ranking has improved to number six in the world verses the number 44 ranking of Santoro. Despite these facts Santoro has a history of frustrating his opponents. Watch Santoro closely and you'll start to notice several peculiarities. His forehands look like backhands to the point that you can't tell if he's a righty or a lefty. I would call him a pusher. You don't see many pushers on the professional level. Pushers are players that don't have big weapons. They win by discombobulating their opponents. They constantly hit at different paces with varied spins. Santuro's signature is that he hits most of hits forehands with a slice, only occasionally hitting with topspin when he is reaching for a shot on the run.

Santoro, like most pushers, also uses gamesmanship to frustrate his opponents. In the third set Blake dominated and it appeared that Santoro was finished as he kept grabbing at his leg in pain. Santoro seemed to use the injury to throw Blake off guard and it worked as Santoro pushed the match into a fifth set. Things looked bleak for Blake who came into the match with a 0-9 record in five set matches.

The showmanship kicked into another level in the fifth set as Santoro slowed down the match and went to the bench for water in the middle of play. He took his time in between points trying to throw off Blake who likes to play matches at a fast rhythm. Even Santoro's outfit seemed to be a ploy to catch Blake off guard, as he looked more like a rec. league player than a professional.

It didn't stop there as Santoro had regular work on his legs in between points and even called time out in the middle of play when the score was 3-2 in Blake's favor. I don't know if all of the gamesmanship was more annoying or comical (Blake was annoyed) as the USA network broadcast clip after clip of Santoro getting treatment on his legs, while drinking what appeared to be soda, holding an ice pack on his neck. Regardless of what Blake thought, the New York crowd loved watching the drama unfold.

Soon the gamesmanship ended, and it was all about great tennis. Blake and Santoro exchanged long breathtaking rallies much to the joy of the raucous crowd. In the end Blake prevailed in the most exciting match so far in this year's U.S. Open. This win may have gone far to exorcise some of James Blake's demons. His mental game is catching up with his physical talent, and this spells trouble for the rest of this year's Open field.