Blake Beats Hewitt

Looks like James Blake finally broke through against Lleyton Hewitt, at the Tennis Channel Open in Vegas this past weekend. Of course, I missed the match, because I forgot to Tivo it. Doesn't seem that TTC is going to rebroadcast anytime soon. Alas. I can guess what happened, however. Ever since Blake's injury and ensuing Patience of Job test of physical and emotional fortitude a few years ago (including the death of his father), he's become a much more settled, deliberate, and, dare I say, cosmic player. When I've seen him play well, he's played tactical tennis: always looking to open up the court with his nasty inside-out forehand, to set up winners. In the old days, he would get impatient against more seasoned pros, who could negate his fantastic speed by frustrating him into going for too much on his strokes, turning his strength into a weakness. Now he lays in wait much better. He also seems to have learned to play more solid defense from watching—and losing to—Federer.

Did he do this against Hewitt? Or did he take it to this Aussie? There's certainly some bad blood between the two, given their wrangles at the US Open (including a borderline racial incident). Wish I'd seen the match. Blake is off to a strong start this year and could generate some buzz at the US Open. I'm skeptical about his chances at the French Open (red clay kills his speed advantage) and Wimbledon (his serve is unreliable). But on a hard court...