Blake, Blake! BLAKE!!!

Boy, James Blake looks sharp and hungry. I just watched him easily dispatch Igor Andreev to get into the Pac Life semis. Sharp and hungry, but also relaxed and confident. I once called Blake a "budding tennis aristocrat." That was three years ago. He's finally starting to act the part.

You've got to chalk up his recent results—and his cracking the top ten, at long last, after falling below 200—to confidence, pure and simple. Now he believes he's a Top Ten Guy and plays accordingly. Interestingly, I think JB is at his best when nothing is expected of him. No one ever thought he'd do much after leaving Harvard to try out the tour, but he did. Similarly, everyone figured he might manage some kind of comeback after his illnesses and injury, but nothing like this. I think a big test now will be whether he decides the expect-o-meter has been switched back on. Time will tell, but he's clearly—clearly—much more mentally tought than 90 percent of the pros he's likely to face over the next year or so.

Dark horse pick for a US Open crown? Nah... But I expect him to tear up the hard court season this year leading into the Open. If he doesn't make the semis there, it will be a significant lost opportunity for the year.

Note: He has achieved a slight mental edge over Nadal, something Federer hasn't yet fully managed.