James Blake upsets Michael Russell to advance in Miami
World number 173, American James Blake bounced back against his world number 90 countryman Michael Russell to emerge victorious in three sets. Blake earned a 3-6, 7-6(7), 7-6(3) win over his compatriot to advance to the second
round at the 2011 Sony Ericsson Open on Wednesday.
The American wildcard entrant, Blake hasn’t shown much progress this season and did not take part in any competition in January. But being a wild card player, he entered directly in the first round and destroyed his qualifier compatriot
by a tough three setter match in two hours and 20 minutes.
The 31-year-old Blake was shaky in the opening set as he committed two double faults and had a lower first serve percentage of 37 per cent as compared to Russell’s 65 per cent. Furthermore, he failed to save two breakpoints and
lost the first set 3-6.
However, Blake re-formed and re-focused in the second set and managed to smash three aces. Despite double faulting three times and having a lower first serve percentage, he registered an impressive 75 per cent win on it and converted
two of three breakpoint opportunities to his advantage. Through his awesome tact he managed to level the score with his countryman but regardless of breaking Russell’s serve twice, he failed miserably to save two breakpoints and took the set to tiebreaker.
The tiebreaker was intense but Blake managed to prevail in it and eventually clinched a 9-7 win
Blake again played poorly in the final set as he double faulted three times and had a much lower first serve percentage of 53 percent as compared to his countryman’s 70 percent. However, he managed to exchange a break and saved
two out of three breakpoint opportunities. The set went to tiebreaker and Blake got lucky and prevailed to clinch it with a 7-3 score line.
Although, the 32-year-old Russell played exceptionally well, he was unlucky in the second and third tie-breakers. He eventually lost and exited from Miami with a broken heart. He recently showed his good form by reaching quarter-finals
at Memphis before losing to Argentinean wild card Juan Martin Del Potro. He also reached the semi-finals at Honolulu challenger before losing to 6thseeded American Ryan Harrison after winning the first set.
He will next face 27th seed Brazilian Thomaz Bellucci who reached this spot directly for being a seeded player. Blake needs to practice hard if he wishes to overcome a seeded player.
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