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Match report

James Blake © Tennistalk.com
French Open
1st round
5/26/09 1 2 3 Tot
us  James Blake 6 5 2 0
ar  Leonardo Mayer 7 7 6 3
Leonardo Mayer © Tennistalk.com

  • Blake crashes out in first round

    5/26/09 10:41 PM | Cheryl Murray
    American James Blake was sent packing from the French Open by Leonardo Mayer in first-round action on Tuesday.

    Just when things seemed to be looking up for James Blake, the American was forced out the French Open in the first round at the hands of Leonardo Mayer. Blake’s best result in 2009 came on the clay courts of Estoril, where he reached the final. Still, the preparation coming into Roland Garros was not enough to stop Blake from falling to a player ranked at a career-high No. 93 in the world.

    Both men played relatively clean tennis in the first set. There were no breaks of serve and the tiebreaker was a closely-contested affair. Mayer actually served better in the tiebreaker and he did not allow Blake to use his big forehand to gain control.

    The second set was a bit messier, especially from Blake. The American began to tighten up on big points. He went 0-2 on break-point opportunities and he gave up the set’s only service break in the twilight of the second set.

    In what has been something of a trademark from Blake, when he went down an early break in the third set he lost faith in his game. His forehand too often clipped the top of the tape, and he made the fatal error of trying to hit his way out of trouble. As expected, this inevitably led to more unforced errors. By the end of the match, Mayer had only to keep the ball in play, and Blake obligingly dumped groundstrokes into the net with increasing frequency.

    Mayer will play Tommy Haas in the second round.




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