Match report

James Blake © Tennistalk.com
Olympic Games
Semi final
8/15/08 1 2 3 Tot
us  James Blake 6 5 9 1
cl  Fernando Gonzalez 4 7 11 2
Fernando Gonzalez © Tennistalk.com

  • Gonzalez sneaks past Blake in a controversial thriller

    8/15/08 7:13 PM | Jonathan Morgan
    A very entertaining match with tons of twists and turns culminating in a controversial call and some unsportsmanlike behavior sends Gonzalez into the Gold Medal match.

    The first two sets were top quality from both. Big serve, giant forehands and stellar defense from both speedy men. Very high quality.

    Blake in the 3rd had 0-40 and 3 mps on Gonzalez's serve and just couldn't convert, then Blake had to save 3 match points and then Gonzalez double faulted on a match point!

    The controversial point was deep in the third. Gonzalez had hit a volley and was at the net. Blake rushed up and tapped a backhand that hit Gonzalez's racket, but only slightly. The umpire did not see it and the ball went long. TV replays saw that the ball did indeed touch Gonzalez's racket but he remained silent and he won the point. Blake was severely in rage and did not win game after that.

    After all the drama, when Gonzalez finally took the match, he fell to the court and cried for his victory. He will go into the final chasing his third Olympic medal.

    All in all, Blake had 29 winners, Gonzalez had 11 aces and 40 winners.

    In the post-match presser, Blake was simply gutted and said he has lost respect for his fellow competitor after this exchange. Blake will play for the Bronze on Saturday against Novak Djokovic while Fernando Gonzalez will go for the gold against Nadal.

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Comments

I've watched the replays. Blake is just a sore loser :-P Viva Chile!

RafaNadalGirl20 , 8/15/08 8:37 PM


bad sport man ship
I hope and believe Rafa will take advantage of that and will win!

tennis99 , 8/15/08 11:58 PM


You simply cannot say Blake was a poor loser. After a marathon match which he came close to winning, he was justifiably angry at what everything suggests was a dodgy decision from the umpire. Sadly for him, he let the incident get to him and blew the match after that. Having said that, Gonzalez played out of his skin to come through and I for one am inclined to believe him when he said he honestly did not know if the ball touched or not. He was twisting out of the way at the time and may well not have felt the ball on the racket.

ed251137 , 8/16/08 9:52 AM



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