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5/7/09 4:11 AM | Cheryl Murray
James Blake will be looking for his second clay-court victory of 2009 when he takes on France’s Marc Gicquel.
James Blake is no clay-court specialist. The American played two clay tournaments coming into Estoril – and he lost in the first round both times. Blake got off to a good start in reversing his clay court record with a win on Tuesday over Frederico Gil. The good news for Blake is that Marc Gicquel’s season on the dirt hasn’t been much better.
Gicquel is currently ranked 51st in the world. He won a single match in Monte Carlo over Eduardo Schwank, otherwise his clay court results have been grim. He was ousted in the first round in Barcelona by Alberto Martin and he did not participate in the Rome Masters at all.
Blake holds a 1-0 head-to-head record over Gicquel, but the lone match was played on a hard courts, which is Blake’s preferred surface. Neither man has had consistent results in 2009, but Blake is generally a more solid player than Gicquel. A Blake loss would by no means be surprising, but he should be able to squeak out the win.
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Blake just won the first set off Gicquel in a tiebreaker. Already an amazing week for him.
RickyDimon , 5/7/09 3:51 PM
Blake d. Gicquel 7-6, 6-2 -- into the quarterfinals of a clay-court event.
In related news, Hell just froze over.
RickyDimon , 5/7/09 4:23 PM
WHOOOO!! James Blake, 2009 French Open Champion!!!!!
...at least that would shut up all the bickering Big 4 Fans. Actually, no, nothing could shut those guys up...
Who's Blake's next opponent, Ricky?
-Arvis
Arvis , 5/7/09 4:30 PM
Arvis - either Monaco or Serra.
It's hard to imagine Blake beating Monaco on clay.... BUT Serra won the first set, so that could be good news for Blake.
RickyDimon , 5/7/09 4:44 PM
Well, either he has to play Juan "The Murray Destroyer" Monaco, or a man who BEAT Juan "The Murray Destroyer" Monaco...
Well, at least Blake will have time to play some Grand Slam Tennis on his Wii after he loses... =D
-Arvis
Arvis , 5/7/09 5:02 PM
Serra somehow beat Monaco.
Blake can actually take Serra on clay, but I will probably pick Serra. Have to think about it for a while.
RickyDimon , 5/7/09 5:43 PM
Well... once upon a time Gilles Muller took Federer to 5 sets in the US Open... People get hot and cold, I guess Monaco has cooled down. Here's hoping Blake makes the most of this, I would be thrilled to see him have some success, however slight.
-Arvis
Arvis , 5/7/09 6:20 PM
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JB is on a one-match roll. Let's go James!
Rafterfan , 5/7/09 3:38 PM