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8/18/11 4:40 AM | Ricky Dimon
A spot in the quarterfinals is at stake when Roger Federer and James Blake square off in Cincinnati on Thursday. Federer is looking for a 10th win over the veteran American in 11 tries.
Eight years after their first meeting, 30-somethings Roger Federer and James Blake are still going strong enough find themselves pitted against each other in the third round of a Masters event.
For the 30-year-old Federer, that's no surprise. But for the 31-year-old Blake, this already constitutes an outstanding tournament and continues what has to be considered a summer resurgence.
Federer and Blake will be colliding for the 11th time in their careers when they do battle in the third round of the Western & Southern Open on Thursday night. Like he is doing against most opponents, Federer is dominating the head-to-head series--9-1 to be exact. They have not faced off since the 2009 Masters Madrid; the Swiss took that encounter 6-2, 6-4. Blake's lone win over Federer came in the form of a massive upset in the quarterfinals of the 2008 Beijing Olympics.
Another Blake victory would be an even bigger surprise given what has transpired of late. The veteran American wallowed out of the Top 100 and stayed there for a while, but he has stormed back to No. 86 in the world and remains on the way up. If not for a flurry of recent tough losses to John Isner (twice) and Juan Martin Del Potro, it would be even better. Still, Blake is 13-10 for the season at the ATP level and he has taken out Marcos Baghdatis and Fabio Fognini so far in Cincinnati.
Federer may not be No. 1 in the world anymore, but he played like it on Tuesday night according to Del Potro. The defending Cincinnati champion scored a 6-3, 7-5 victory to book his spot in the third round in the aftermath of an opening bye as the No. 3 seed. Federer, a staple as one of the top three players on tour along with Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal, owns a 41-10 record for his 2011 campaign.
When asked about the matchup, Federer called Blake "a good friend of mine" and added that it was nice to see the former world No. 4 "back on the big stage where he belongs.... I'm looking forward to it. Seems like he's playing well."
Blake is playing well, no doubt, but he will have up the ante to a different level when he goes up against Federer. The 16-time Grand Slam looked downright dangerous in taking out Del Potro and there is nothing Blake can do if more of the same is produced on Thursday. Look for Federer to advance in two entertaining sets.
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Roger Federer
James Blake
Cincinnati
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