Is James Blake becoming a big whiner with an excuse for every loss? It's starting to seem that way. After he crashed out in the first round of the French Open, he vowed that the same thing would npt happen on grass. But on Friday in Halle, Germany, Blake said a slippery court had affected his game after he lost to Philipp Kohlschreiber in the Gerry Weber Open quarter-finals.
Organisers closed the roof after a brief shower in the second set but Blake, who broke two vertebrate on court in 2002, feared for his safety: "After the rain started, Philipp slipped and I slipped twice," he told reporters after the match. "I just didn't want to twist my knee this close to Wimbledon."
But he was still outplayed by the German, who won 6-4 6-3.
I say this to Blake: talk less and play better.
Meanwhile, over at the Queen's Club tournament in London, Fernando Gonzalez lost his temper and broke his racquet after lead 4-2 in the final set of his quarter-final against Dmitry Tursunov but losing 6-3 6-7 (5-7) 6-4.
I'd smash my racquet too!
Things went better for Andy Roddick who rebounded from the brink of defeat in the third round to advance to the semifinals with a 6-4 7-6 (7-5) win over Marin Cilic. Top seed Rafael Nadal took just three minutes and five points to wrap up his rain-delayed 7-6 (7-3) 6-3 win over Max Mirnyi and will play his quarterfinal later on Friday.