Blake Beats Santoro in Five Sets at U.S. Open

Aug 31, 06:25 AM

Current Headlines: By Jeff Williams, Newsday, Melville, N.Y.

Aug. 31--James Blake finally has won a five-set match, but how much of a win was it really?

With the guileful Fabrice Santoro, who had gotten under Blake's skin the whole night, cramping and barely able to keep his balance in the deciding set, Blake won his U.S. Open second-round match last night in totally unconvincing fashion.

Santoro, playing with a wand rather than a racket, cast a spell on Blake that threatened to extend his five-set curse to 0-10. For 3 hours and 25 minutes of entertainment, thanks almost entirely to Santoro, the match ebbed and flowed with the Frenchman grimacing and staggering. Blake staggered to his own victory, 6-4, 3-6, 6-2, 4-6, 6-4.

"There used to be a great big monkey right there," said Blake, pointing to his back. "It's not there anymore."

Blake had to pay tribute to the wizardry and the heart of Santoro. "I have to tip my hat to Fabrice," Blake said. "He's 34 years old, he's out fighting here every single match. He makes everyone he plays angry, believe me."

"To give him some troubles and I think I did quite good," said Santoro, who won over the crowd.

Santoro wore a rainbow striped shirt that suggested casual cocktails on the Riviera rather than tennis at Arthur Ashe Stadium. At 5-10 and maybe 160 pounds, he doesn't possess a lot of power, though he can come up with a deceptively strong serve.

He's guile and style, undercut backhands and delicately placed forehands, and an impish demeanor that is beguiling in itself. When his backhand volley perched momentarily on the net and then fell to Blake's side to give him a 4-1 lead in the second set, he took the other ball from his pocket, perched it on the net and delighted in watching it fall to Blake's side.

You would have figured Santoro to be more of an annoyance than a threat. Santoro, who first played in the Open main draw at age 17 in 1990, has never been past the third round. He did annoy Roger Federer in the second round of the Open in 2005, losing in three close sets and charming the crowd. There's one career stat that stands out -- this is Santoro's 61st appearance in a Grand Slam event, equaling Andre Agassi's record set when he retired at the Open last year.

Blake won the first set and immediately broke Santoro to start the second. The J Block, Blake's cadre of friends, were their noisiest just as it seemed that their man was going to take over the match.

Santoro, unintimidated, broke right back as Blake's unforced error total mounted exponentially. In the ninth game Santoro came up with a terrific stab volley winner and a big forehand to level the match at a set apiece. He wasn't going to go away just now. He was giving Blake a headache, even though it was Santoro who placed an ice bag on his head during the changeovers.

If Blake were going to advance to the potential semifinal meeting against Federer next week, he was going to have to swat this gnat from his cheek. With a certain anger, Blake ran out to a 5-0 lead in the third set and finally found to a way to hit a volley over the net. He was an absolute hammer hands in the first two sets.

With Santoro grabbing his right thigh, at least giving the impression that he might be cramping, the fourth set seemed Blake's for the taking. In the second game, Santoro seemed to twist awkwardly and pull something: his back, his thigh, what? No matter, by the end of the set he was still moving freely, still nipping at Blake, and with a break in the ninth game and a hold of service in the 10th, he sent the match to a fifth set.

Notes & quotes: Andy Roddick did his part toward meeting Federer in the quarterfinals, advancing when Jose Acasuso retired with a bum knee with Roddick leading two sets to one. "I don't think you like winning matches like that," said Roddick, who turned 25 yesterday. "Especially I felt like I was starting to play OK and make returns and react."

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