Tennis

Blake's star rising, just ask Oprah

By KEITH NIEBUHR
Published September 27, 2005

A few signs you've hit the big time:

Mike Wallace of 60 Minutes drops by your house to chat.

Oprah Winfrey flies you to Chicago.

Cosmopolitan, Vanity Fair and Vogue have articles planned.

Welcome to the life of James Blake .

In the wake of Blake's memorable U.S. Open performance, which included a quarterfinal finish and thrilling five-set loss to Andre Agassi , the interest of the media and public has swelled. Blake's story, you might recall, goes well beyond the court. A year ago, the 25-year-old Tampa resident suffered a major spine injury, had temporary paralysis in his face and lost his father to cancer.

"It's really interesting how he has penetrated the mainstream," said Blake's agent, Carlos Fleming of IMG. "People who don't even follow tennis were paying attention to what he did at the Open."

No dates have been released for Blake's 60 Minutes and Oprah appearances.

YOU CAN STOP WITH THE JOKES: It looks as if Andy Roddick has found his mojo.

With two singles victories in last weekend's 4-1 Davis Cup triumph over Belgium, Roddick's play might have helped ease the pain from his recent, and shocking, first-round exit at the U.S. Open. Before the Open, an American Express ad campaign was launched that asked, "Has anybody seen Andy's mojo?" After Roddick lost to little-known Gilles Muller , he became the Big Apple's biggest punch line.

But now he's back on track.

Behind Roddick, the U.S. squad, which included Blake and the doubles team of Bob and Mike Bryan , maintained its place in the World Group, which is the top tier of Davis Cup. That means the United States will be one of 16 teams vying for the 2006 title.

How clutch has Roddick been in Davis Cup? Now 17-6, he's tied with Jim Courier for 20th overall in total victories for the U.S. team. And he's only 23.

OPEN CLOSURES: Some U.S. Open tidbits.

With 659,538 fans, the all-time attendance record was set.

The overnight rating for the men's final on CBS was 6.2, doubling the 2004 rating. The women's final was up 28 percent, and viewership of Super Saturday (when both men's semifinals and the women's final are played) increased by 56 percent.

CBS ratings for the event rose 18 percent.

USOpen.org logged 27-million visitors.

MOVING DENT: American Taylor Dent , No.22 in the world rankings, is moving his operation from California to the Nick Bollettieri Tennis Academy in Bradenton. "I think this move has come at a critical point in my career," Dent said in a release. "The IMG Academies' facilities allows me to do my oncourt and offcourt training in one location, and I think this will make a difference in my game and overall performance." ... Miller Publishing Group, which publishes Tennis Magazine , has launched Smash, a lifestyle magazine aimed at players 14-18. It debuted in July with one issue and will go quarterly beginning in the spring.

QUOTABLE: " (John) McEnroe stands alongside (John) Madden as the medium's premier sports analysts. He takes his sport and makes it enjoyable for the casual fan and the nonfan. Nothing fazes him, a wonderful luxury for a (play-by-play) guy, and he is fearless on air. What the public doesn't see is his relentless generosity toward both tennis and causes in which he believes. John is a giver, not a taker." - commentator Ted Robinson of USA Network.

[Last modified September 27, 2005, 02:45:31]