Blake Bows Out After Five-Set Battle: James Blake’s singles career came to an end Wednesday night at the US Open with a 6-7(2), 3-6, 6-4, 7-6(2), 7-6(2) defeat to Ivo Karlovic on Louis Armstrong Stadium. “I don’t know when it’s going to hit me,” the former World No. 4 said on court. “I don’t think I’ll be sleeping much tonight. “Thanks for staying everyone. I can look at the clock, it’s after midnight and I’ve still got a lot of people here supporting me. It’s hitting me now that I’m never going to have this again in my life, and I need to appreciate every single one of you for being here.” The 33 year old appeared to be on his way to a second-round meeting with ninth-seeded Swiss Stanislas Wawrinka after winning the first two sets, but needed to battle for survival in the fifth set after falling behind early. With the support of the home crowd, an inspired Blake got back on serve with a break in the seventh game. Blake would finish the match having won 170 points to Karlovic’s 167, but was unable to gain the upper hand when it mattered in the fifth set tie-break. The 6’10” Croat clinched the victory in just under three hours with his 38th ace of the night. Karlovic’s only other comeback from two sets down also came against Blake, in Davis Cup action four years ago.
Posted on: Thu, 29 Aug 2013 10:48:51 +0000
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