How is JAMES BLAKE #40 in the ranking?

Chadwixx

Banned
Obvious racism

I wish the best for blake, he showed up at my club once and was amazingly nice. One of the classiest players on the tour.

He is just in a rut right now, getting older and doesnt have the patience he found when he made his run. That was his problem when he came on the tour, just blasted away not utilizing his speed, he got better through point construction.

Just needs a kick in the ass to get going again, got kinda lazy.

I heard meth works wonders at that stage in a career :)
CANT DIVULGE MY SOURCE THOUGH, SORRY
 
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coloskier

Legend
Once he started dropping in the rankings, he had to face the top players a few rounds sooner, causing an even faster drop. He's actually played pretty well in the indoor season, but he seems to be losing a step.
 

kishnabe

Talk Tennis Guru
Everyone goes through periods, and james blake maybe isnt having a top 15 season. I expect next year for him to make one quaterfinals in a slam and back in the top 15 where he belongs.
 

Shaolin

G.O.A.T.
He is ranked 40 because he seems to think the net is half a foot shorter than it really is. That or he enjoys repeatedly hitting 100mph flat forehands directly into the net tape.
 

Feña14

G.O.A.T.
still can't believe he lost to Murray in a 3rd set breaker last week....

Murray was never going to lose, he always had another gear to step up to if he needed it.

Having said that though Blake played well, he was very aggressive and got his tactics right for the match. If he can produce that kind of tennis on a more regular basis then I can see him getting back into the top 20.
 

bjk

Hall of Fame
If you look at his results from last year, he got 750 points by just getting to the quarters of some Masters. But he never had to face anyone ranked in the top 20 to get there . . . and then he lost. Now that he faces players like Murray in the first and second round, he's at the mercy of draws and isn't doing so well. He's probably still a top 25 player, but there are about 50 top 25 players, so it's crowded.
 

jrod

Hall of Fame
Hell, I'm surprised he's ranked as high as 40. The guy has done nothing other than swing with wild abandon for the last 2 years with less than 50% of the balls landing in the court.
 
T

TheMagicianOfPrecision

Guest
Hell, I'm surprised he's ranked as high as 40. The guy has done nothing other than swing with wild abandon for the last 2 years with less than 50% of the balls landing in the court.

:):)
Have to agree with this.
 

quest01

Hall of Fame
Blake hasn't been playing well almost all of this year. He lost to Dr. Ivo while up 2 sets to none on clay, he lost to Nadal in a close match, and Tsonga at the Australian Open. He just hasn't been able to put anything together this year except when he made it to a final on clay. I don't know but Pat McEnroe should consider using a different player as the #2 singles player in Davis Cup.
 

Camilio Pascual

Hall of Fame
James Blake was top 5 a couple of years ago and now he is #40.
He was a month shy of 27 years old when he reached his top ranking @ #4.
If you look at Open Era records, players who take this long to get to that ranking do not last very long up there and don't come back later.
Prediction: That was his peak, it's over. Will not make it into Top 8 ever again.
He will be a 30+ year old player for the rest of his career from now on. An Andre Agassi who made it into the Top Five at a much younger age could make it back to this high over 30 years old, but not a James Blake who didn't crack into the Top Five until after age 25.
 

Anaconda

Hall of Fame
Blake has massively underachieved. He could have at least made a semi or a final. He will be lucky to win another match next year.
 
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