Good Week for Brothers Blake

All in all, it wasn’t a bad week for the Blake brothers.

On Wednesday, 25-year-old James pushed crowd favorite Andre Agassi to a fifth-set tiebreak before losing in the quarterfinal round of the U.S. Open. It capped a spellbinding week and a half that saw James officially emerge on the tennis scene after years of middling results.

Then yesterday, after watching his little brother light up Flushing Meadows, 28-year-old Thomas advanced to the final of the Alex Howard Invitational Tournament at Harvard’s Beren Tennis Center.

Both Blake brothers played for the Crimson during their undergraduate years at Harvard—Thomas until his graduation in 1998, and James until the end of his sophomore year of 1999, when he departed to pursue a professional career.

The two were among the nation’s elite collegiate competitors, but never was the Blake name as prominent as it is now, after James’ riveting run through the U.S. Open draw.

He stunned No. 2 seed Rafael Nadal in the third round, dispatched No. 19 Tommy Roberdo in the fourth, and amidst a raucous Queens crowd and a swirl of media pressure, James nearly took out Agassi, too.

“I haven’t ever been to any sporting event that was as exciting as that before,” Thomas said of the last match, which he and his mother watched from the front row. “And not just because it was my brother.”

It was hardly expected from a player who won two singles titles in six years. From a wild card ranked No. 210 this spring. From a kid who’d just lost his father, broken his neck and battled shingles.

And in some ways, that become the story: it was triumph over tragedy rather than triumph, per se. Every match Blake won became another victory in spite of heartbreak.

“But if he keeps playing the way he’s playing,” Thomas said this weekend at Harvard, “the story will be about his game soon enough.”

Dave Fish ’72, who has coached the Crimson for nearly 30 years, said he was “most impressed with was the improvement of [James’] game.”

“Not only was he dramatically fast,” Fish noted, “but his shot selection had improved enormously.”

James’ forehand was even more of a weapon, according to his old coach. His backhand, which had “let him down before,” was now a “legitimate top-20 stroke.”

And though there was no siphoning crowd loyalty away from Agassi, Blake fast became the Flushing fans’ No. 2, never batting an eye at the continual reminders of his tragic year and impressing with his grace and resolve.

Fish says that’s a keystone of Harvard’s athletic mission. The school boasts 41 varsity programs, and yet “we don’t treat our athletes like prima donnas.”

It is, Fish said, “the gift of omission,” and “James is sort of the epitome of what most of the rest of our guys are, though in a less dramatic fashion.”

Take his brother Thomas, for example.

Today, Thomas plays in the finals of the Alex Howard Invitational singles draw. He faces pro Trevor Spracklin for the $1,500 pot. Half his time at Beren Tennis Center this weekend has been spent shaking hands, smiling and politely answering questions about James.

Thomas says he doesn’t mind. It’s been quite a ride, after all, and his brother has only just realized the damage he might really do on tour.

“Now James knows,” Fish said, “and now he’s not going to be happy with anything less.”

—Staff writer Rebecca A. Seesel can be reached at seesel@fas.harvard.edu.