Blake 'Not On a Pity Tour'

> walked off the court on Saturday night, one had to wonder if we were seeing the crowd favorite in Ashe Stadium for the last time.

The onetime Harvardian, playing through injuries for much of the year, had been all but blown off the court on a more-than-blustery night in Flushing Meadows, his opponent Novak Djokovic better navigating Hurricane Earl’s remnants to score a 6-1, 7-6(4), 6-3 third-round win. But the wilcard entrant — age 30 and ranked a lowly No. 108 — kept his emotions in check after the match, saying he hoped to be back in 2011.

“I really hope that wasn’t my last match on Arthur Ashe Stadium,” he said. “I definitely want to be back here next year. If it was [my last appearance], I competed my heart out. I did everything I could. But I think I’ve got more in me and I think I’m going to be back there. Maybe more night matches, some more excitement for the crowds, some more good times. I definitely believe that. I hope it comes true next year.”

But deep down, Blake knows it will be a tough road. Out of action from March to June, he returned to the tour only to lose in the first round of three consecutive tournaments and drop out of the top 100 for the first time since ’05. And it only gets tougher.

“I don’t feel like I’m hurting the game by being out here,” he said. “I’m not on a pity tour just getting beat up first round every week by kind of nobodies. I lost to a pretty darn good player. I’m playing okay and I know I can play better because the preparation can be better. I’m going to have more time on the track, more time on the court, more time in the gym. I’m going to be able to do it if everything is healed up. Once that happens, I definitely think I have more in me. There’s a chance I can go six weeks, come back, blow out my shoulder, and maybe this was my last match an Ashe.”

Blake, of course, has risen above adversity before. All that he overcame in 2004 — the neck injury, the facial paralysis, the death of his father, Thomas — and his eventual comeback to a career-high No. 4 in 2006 — gave him a new outlook.

“I never planned on this career as a marathon,” Blake told reporters after the all-too-quick one-hour, 44-minute match. “I tried to treat it as a sprint, every match being its own sort of entity, working hard to win that. If it’s my last, it’s my last. If that came at 25 when I blew out my knee, if that came at 30 when I did something to my back, so be it. I’m going to treat every match as a sprint and just do my best every time. When it ends, it ends. I don’t feel like right now I’m out there looking for charity.”

Djokovic, who will face Blake’s pal Mardy Fish in the fourth round, took control of the match early, wrapping up the first set in a mere 22 minutes. But Blake provided a glimpse, albeit brief, of his former showman self, engaging the fans with his trademark athletic shotmaking in jumping out to a 4-2 advantage. But the unforced errors began to creep in (he finished with 31 to his Serbian foe’s 13) and Djokovic soon turned the set in his favor.

“It’s a big mental struggle when you have such a strong wind to find a way how to try to play good tennis, especially if you have somebody across the net who is so aggressive, taking everything early and playing a risky game,” said Djokovic. “I think I was serving very well. It was a very high percentage of the first serves in. Good accuracy, efficiency. It was very important in these conditions.”

Nole put 79 percent of his first serves in play – a remarkable feat considering the swirling winds, which often sent his ball toss astray.

Blake, a two-time USO quarterfinalist, accomplished more in New York than many expected, defeating Kristof Vliegen in three sets in the first round and Peter Polansky in four sets in the second round. But the No. 3-ranked Djokovic — who has reached the semis or better at the Open each of the last three years — proved too tough a test.

“I’m going to take a little break,” said Blake of his immediate plans. “I need the body to completely heal up. I felt better than I have in a while the last couple matches. I know I still need to feel really 100 percent and ready to go after this to move forward.”