Back to Business for Blake

BEIJING - When James Blake returned to his room in the Athlete Village on Thursday after dashing Roger Federer's hopes of winning an Olympic singles medal, he found a congratulatory note from his neighbors, the Bermuda Olympic team, and each member had signed it. 

But less than 24 hours later, Blake was back to business, as the only American remaining in the singles' draw.  There was no time to savor what he called the biggest victory in his career: a quarterfinal triumph over Switzerland's 12-time Grand Slam title winner, 6-4, 7-6 (2). Blake had a 4pm semifinal meeting with Chile's Fernando Gonzales, the singles bronze medalist from the 2004 Athens Games.

While Blake warmed up, Federer was back on a nearby court, - wearing a red Nike polo shirt  like his buddy Tiger Woods -  and playing a rare doubles game with his Swiss countryman, Stanislas Wawrinka.

Playing in a half-empty stadium, it seemed Blake-Gonzalez might make for a short afternoon. The Harvard alum took 38 minutes to win the first set, 6-4, in the of the best-of-three set match. Right after Blake was broken in the first game of the second set, however, cheers erupted for Federer in the distance, as he and Wawrinka had just defeated India's Leander Paes and Mahesh Bhupathi, 6-2, 6-4,in the quarterfinal, bringing Federer closer to his first shot at an Olympic medal.

Back on Centre Court, Blake then reverted to his old warrior form that has kept so many US Open fans up late - too riveted to turn away from his exhausting back-and-forth battles with players such as Andre Agassi.  

In the second set, Blake broke Gonzalez back in the second game and both players serve until it was 5-5. Blake was broken in the 11^th game, and Fernandez served out the set - but not before squandering one set point and giving Blake a break point which Blake dumped into the net after a long baseline rally.  Gonzalez prevailed 7-5, forcing a third set.

In the Olympic format, tiebreakers are not used in the third set. When Blake was up 6-5, he failed to convert three match points on Gonzalez's serve. (One shot went long, a behind-the-back shot went awry, and Blake dumped the third one into the net.) It was pivotal, to be sure, but the lasting moment came in the 18^th game when Blake was up 9-8 and Gonzales was serving. In the very first point of the game, Blake sent a ball long, but not before claiming that it hit part of Gonzalez's racquet.

The umpire didn't hear it hit Gonzalez's racquet. Blake asked if Hawkeye could be used to determine whether the ball's trajectory was altered, and the answer was no. Blake lost the point, and while it was not a decisive point (as it only made the score 15-0), it became symbolic of the Olympic sportsmanship.

Blake said afterwards that he had expected Gonzalez to come forth and admit that the ball hit his racquet.

"I'm 100% sure [it hit his racquet]," Blake told reporters. "Fernando looked me square in the eye and didn't call it. If the roles were reversed, my father would have pulled me off the court if that happened to me."

Gonzales won that game and it was tied 9-all. Gonzalez broke Blake's serve in the next game to go up 10-9. Gonzalez served for the match and Blake held off four match points before putting a service return into the net and allowing the Chilean to vie for a third Olympic career medal.

After 2 hours, 52 minutes of focused play, Blake was steamed by the loss not shy about discussing the controversial point.

"It's a tough way to lose a match," Blake said. "I know him well," he said, referring to Gonzalez, who will now face Rafal Nadal in the gold-medal match.  "He does everything in his power to win. Usually it's within the rules, sometimes it borders on gamesmanship. Not to take away from the kind of tennis he can play. I tried to put it out of my head - that he kinda took one that you deserved. You do lose a little faith in your fellow competitors."

In a separate press conference, Gonzalez said of the point, "I didn't feel anything. I wasn't 100% sure [that it hit my racquet]. We were on the court 2 ½ hours and I was really tired. I tried to move from the ball. There is an umpire. I will give it [if it hit me] but I'm not sure."

Blake wasn't persuaded. "Maybe I shouldn't expect people to hold themselves to a high standard of sportsmanship, but yes, maybe I did expect a little more out of the Olympics."

Blake will face Novak Djokovic on Saturday in the bronze medal match. It will be the first time the two have met in competition.

Later on Friday night, Federer earned a chance to play for his long-coveted gold medal - in doubles - against Sweden's Simon Aspelin and Thomas Johansson, a match that follows Blake-Djokovic on Centre Court on Saturday.  Also in action Saturday: the Williams sisters in a semifinal against the Ukraine, and the Bryan brothers face Arnaud Clement and Michael Llodra of France in the men's doubles bronze-medal match.

All told, the US could go home with three medals or none. In Athens, Mardy Fish earned the lone US tennis medal (a silver in men's singles) which was the US's lowest tally in the eight times tennis had been contested at the Olympics, dating back to 1900.

Aimee Berg is a freelance contributor for teamusa.org. This feature was not subject to the approval of the United States Olympic Committee or any National Governing Bodies.