NEW YORK -- When he was a kid, living nearby and taking tennis lessons in Harlem, James Blake would go the U.S. Open as a fan. He'd get in with tickets for the cheap seats, then look for a chance to sneak down to courtside for a closer look.
These days, Blake is front and center. He's featured in magazine fashion spreads, gets props from the Olsen twins at MTV's Video Music Awards -- oh, yeah, and he's bolstering his status as part of a crop of rising American stars.
Coming up with some spectacular shots at key moments against a player he's known for a decade, Blake held on to beat 1995 NCAA champion Sargis Sargsian 6-3, 6-4, 4-6, 7-6 (6) Friday to reach the Open's third round for a second straight year.
Andy Roddick, whose 21st birthday is Saturday, outslugged Ivan Ljubicic 6-3, 6-7 (4), 6-3, 7-6 (8) in the night's last match, joining Blake and fellow up-and-comers Taylor Dent and Robby Ginepri in the round of 32.
Ljubcic didn't like a key call, and he doesn't like Roddick's on-court persona.
"If you played this match anywhere in the world but the United States, I would have won it. He's a good player and is going to win a lot of matches," said Ljubicic, a Croat ranked 43rd. "The umpire's call. His acting on court. In general, nobody in the locker room likes his acting on court. Nobody else acts like that. He's the only one. He doesn't respect the others."
Roddick, of course, has made the farthest strides of the young U.S. contingent, rising to No. 4 in the rankings and making the semifinals at the Australian Open and Wimbledon (the only man to reach the round of four at majors twice in 2003). He's now 22-1 since the start of the summer hard-court season.
That 22nd win was anything but easy, though. Playing many points 10 feet behind the baseline in an effort to deal with the 6-foot-4 Ljubicic's power. Each had 22 aces in a tug-of-war that ended shortly after midnight -- meaning Roddick began the match 20 years old and ended it 21.
"I think I deserve a beer after that one," he told the crowd, which serenaded him with "Happy Birthday" after.
He saved four set points in the fourth-set tiebreaker, the last with a runaround forehand that landed right at the line. Ljubicic, thinking it should have been called out, put his hands on his head and dropped to his knees in exasperation.
The way Roddick and Blake play, though, they're looking more and more capable of succeeding Pete Sampras, Andre Agassi, et al.
"Before, it might have been a little bit of hype," said Blake, ranked 35th. "Now I feel we're showing people. We're doing our best. We really care about Davis Cup. We're starting to make some waves at big tournaments. We're starting to make things happen."
That truly would be an understatement if the 23-year-old Blake claims another victory at the National Tennis Center: His next opponent is Wimbledon champion Roger Federer. The No. 2-seeded Federer defeated Jean-Rene Lisnard 6-1, 6-2, 6-0.
Blake, who was born in Yonkers, lost to 2001 champion Lleyton Hewitt at the past two Opens and has been to the fourth round of a Grand Slam tournament only once.
"Hometown kid. They could rig a draw for me or something. I guess they didn't get around to that," Blake said, smiling. "I'm going to go down swinging. I'm going to go for everything. There's no reason why I should feel like if I play well, I'm definitely going to lose. He's human, he's going to make mistakes."
Federer didn't err too often Friday -- or in last month's Wimbledon final, when he artfully took apart Mark Philippoussis' game in straight sets.
Philippoussis, also a finalist at the 1998 Open, beat Anthony Dupuis 6-2, 6-3, 6-4. The Australian next plays his predecessor as runner-up at the All England Club, No. 13 David Nalbandian, who topped Jarkko Nieminen 5-7, 6-3, 6-1, 4-6, 7-6 (3).
Other winners Friday: No. 7 Carlos Moya, the 1998 French Open champion; No. 8 Rainer Schuettler; No. 10 Jiri Novak, who beat Jan-Michael Gambill of the United States in straight sets; No. 12 Sjeng Schalken; Hewitt's Wimbledon conqueror Ivo Karlovic; and No. 22 Younes El Aynaoui. Seeded players exiting included No. 19 Agustin Calleri, No. 25 Albert Costa, No. 9 Daniela Hantuchova and No. 13 Vera Zvonareva, the Russian teen who surprised Venus Williams at the French Open.
No. 17 Meghann Shaughnessy beat Zvonareva 4-6, 6-4, 6-2 and gets No. 1-ranked Kim Clijsters in the fourth round. Hantuchova lost 6-2, 6-4 to Tamarine Tanasugarn, who raised a fist, shrieked with joy and jogged to the net to shake hands after Hantuchova sent a forehand long to make it 5-3 in the second set. Tamarine eventually realized her victory celebration was premature, laughing sheepishly when a replay was shown in the stadium.
Clisters, 1998 Open champion Lindsay Davenport, No. 5 Amelie Mauresmo and French Open semifinalist Nadia Petrova won in straight sets. Davenport, fighting a left foot injury, faces Petrova for a quarterfinal berth.
"This week is just what I needed to give myself some confidence and know that I played well, my foot's feeling good, save some energy for the second week," said Davenport, the only past women's champion here. "The tough rounds begin now."
The charismatic and self-deprecating Blake makes it sound as if each outing on the court is tough for him, requiring nothing but maximum effort.
"When my career is over, I won't regret I didn't have more talent," he said. "But if I didn't stay in a few matches mentally, and that cost me, or if I didn't work hard enough, those are the kind of things when I'm 40 years old I'll think back on."
Mental toughness helped against Sargsian, especially when Blake dug a 5-4 hole in the fourth set. Sargsian served to force a fifth set, but Blake broke him with a backhand passing shot down the line.
In the tiebreaker, Blake wasted three match points. But at 6-6, Sargsian put a backhand volley into the net -- "Just took my eyes off the ball, I guess," he said -- and then sailed a forehand long for his 71st unforced error, 19 more than Blake.
Like his young U.S. cohorts, Blake's growth as a player is coming match by match. He looked a lot better Friday than he did in losing at Wimbledon to Sargsian, who knocked off Roddick at the French Open while improving his ranking from 100th at the end of last year to 52nd.
Blake even pulled a trick out of the same bag that produced a left-handed stroke during his first-round win. Blake broke Sargsian's serve to win the first set with the help of a sequence in which he stumbled to his left for a backhanded retrieval, then switched directions to leap and pound a passing shot from the opposite corner.
Even Sargsian appreciated the effort, watching the replay on a video screen.
"He jumped higher than I've ever seen anyone jump," said Sargsian, an Armenian who first met Blake after moving to the United States in 1993.
Blake lived in Fairfield, Conn., at the time, and they practiced together on occasion. It's been quite a journey for Blake, including two years at Harvard, a modeling deal and, of course, the pro tennis tour.
"Now maybe there's some kid in the qualifying or juniors that's nudging his buddy, saying, 'There's James Blake.' That's amazing. It's a long way I've come," he said.
"I'm still a little shocked that I'm always in the locker room now instead of in line waiting to get in to watch."
Copyright 2003 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
= Sporting News Radio Pass