Flushing Meadows, NY – Former top-10 star James Blake announced that he will retire from the ATP World Tour following the U.S. Open, which commenced Monday in New York.
The 33-year-old, currently 100th-ranked Blake climbed as high as No. 4 in the world in 2006 and was a member of the United States' last Davis Cup championship team in 2007.
The 6-foot-1 Yonkers, N.Y., native, who once attended prestigious Harvard University, captured 10 singles titles on the tour and earned nearly $8 million in prize money. He reached the quarterfinals at the U.S. Open in 2005 and 2006 and Australian Open in 2008, and also landed in the final at the Tennis Masters Cup in 2006.
In 2004, while practicing with fellow American Robby Ginepri in Rome, Blake broke his neck when he slipped on a clay court and collided with the net post. In July of that year, his father died of stomach cancer. At the same time, Blake developed shingles, which temporarily paralyzed half his face and blurred his sight.
Blake was the ATP's Comeback Player of the Year in 2005 and was named the Arthur Ashe Humanitarian of the Year in 2008.
The amiable Blake is scheduled to meet 6-foot-10 Croat Ivo Karlovic in his first-round match this week.
His announcement comes a year after his good friend and former Davis Cup teammate, Andy Roddick, retired after the U.S. Open.
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