James Blake was born in Yonkers, New York on December 28, 1979. He was best known for his speedy, flat forehand.His achievements include reaching the final at the 2006 Tennis Masters Cup, the semifinals of the Beijing Olympics and quarterfinals of the Australian Open(2008) and US Open(2005,2006), being the former American #1, and being ranked 4th in the world in singles and 31rst in doubles.He unofficially retired on August 29,2013 after having lost in the 2013 US Open.

James Blake, like many other tennis players, has transitioned between many different racquets.He worked with Prince to create a racquet with their technology, yet he was not comfortable with that racquet.He had switched back to his old racquet, the Dunlop Sport Aerogel 200 in 2009.He then changed to Wilson at the start of 2010, but he didn't feel comfortable with this racquet either so he switcheed back to Dunlop. He then began testing racquets for Head after the US Open of 2010.In the end, he decided to use a customized Donnay raquet.

The reason I respect James Blake as a tennis player is because, even though he lost many times, he never gave up and continued to play.Even after being diagnosed with several different diseases, breaking his neck, and having lost a parent, he still went on to become one of the best tennis players out there.