Ashe's legacy lives on

Blake inspired by late great entering Davis Cup play

Goran plays through pain ZAGREB, Croatia (AP) -- Goran Ivanisevic knows he will be in pain playing in the Davis Cup. But the ache could be sharper if he has to sit out Croatia's historic match against the United States. The 2001 Wimbledon champion hasn't played a competitive match since surgery on his left shoulder in May. He's penciled in to play doubles on Saturday with Ivan Ljubicic. He knows what to expect. "It's going to be painful, now were going to see how big the pain is going to be," Ivanisevic said. "We'll see if I can survive with the pain for three or four hours or not." Ivanisevic said the pain had moved to his elbow and bicep -- but only on the serve. But that's his biggest weapon. "You don't play the United States every day," said the 31-year-old Croatian. "Especially not at home. It doesn't matter who plays for them, they can make 10 teams in Davis Cup. For me it's very important to play and very important for us to win and I'm going to do everything to play on Saturday. "If I have to walk on my head all day today and sleep on the street to play I'll do that."

ZAGREB, Croatia (AP) -- James Blake doesn't recall meeting Arthur Ashe, but he has a lot to thank him for.

Blake will feel many ties to Ashe when he leads the United States team against Croatia in the first round of the Davis Cup starting Friday.

Blake is the first black American since Ashe in 1975 to be the top-ranked U.S. Davis Cup player.

"Arthur Ashe inspired people like my dad [to learn] tennis and obviously that inspired me," Blake said. "Without Arthur Ashe, I might not even be around, because tennis is how my mom and dad met."

Blake and his teammates will wear warmup jackets with the name "Ashe" embroidered on the left sleeve -- marking the 10th anniversary of Ashe's death on Feb. 6, 1993, from an AIDS-related illness.

In Friday's play, Mardy Fish makes his Davis Cup singles debut in the opener against Ivan Ljubicic, with Blake playing Mario Ancic in the second match.

Blake and Fish were picked to play in doubles Saturday against Ljubicic and Goran Ivanisevic, the 2001 Wimbledon champion who hasn't played any top-tier tennis since undergoing shoulder surgery last May.

In Sunday's reverse singles, it's Ljubicic vs. Blake, followed by Ancic vs. Fish.

Blake learned to play tennis at the Harlem Tennis Center, where Ashe visited frequently. His parents, Tom and Betty, met on a tennis court and the Harlem courts served as a child-care center for James and his older brother Thomas.

"My dad would take me and my brother up there when he would go to practice," Blake said. "My mom would be up there and it was kind of like a second home for us. While they were playing there were a ton of people who knew us so well. When we got older and out of the strollers we wanted to go out there and play and join them."

Dante Brown, executive director of the Harlem Junior Tennis Program, recalled Blake as "feisty and a fighter."

"I'm not surprised he is playing No. 1 for the United States," Brown said in a telephone interview Thursday. "He is just living up to his potential."

At only 23, Blake is the team veteran. Andy Roddick had to pull out with a wrist injury after reaching the semifinals of the Austalian Open, leaving Blake and Fish as a two-man show.

Non-playing captain Patrick McEnroe nominated them to play all five matches, with Davis Cup rookies Taylor Dent and Robby Ginepri in reserve.

McEnroe is free to change the lineup on Saturday and Sunday. If he doesn't, it will mark the first time in 39 years that the United States has used only two players in a Davis Cup tie. Chuck McKinley and Dennis Ralston did it in 1964, losing 3-2 to Australia.

"Mardy has played more matches lately, he's won more matches. He's in a little better shape," McEnroe said.

"Taylor is not as sharp as Mardy is. Mardy is playing with a lot of confidence and started the year well. He's played Davis Cup in doubles. I just think right now, for the Friday match, he's the better guy to go with."

With Pete Sampras and Andre Agassi no longer interested in Davis Cup, Blake, Fish, Roddick and Co. are the future of the U.S. team.

"All those guys [Sampras and Agassi] have done their time," McEnroe said. "Roddick is a top-10 player, James is in the 20s and could be a top-five player. They are making progress. The question is how far they can go."

The Americans have won the Davis Cup 31 times, but have gone without a title since 1995. McEnroe was asked if this could be the year to win No. 32.

"I think it could be," he said. "Nowadays with so much depth in men's tennis, it's going to be difficult to dominate Davis Cup the way we did. This year, next year, the year after we could win it. We're not the favorite, but we're getting closer to that place."

The Americans aren't even the favorites against tiny Croatia, which has 1/65th the population of the United States.

Ljubicic, 14-10 in the Davis Cup, will be favored against Fish, who is 1-0. That was a doubles victory last year with Blake. Blake (7-1) will be favored over 19-year Ancic (4-1).

The big question mark is Ivanisevic, who won't know until Saturday if he's fit to play. But he said he doesn't intend to miss the first-ever match between the two countries.

"You don't play the United States every day, especially not at home," he said. "It doesn't matter who plays for them. For me it's very important to play and very important for us to win and I'm going to do everything to play on Saturday.

"If I have to walk on my head all day today and sleep on the street to play I'll do that."

At Sydney, the host Australians took a 1-0 lead against Britain when Mark Philippoussis won 6-3, 6-3, 6-3 over Alan Mackin, a player ranked nearly 250 places below him.

In the other first-round matches, it's France vs. Romania, Netherlands vs. Switzerland, Sweden vs. Brazil, Belgium vs. Spain, Germany vs. Argentina and Czech Republic vs. Russia.

 

Related information

Stories

Israel-Pakistan doubles team wins Arthur Ashe award Evert leaving tennis broadcasting

Multimedia

Visit Video Plus for the latest audio and video