Blake defeats Roddick in all-American final
The RCA Championship was his sixth career ATP win.
INDIANAPOLIS (AP) -- James Blake was happy to win the RCA Championships and seemed to be just as pleased to see Andy Roddick back on track.
Roddick said he played one of his best finals, but Blake won the all-American matchup 4-6, 6-4, 7-6 (5) on Sunday.
Blake replaced Roddick this month as the highest-ranked American man, and lived up to his new status. But he said Roddick is starting to look like the guy who once was No. 1 in the world.
"I feel like I've kind of earned the No. 5 ranking," Blake said. "But I know [Roddick] will be better than that. It's nice to see the old Andy. I look for him to be number one or two in this U.S. Open series."
Blake claimed his sixth career ATP win and third of the year.
"It's the best I've ever played, then better," he said. "That's what I had to do against Andy."
Regaining confidence
Roddick has 20 ATP career wins, but none this year. The subject of much criticism since a third-round exit at Wimbledon, he said he's starting to regain his confidence.
"For six months, I've been hearing I don't know how to play tennis," Roddick said. "You don't get to number one, number two, number three without knowing how to play tennis.
"I've been playing badly for a while ... My confidence has been restored."
The win capped a stunning turnaround for Blake. He was ranked No. 210 last April.
In May 2004, Blake suffered a fractured vertebra in his neck when he slammed head first into a net post during a practice session.
Later that summer, he learned he had shingles, a condition which affected his vision and caused temporary paralysis on one side of his face. In July 2004, his father, Thomas, died from stomach cancer.
Nothing stopped Blake on Sunday, not even Roddick's serve that often exceeded 140 miles per hour.
"He's just playing great tennis right now," Roddick said. "It couldn't happen to a better person."
Foot speed difference
Roddick finished with 17 aces, but was frustrated by Blake's foot speed. In the tiebreaker, Blake chased down one of many balls that appeared unreachable to go up 6-4. Roddick served an ace to make it 6-5, but Blake closed it out on the next point.
"We want to prove that Americans are back on our surface," Blake said. "I feel like I'm on a new level on hard courts."
Roddick came into the match having won 40 consecutive service games. That increased to 45 before Blake broke him on a backhand return winner to take a 2-0 lead in the second set. It was the first time in the tournament, singles or doubles, that Roddick's serve had been broken.
Blake nearly broke Roddick's serve again for a 4-0 lead, but Roddick won the game.
Roddick eventually rallied to tie the set at 4, but Blake broke Roddick's serve for a second time, a love game that clinched the set. Roddick showed his frustration during the decisive game, throwing his racket up in the air after Blake went up 40-love.
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