It was murder on court as Fabrice Santoro battled both cramp and age to push James Blake to the edge of eviction in the US Open.

But the American's nail-biting monkey was finally taken off his back when he emerged victorious in a five set duel, winning 6-4 3-6 6-2 4-6 6-4. Had they been using swords, both players would have been bloodied beyond recognition.

After the match James concurred with courtside interviewer Michael Barkan’s comments that after he lost the second set he played angry. “He’s the kind of guy who makes anyone angry,” Blake said with a wry smile, nodding in admiration at Santoro’s tactics.

'After the match James concurred with courtside interviewer Michael Barkan’s comments that after he lost the second set he played angry'

Such was the Frenchman’s use of clever shot selection, dubbed the magician by TV commentators, that Blake fell into the trap of playing the match the way the 34-year-old had wanted.

Blake began to doubt himself and at times was almost mesmerised by Santoro’s clever use of slice and angled short balls, not to mention court coverage as he constantly made the world No 6 aggressor strike one ball too many.

In the end, credit must go to Blake for hanging tough despite over 70 errors (many forced by the wily Frenchman’s never-say-die attitude in every point) and showing his class in a match that were he to have shown one ounce less commitment, he would have lost.