By now, James Blake's all-in game is familiar to tennis fans. He hits the ball flat and hard. At its best, it can be glorious. At its worst… frivolous and infuriating.

Against Ernests Gulbis, Blake stepped out of character and took a little something off the ball, didn't go for the lines like he usually does and that didn't work, either.

No surprise, then to witness Gulbis, a Latvian ranked No.80 in the world, advancing to the third round  7-6, 3-6, 7-5, 6-3. Blake ended another clay season in disappointment.

'For all his gifts, Blake has managed to reach only two Grand Slam quarter-finals, both at the US Open'


"He's got really heavy strokes, and he also can be pretty streaky," said Blake, arms crossed and somewhat dour. "So there are times when you feel like you should just get the ball in and he might self-destruct. When you do that, just get the ball in, he's going to hurt you.

"He did that enough times in big moments, and that's the difference, him going for big shots in the big moments and me maybe not going after it.  

"I think I played the way too many commentators think I should play. A lot of people that talk about tennis don't play tennis, and they don't play me. It's funny,today was a perfect example of what not to do in my game." that

Indeed, Blake's 29 winners and 16 unforced errors were efficient numbers, well below his typical totals. But in the end, it was his unreliable first serve and an inability to deal with Gulbis' clever drop shots (there were a dozen) that did him in. That, and a blown forehand volley that would have erased a critical break point in the fourth set. And so, the education of Blake continues on clay.

He has dazzling athletic skills. He still is one of the fastest players in the game and has a big serve and forehand that carried him to a career-high ATP ranking of No.4 in 2006.

But for all his gifts, Blake has managed to reach only two Grand Slam quarter-finals, both at the US Open, where the swift courts maximize his game. He has won 45 of his 70 Grand Slam singles matches, but the best he has ever done at the Euro Slams - Roland Garros and Wimbledon - is the third round.