James Blake

(weblogs.wpix.com)

James Blake is a man full of hope and faith. He has overcome many obstacles in his life. Even as a small kid he had many problems. One of his biggest problems was that he had scoliosis. He had to wear a brace all day and do practically nothing. But, he had hope he would get over it soon and he did.

My hero, James Blake, is a tennis player from Yonkers, New York. His parents are Betty and Thomas Blake. James has three half-brothers: Jason, Christopher, and Howard and Thomas his brother and his half-sister Michelle. When he was five he started playing tennis with his brother Thomas and loved the sport.

When he was thirteen he was diagnosed with scoliosis and had to wear a brace for eighteen hours a day though he tried to play tennis without it. His interest in tennis formed when he heard a speech given by Wimbledon Champion Arthur Ashe. After this Ashe became his inspiration. When he was in high school he was friends with John Mayer who is a famous musician.

James Blake has accomplished a lot in his life. In 1998 he became the Number one junior player with a score of 49-0. In 1999 when he was a sophomore at Harvard University he became a pro tennis player. He won his first pro match in 2002 at the USTA Waikola Challenger. In 2005 he won the Pilot Pen tournament in Connecticut against Feliciano Lopez. In 2006 he was Number four in the world and Number one in America. In 2008 Blake was one of the three mens' singles representing America in the Beijing Olympics.

James Blake has inspired me in many ways. He has inspired me by playing tennis even though he had scoliosis. He has also inspired me by how he rebounded from a personal tragedy. During a match in 2004, Blake slipped on the clay surface and slammed into the net post breaking his neck in the process. Later in his career, Blake also had to deal with the personal tragedy of losing his father to stomach cancer. Not once did Blake give up. I think this is incredible. James Blake is a man of hope and faith in a lot of ways. I hope that if I become a pro tennis player I will be like him. He has never given up even when he was going through the hardest things in life. James Blake is my hero.