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Blake Nets Straight-Sets Win In His Olympic Debut

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The Associated Press

Published: August 11, 2008

BEIJING - James Blake of Tampa won the first match in Olympic tennis Sunday, erasing a set point in the second set and beating Chris Guccione of Australia 6-3, 7-6 (3).

Making his Olympic debut, Blake held every service game and earned the only break of the match for a 5-3 lead in the first set. The 28-year-old American faced a set point at 5-6 in the second set but held, then hit five winners in the tiebreaker.

When Blake smacked an ace on match point, he threw a fist and shouted "Yeah!" as the impartial stadium crowd of 4,000 applauded.

"Definitely more nerves than a normal match," Blake said. "I tend to not really get nervous when I'm out on a tennis court, but today was a little different."

Twice during the match small clusters of fans chanted "U-S-A!" With Andy Roddick skipping the Olympics, Blake is the highest-seeded American in the men's draw at No. 8.

The start of the tournament was delayed 21/2 hours because of rain, then began under thick smog.

SAILING: Zach Railey of Clearwater hauled in first place overall in Finn class, with British sailing star and undisputed favorite Ben Ainslie, a triple Olympic medalist, riding hot on his wake.

"I definitely have to say it is an honor to be the lead," Railey said. "But we are just four races into this and it's a long regatta. We're not even halfway."

Olympic first-timer Railey, 24, took two second places Sunday, following up on a second and fifth on Saturday's opening day in consistent sailing. Ainslie, 31, took a fourth and a win Sunday, coming off a 10th and a second on Saturday in the 11 race series.

The American, who was No. 28 at the 2008 Worlds and is currently ranked No. 18 worldwide, hadn't even figured into pre-games speculation about top challengers. The seemingly unbeatable Ainslie is going for third straight Olympic gold, and fourth medal in four Olympics, including his silver in 1996.

Railey said he plans to stick to his original strategy for the Olympics, and not get caught up in how he or the other boats are doing.

"My overall goal coming into this was to sail conservatively, and not take too many chances," Railey said. "This is a big event. It is always on your mind. ... When I go to bed, I think about what I am going to do, and then think about it in my sleep."

FIELD HOCKEY: In their first Olympics appearance since 1996, the American women dug out of a 2-0 hole and tied Argentina.

GYMNASTICS: The Chinese women were not up to their usual standards. Neither were the Americans. Then again, it was only qualifying. The finals Wednesday surely will be different.

The U.S. squad was limited because Samantha Peszek sprained her left ankle in warm-ups. That left them with only four competitors on floor, vault and balance beam, meaning every score had to count. World champion Shawn Johnson dazzled on the balance beam but the overall effort left something to be desired. Chellsie Memmel fell from the uneven bars and Nastia Liukin fell on the landing in her specialty, the uneven bars.

"We got the nerves out and the mistakes out," Johnson said.

China won the first subdivision, although most of the passion came from the audience. Their coach said their performance "was about 70 percent" of what it could be, although it was still good enough for the top score.

SOCCER: The U.S. men were within seconds of a major win and a quarterfinal berth. Now it's a tie away.

The Americans allowed a goal on a free kick by Gerald Sibon in the third minute of injury time, forcing them to settle for a 2-2 tie with the Netherlands. The result left the United States with four points, tied atop Group B with Nigeria and two ahead of the Netherlands. Japan has zero. Only two teams advance.

The U.S. team faces off against the Nigerians on Wednesday in the final group game for both in Beijing. The Dutch will need a victory against Japan while the United States, which has the same goal difference but more goals scored than Nigeria, will require only a tie to advance.

WATER POLO: The U.S. men's team opened with an 8-4 victory against host China. Tony Azevedo scored five times for the Americans.

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