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February
2, 2007
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James Blake
Marches into Semifinals
Vince Spadea from Boca Raton, defeats No. 2 seed
and defending champion Tommy Haas in the quarterfinals.
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 Delray
Beach, FL (February 2,
2007)—
No. 1 seed James Blake continued his march into the semifinals and local boy
Vince Spadea made good Friday afternoon. The 32-year-old resident of nearby
Boca Raton, seeded eighth, upset No. 2 seed and defending champion Tommy Haas
in the quarterfinals of the Delray Beach International Tennis Championships Friday, 6-3, 2-6, 6-4.
Spadea, runner-up here in 2004 to Ricardo Mello, will meet 2005 ITC titlist
Xavier Malisse in the semifinals Saturday. Malisse blew away No. 7 seed
Guillermo Garcia-Lopez of Spain 6-1, 6-1 Friday.
Spadea and Haas broke each other twice in their one-hour-30-minute battle.
But Spadea’s breaks were more timely. He won 84 points, compared to 73 for Haas.
Spadea beat Haas for just the second time in nine attempts.
“I started well and got control of the points,” Spadea said. “I was able to keep
him off balance and serve well at the end. I attacked well.”
The win over Haas was his best of the year, Spadea said. “I had Davydenko down
4-1 and 0-30 in the third set a few weeks ago at Sydney and let it slip. I
thought that would be my best win. I was thinking about it today. I’m glad I was
able to keep the faith, grind away, get the opportunity again and capitalize.
The way I served out the match was impressive to me.”
Spadea’s serve was key to his victory. “I’ve been working on it. It’s good to
see it coming out under pressure. I’m able to serve
consistently above 115 (miles per hour), and when I get confidence, even bigger.
Who said you can’t
teach an old dog new tricks – just like my doubles partner Davide Sanguinetti,
who’s 34 and in the quarterfinals. When you’re feeling good and eat pasta, it’s
all good.”
The American also benefited from an aggressive return. “I was stepping in on
it. Against a guy with better weapons on paper, you have to do something to
counter that. You can’t just hope he doesn’t show up that day. If you don’t make
your shots, you won’t win anyway. I tried to
determine my own destiny.”
Malisse was never threatened in his match, losing only three points on his serve
and winning more than 50 percent of the points on Garcia-Lopez’ serve. Overall,
Malisse captured 55 points, more than doubling the Spaniard’s total of 23. The
demolition lasted only 49 minutes.
“There was a lot of wind out there today,” Malisse pointed out. “With the wind,
you scramble. I didn’t try to hit my strokes hard, but play it smarter. I
returned well and kept the ball in play, and I didn’t get in any danger with my
serve. I played better than yesterday. I hope I got the bad day out of the way.
This is good for the confidence and for tomorrow.”
The Belgian, who lives in Sarasota, across the state of Florida from Delray
Beach, now has a career mark of 23-7 at the ITC. He won the title in 2005 over
Jiri Novak, and was runner-up last year to Haas, in 2001 to Jan-Michael Gambill
and in 1999 to Lleyton Hewitt.
Malisse is 7-2 so far this year, winning the second title of his career last
month at Chennai (d. Koubek).
Spadea, who has reached the semifinal four straight years, said he enjoys
playing close to home. “It’s natural,” he said. “It’s about social support. If
you’re running a race and no one is watching, you aren’t going to run as fast as
if a lot of people are screaming your name. I’m excited to have people screaming
my name. I always play well here and at Key Biscayne.”
The Boca Raton resident also said he is a bit happier than two-three years ago.
“You start to take life less seriously the older
you get. You go to the same cities and tournaments, you play so many close
matches. Everything is so dear and seems so extreme. I’ve been there and done
that in so many situations. I’m starting to enjoy myself more. I don’t look at
pressure as so evil. I’m trying to reinvent myself the way most athletes do.”
Spadea is winless in four attempts against his next opponent, Malisse. They last
played on an indoor hard court in Metz last fall. “He’s another obstacle and
challenge,” Spadea said.
Whatever he feels about Malisse, Spadea certainly is confident about his fashion
line. “A lot of people try to steal my hats when I’m not looking,” Spadea said.
“Clearly I’m a right brain genius/disaster.”
Ticket packages to the 2007 event are now on sale and can be
purchased by calling 561-330-6000. The Reserved Series
package for all tournament sessions is $250 while the
Weekender package—including the quarterfinals, semifinals
and finals—is $200. Box seat packages range from $980 for
two seats to $2,200 for four seats.
For more
information on the 15th annual tournament and its ancillary
events, visit
www.YellowTennisBall.com. |
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