James Blake, occasionally breaking down in tears as he spoke, announced his retirement yesterday during a U.S. Open press conference.
The 33-year-old Blake, the Yonkers native and former Harvard standout, overcame long odds to become one of the faces of American tennis.
Blake never advanced past a quarterfinal in a Grand Slam, but reached as high as No. 4 in the world rankings and was a stalwart on U.S. Davis Cup teams after his comeback from breaking his neck when he hit a net post in 2004.
Blake, currently ranked No. 100, will face 6-foot-10 Ivo Karlovic of Croatia in his first-round match tomorrow. Blake is not expected to be a factor at this Open.
“I don’t kid myself,’’ Blake said. “ I know I have had a great career in my eyes, but it’s not one that’s going to go down in the history books. It’s not one that’s going to end in Newport [at the Hall of Fame], but it’s one that I’m proud of.’’
Blake said he hopes one day to become the U.S. Davis Cup captain. The gregarious Blake also mentioned the possibility of going into broadcasting.
Blake, who was raised in Connecticut, said the most memorable moment of his career was losing to Andre Agassi in a fifth-set tiebreak in the quarterfinals of the 2005 U.S. Open.
“Despite the tears, I’m actually really happy about this,’’ Blake said. “It took me a long time to come to this decision, but I’m happy with it and really comfortable.’’
As for Davis Cup captain ambitions, he said: “[Jim] Courier has got those guys playing unbelievable right now, so I wouldn’t step on anyone’s toes. But in the future, that was such a great part of my career that I’d love to be a captain, as well.”