Blake Sends Message with Indy Win over Roddick

"This was extremely exciting for me, to play really my best tennis," Blake said. "It's a little more gratifying to do it when your opponent is playing well. I feel like I've earned the No. 5 ranking. It's crazy what confidence will do. Every break goes against you when you don't have confidence. And every break goes your way when you do have confidence. I have confidence now and they all seem to be going my way."

The tell-tale signs of Roddick's domination are returning: the cock-sure strut when he's up, the finger-curling screaming when he's down, but more importantly the explosive serving and the point-ending forehands that drove him to the US Open title and the year-end No. 1 ranking in 2003.

"I'm happy he's back to the old Andy," Blake said. "He's playing so well and I just happened to get lucky on some break points."

Hiring former champion Jimmy Connors to oversee his practice sessions and address his fragile mental state has paid off over the last few weeks as Roddick turned back the clock in an aggressive display, but it wasn't enough to tip the in-form Blake, whose win was his third of the year after similar hardcourt title runs at Sydney and Las Vegas.

The loss dropped Roddick's record in finals versus Top 10 players to 2-7.

In the third-set tiebreak Roddick's strong mental facade finally waffled with three key miscues: a double fault, a missed volley after an exemplary attack of a Blake second serve, then failing to stick a volley with his opponent completely off-court, allowing the bald-pated speedster time to scramble back and lace a backhand down the line.

Despite the loss, Roddick subdued multiple personal demons during the week, beating a series of players who were in attendance when his slide out of the Top 10 began during last year's hardcourt season.

In the quarterfinals Roddick straight-setted Luxembourg's Gilles Muller who shocked him in the first round of the US Open, and in the semis did likewise to Robby Ginepri who showed him the exit in last year's Indy event.

"The only thing is confidence and now I feel confident again," Roddick said. "I came in with a lot of questions and I'm leaving with a lot of them answered. My confidence feels restored right now. There wasn't really a difference. Straight up we could play that tiebreaker 10 times and it would be 5-5. I matched him for the most part but he played well, especially at the end of the match. It's frustrating but it wasn't really getting me down. To be honest I was having fun. It's fun to play a match at that high level."

The final against Blake was a big-hitting affair with both players trying to show who had the bigger, uh, "CDs," (a nod to outgoing sponsor RCA). Roddick just recently lost his mental hold over Blake this year during the grasscourt season at Queen's, where Blake won for the first time in seven meetings between the two.

Roddick appeared in Indianapolis without a title through the first seven months of the year for the first time since 2000. Consequently Roddick dropped out of the Top 10 three weeks ago on the ATP Rankings, his first time outside the elite 10 since October 2002.

Prior to the match-up, Roddick was content to lean on the past for confidence against his friend and practice partner.

"James has been playing well this year," Roddick said. "He's beaten a lot of good players this year, but I've still beaten him eight times (including Challenger matches)."

Now with two losses in a row, Roddick needs to look to the future against Blake, who has seemingly reached his level then surpassed it in a matter of months.

Seventeen aces in the final for Roddick bodes well if he eventually wants to party like it was 2003 again sometime in the future -- not only winning titles, but putting himself on a mental plane where he believes he can compete with next-level players Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal.

Blake is 2-0 career against Nadal, and has taken Federer to tiebreaks in three of their four meetings (all won by the Swiss).

Next up for Blake in taking his game to the next level: Making an impact at a Slam, winning a Masters Series title, stepping up when the U.S. travels to Russia for the Davis Cup semifinals on clay, and at the very first opportunity, ending his abysmal 0-9 career record in five-set matches.

Roddick later in the afternoon turned his fortunes around in the doubles final, teaming with fellow American Bobby Reynolds to upset No. 3 seeds Paul Goldstein and Jim Thomas 6-4, 6-4.

"This was a nice way to come out and get over it a little," said Roddick of losing the singles then taking the doubles title. "Get right back on the horse. I'm glad Bobby was able to get his first title. That's pretty cool."

-- Richard Vach, Tennis-X.com Senior Writer