“But injuries unfortunately are a part of the game. I've been down that road before. Luckily -- it's weird, 'cause the ones that are very serious you kind of accept. You know you're going to be out for a long time.”

“But I had a little knee injury. Rolled my ankle. It was a couple weeks. Just broke my toe, so I'm out for six weeks. The little ones are almost more frustrating because you want to get back so quickly and you're trying hard, but you still have to take that time off and you're still rusty when you come back.”
 
Two Thousand Nine has been a tough year for the Yonkers native. Although some injuries were minor, the broken toe really stung, as he hurt it in his hotel room when he was in Croatia, earlier this year, tripping over some luggage. It torpedoed six weeks of the season and led to first round exits from both Roland Garros and Wimbledon. 
 
And as he struggled, the 29 year-old dropped in the rankings, so much so that he didn't even check anymore.
 
“I know I was going to drop,” Blake said. “I learned a long time ago, when I was thinking about rankings is when I was playing too tentative. I was worried that this guy is ranked 60, this guy is ranked 70, I should beat him. I'm not sure what Ollie [Rochus, who Blake beat in the second round] is ranked. I think I heard at the beginning he was ranked 90 in the world. He played better than a guy ranked 90 in the world. I don't worry too much about where my ranking is going to finish at the end of the year. If I'm playing well, I can go into any tournament and play with the best players in the world.”
 
A fan favorite, year in and year out, playing in his “hometown” tournament in which he seems to revel in the rock-and-roll atmosphere, and thrives off the crowd. When asked about his fondness of Flushing Meadows, Blake lights up.
 
“It's something special 'cause I was a fan here. I came to watch here,” Blake said. “I've told this story a few times. I think I still owe them a few dollars because I snuck in a couple times. I just loved seeing this kind of tennis up close.

“Honestly, I never dreamed -- I actually couldn't believe that anyone could be as good as these players were that were out here. To think that I could was just unfathomable. Now I'm out here playing. I know there are kids up there watching, thinking it's impossible. But it's so fun for me going out there and knowing that I was a fan, and now these kids are probably sneaking down to the expensive seats. That, to me, is so fun. I'm really a fan of this tournament. Being out there playing and getting that opportunity is so rare. I know how few people get that.”
 
“There are not many better feelings in the world than you showing your emotions and 15,000 people feeding off it. There really can't be much better. I think that's a big reason people miss it when they're gone, because there aren't many things that can replace that feeling. I know how lucky I am that I get to feel that. I know how lucky we all are to be a part of such a great tradition here at the US Open and to get to do what we love for a living and get that great feeling.
 
And that includes his backers, the “J-Block,” a group of family and friends, which seems to get larger and larger each and every Open.
 
“J Block is always feisty,” he said. “They have a lot of fun. As it gets later, maybe they got a little feistier. As the crowd gets, shall we say Heinekenized, they have a lot of fun. Somehow the J Block grows. Once people have a few drinks, they see how much fun the guys are having cheering for me, there will be people that just want to be around them, having fun, cheering and getting loud and getting excited.

“That's one of the great things about sports is having a biased crowd, having people that are cheering for you, cheering against you. As soon as the match is over, they can go back to being friends whether they were for or against you.”
 
And that's not just in tennis but baseball as well. Even though Citi Field is right across Roosevelt Avenue, Blake hasn't gotten to the stadium although he said he wants to take his mother to a game, after the Open. He also may take batting practice.
 
“I've done it the last couple years before the tournament, but they weren't around when I had the chance,” said Blake, who also mentioned he never got a ball out of Shea Stadium, but he his hit batting practice homers in Houston and Florida. “That field is pretty big. I don't know if I can get one out. A couple more injuries and I might be playing shortstop.”
 
Maybe he should rethink that offer if it comes. It has been already a rough injury year for Blake.