Name	James Blake
Height	6' 1"
Naionality	United States
Date of Birth	December 28, 1979
Place of Birth	Yonkers, New York
Famous for

James Riley Blake (born December 28, 1979 in Yonkers, New York, United States) is a professional tennis player and is currently the second highest ranked American, 10th in the world. Blake is known for his speed and powerful, flat forehand. He reached the final of the 2006 Tennis Masters Cup but lost to the then World No. 1 Roger Federer in straight sets, 6–0, 6–3, 6–4. On July 3, 2007, Blake`s book, Breaking Back: How I Lost Everything and Won Back My Life, discussing his comeback after his unlucky 2004 season, was released and debuted at #22 on the New York Times Best Seller list. He wrote this book along with Andrew Friedman.

Blake was born in Yonkers, New York, United States to an African American father Thomas Sr. and a White British mother Betty. He has a brother, Thomas Jr., who is also a professional tennis player, and three older half-brothers, Jason, Christopher, and Howard, and a half-sister, Michelle. Blake started playing tennis at age five alongside his brother Thomas. When 13, he was diagnosed with severe scoliosis and for five years as a teenager, he was forced to wear a full-length back brace for 18 hours a day, though not while playing tennis. Blake attended Fairfield Warde High School (then called Fairfield High School), in Fairfield, Connecticut. A schoolmate was future musician John Mayer. Blake was inspired to pursue tennis after hearing his role model, Arthur Ashe, speak to the Harlem Junior Tennis Program. Brian Barker was his first (and current) coach. He left Harvard University after his sophomore year to pursue a career in professional tennis.