James Blake is coming back to Connecticut. The Fairfield High School graduate and former Number Four tennis player in the world has been given one of three wild card berths into the Pilot Pen Tournament at Yale, beginning on Aug. 20. Blake has a tough road in the tournament as a wild card, but that has not slowed him down before. Blake won Pilot Pen in 2005 as an unranked wild card.
The Pilot Pen will be Blake's first major event of the year as he is coming off nagging foot and knee injuries. Pilot Pen will be teaming with Blake's charitable foundation, the Thomas Blake Sr. Memorial Research Fund, which raises money for cutting-edge cancer research. The Fund honors Blake's father who passed away from gastric cancer in 2004.
The winner of the Pilot Pen will get an automatic berth in the U.S. Open in Flushing, N.Y. Blake went that route in 2005 and took future tennis Hall of Famer Andre Agassi to five sets in the quarterfinals. Blake's first match is scheduled for Monday, Aug. 23, at 4:30 p.m.
For tickets to the Pilot Pen or for more information call (203) 776-7331 or visit the Pilot Pen website.
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