James Blake Won the Indianapolis Thriller Against Andy Roddick

The United States are back in the tennis world. After some pretty disappointing performances in the past year, it seems that the American players want to get back on the winning streak, just in time for the US Open. Having to take on the Sampras & Agassi legacy in the ATP, Andy Roddick and James Blake are still very far from their predecessors' performances. Still, in the Indianapolis International Championship final, they both proved they're at least trying.

Andy Roddick was coming into his first final of this season - if you can imagine that - and James Blake was very confident that he will take over Andy's place in the ATP standings. Both players produced some outstanding tennis during their 3-sets encounter, making everybody hope for more in the US Open to come. Andy took the first set 6-4, and it looked like the American will finally win a tournament this year.

Still, Blake recovered well and put a lot of pressure on his opponent in the second. He scored an identical 6-4 in the second set and the decisive was opened to the unpredictable. And it was James who won it. After an exhausting tie-breaker, Blake beat his fellow countryman 4-6, 6-4, 7-6 (5), winning his last true test before the US Open. And he was pretty happy about it.

"This is one of the best finals I've ever played. I had to play like that to beat a champion like Andy. I played my best tennis; it's very satisfying to have done it in the final. Andy and I wanted to prove that U.S. tennis is back now. We're on our surface now and we want to do well going into the U.S. Open and hopefully for the rest of the year. I like the way that things are going", said Blake at the end of the game.

On the other hand, this was the first tournament where Andy Roddick really played like a champion. After his glory days in Wimbledon - he reached 2 finals and one semifinal in the last 4 years - the 2006 season has truly been a disappointing year for him. Lots of injuries have stopped him from reaching a top form. Still, he recovered just in time for the US Open.

"This is the only final besides the 2004 Wimbledon final that I can say I've played my best tennis and lost. Sure I'm disappointed now, but I'm sure I will look back at this week as a success. Hopefully this is a turning point", said Roddick after the final. Andy managed to get into the ATP Tour's "Top 10" again, after 2 weeks of absence.