Former Houston finalist James Blake takes on seventh seed Pablo Cuevas in Houston later today.
Blake made the final of this tournament back in 2007 and he remains a popular figure with the crowds. He justified his wildcard with a battling 6-7, 6-3, 6-4 first round win over Argentina's Carlos Berlocq in a match which lasted nearly three hours. Blake's cool head in moments of crisis saw him eventually prevail and Berlocq was left ruing converting just two out of twenty break points.
However Cuevas will be a far tougher prospect. The Uruguayan thrashed Ricardo Mello 6-2, 6-0 in round one and is on a hot streak of form at the moment after scoring the best win over his career against Andy Roddick in Miami.
Cuevas thumped down 14 aces to see off Roddick and the conditions in Houston will suit his aggressive game.
Prediction: Cuevas in two
