James Blake and Fabio Fognini are in second round action in Cincinnati on Grandstand Court tonight.
Blake is determinedly battling his way back up the rankings and you have to hand it to him for plugging away over the past year. At the age of 31, an Andre Agassi style career revival is unlikely but still Blake has been prepared to go back to picking up his own balls in challenger events to work his way back to the top 100.
He’s already exploited his wildcard well this week, coming back from a break down in the final set to defeat last year’s Cincinnati semi-finalist Marcos Baghdatis 3-6, 6-3, 6-2.
The reward for the winner of tonight’s match is a potential third round encounter with Roger Federer, possibly a night match on centre court and each will be confident they can pull it off.
Fognini is enjoying his best season to date and he stunned 14th seed Viktor Troicki 6-4, 6-1 in the opening round.
Prediction: Blake in three.
