American James Blake captured
his first ATP singles title with a three-sets win over Thailand's Paradorn
Srichaphan.
The 22-year-old sixth-seed, who caused the tournaments biggest surprise with
victory over Andre Agassi in the semis, recovered from losing the first set to
win 1-6 7-6 (5) 6-4.
Srichaphan, a year older than his opponent, has now lost all three of his
finals this year.
He was beaten by Argentina's Guillermo Canas in Chennai, and then Irakli
Labadze of Georgia in Brest both in January.
Blake also improved his world ranking to 41 with this victory over a determined
Srichaphan, who was cheered on by a strong contingent from his homeland.
He also became the first African-American player to win in Washington since
the legendary Arthur Ashe in 1973, and only the fourth win a title in the Open
era which started in 1968.
This was not lost on a very proud Blake, especially as Ashe - who was
subjected to racism on and off the court during his career - was an inspiration
growing up.
He said: ``I describe this as incredible. Anytime I'm put in the sentence with
Arthur Ashe is very significant for me.
``From my childhood I was proud to say he was my role model and now more and
more I keep hearing `you're the first one to do this since Arthur Ashe'. It's
mind-boggling.
``I can't comprehend winning my first title and being the first
African-American to win here since Arthur Ashe. I can't believe I'm in the same
sentence as him.
``The toughest thing I had to deal with today was 50 Thai fans. Ashe had to
deal with racial slurs, people throwing things, being put in the toughest
section of the draw week after week, not being allowed in the same locker room.
``For me to get angry at a few Thai fans would seem silly and it would seem
almost an insult to everything he did to make it possible for me to be here.''
``I never knew if my first title would come. Just beating Andre Agassi (in the
semi-final) would be an incredible week but to do that and then follow it
through with a win is great.
``To see the last ball fly out was exciting especially with my family here
with me and some of my best friends.''
Srichaphan too can look back on a remarkable week, despite his hat-trick of
final defeats.
He clearly exceeded everyone's expectations with some outstanding performances
- beating former world number one Marcelo Rios on the way - including his own.
He said: ``I am really confident. This has been a good week for me here in
Washington, I am very happy about it and the fans were all great.
``This has given me a lot of confidence for the US Open.''
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