Face that could have changed the future of British tennis

James Blake Interview: Inspired by Arthur Ashe, he is both role model and fashion model. Ronald Atkin in Paris talks to a balanced and educated sportsman

Being an essentially materialistic bunch, Americans do not have much time for the nice guys of this world. Hence well-known US sayings like "nice guys finish last" or "no more Mister Nice Guy". So Americans who can hack it in an individual and selfish sport like tennis and still be regarded as nice tend to be about as numerous as Custer supporters in the closing moments of Little Big Horn.

Though the label has been affixed to James Blake he wears it well, rather like the clothes he models as a wallet-fattening sideline. The nicest man in tennis, they call him. Yes, said Blake, perched bolt upright (more of that later) on a Paris sofa, he had heard that description. "My parents would be proud," he smiled. Any parent would be proud of this 22-year-old, who has rocketed from obscurity to the fringes of a Wimbledon seeding in just nine months, but the parents concerned are particularly interesting because his father, Thomas, is African American and his mother, Betty, is British and from Banbury.

British, you ask? But might that not qualify him for a place in our Davis Cup team? Though it is too late now, since James made his debut in that competition for the United States last October, he could certainly have been signed up, just as Greg Rusedski's British mother provided legal motivation for the spot he holds on our squad. But, not for the first time, the Lawn Tennis Association appear to have been looking through the wrong end of the telescope and a potentially sensational capture has escaped.

"I definitely could have played for Britain because of my mother but nobody in the country realised," said Blake. The secret was out at the Australian Open this year, where Blake was watching Tim Henman applying sun cream before his match. "I told Tim I should probably put some on too, since I was half-British. At first he laughed but when I said 'No, seriously' and explained, he put in a quick bid to have me switch over and play Davis Cup for Britain. But [Pete Sampras' coach] Jose Higueras was on court at the time and said 'Hey, stay away from our guy'.

"I really can't say for sure what I would have done if I had been approached when I was a teenager and losing in the second and third rounds of juniors. I would probably have been pretty happy that anyone was speaking to me at that point. But when I started to have some success the US Tennis Association was there right away to support me. There is also the fact that I grew up in the States and really regard myself as an American. I wish I could play for both but, since it can only be one, America is my choice. But you already have Greg, so you guys are looking pretty good."

Blake, too, is looking pretty good, on and off the court. But, he confides, he wasn't always the nicest guy in the game. "When I was a kid I wasn't always as well behaved as I am now, I had a few temper tantrums. Fortunately, not too many tapes of me exist when I was 12 or 13, but I was a bit of a brat. A few rackets smashed, whining, yelling, screaming and crying, that kind of stuff."

Blake is adamant that what helped him to mature was the decision to get an education before he tried to make a success of tennis. "I planned on going to college [he ended up at Harvard] and wanted to have a lot of friends who were not just based on tennis. I don't know if I would have been as successful if I had gone to a tennis academy and turned pro when I was 16 or 17. The fact that I grew up in a normal environment makes me feel very lucky. A lot of guys on the tour feel everything is owed to them, whereas I have friends in investment banking, doing things that are much more difficult than my life. Knowing that has helped me."

The road to Harvard lay via Harlem. Born in Yonkers, James and his older brother Tom honed their tennis in the Harlem junior programme at an armoury building on New York's West 143rd Street. It was here that James' life was changed by a visit from Arthur Ashe, who became – and remains – his hero. "Arthur is an inspiration for me and should be an inspiration for many athletes because what he did in the athletic arena was overshadowed by what a great person he was, how much he gave back, how selfless he was in helping others. It's an afterthought that he was also a great tennis player. For anyone to wish to be like that is a very lofty goal. It was something he was able to do but not many others have managed it, and for me to put myself in that same category would be way too arrogant."

Perhaps, but Blake is already a role model for young black tennis males. Mike Passarella, who played with him on the Harvard team, said: "When you're a smart, black tennis player you're going to be compared to Arthur Ashe. That can be difficult or it can be flattering. James has always thought of it as flattering, as an honour."

At Harvard, Blake soon became the number one collegiate player in the United States but left after two years in 1999 to turn professional. When his tennis days are over, he intends to return to Harvard and complete his education. At first the tour was hard going but reaching his first ATP semi-final, on grass at Newport, Rhode Island, in July last year changed things. He was awarded a wild card into the US Open where, in the second round, he battled the eventual champion, Lleyton Hewitt, over five draining, and occasionally acrimonious, sets before being hobbled by cramp.

Most people find fame in victory; Blake made his breakthrough on the strength of that defeat, or more precisely how well he played while losing and his dignified behaviour during a Hewitt rant against a black linesman deemed by many in the audience as racist. Hewitt strongly denied it, Blake accepted the Australian's explanation and they met again in less than a month in the semi-finals of a Tokyo event, with Hewitt once more the victor.

Back in America, Blake was asked by the US Davis Cup captain, Patrick McEnroe, to join the squad for the tie against India. James assumed his role was to be a practice partner, but McEnroe plumped for Blake and Andy Roddick as his two singles men. "Patrick told me right before we were going to dinner, so I didn't have time to jump up and down and call everyone I knew. But I managed to get that done after dinner."

Blake won both his singles and he rates his first victory, in straight sets over Leander Paes, as the highlight of his career. He has played Davis Cup again this season, and in February reached the final of the Memphis tournament, losing to Roddick. He was the first black American to get to a final since MaliVai Washington finished runner-up to Richard Krajicek at the 1996 Wimbledon. "People like MaliVai and Arthur have paved the way for me," he said. "I haven't had a difficult time. They went through the hardships for someone like me."

Rather than attempting to emulate the top players' strokes, Blake has opted to try to match their attitudes and qualities. It is because of this that he admires Jim Courier and Stefan Edberg. "I would like to think I have the same battling quality as Jim. He always knew he had worked harder than the person on the other side of the net and that got him through so many matches. Stefan was always cool, calm and collected on court, never looked as if he was under any kind of pressure. Those are the kind of things I looked up to as a kid, not so much someone's strokes."

Blake, who has a racket contract with the British company Dunlop, has also made a success of modelling himself in men's fashion with IMG Models but insists: "It is very, very secondary, something I don't take seriously, as you may guess by looking at my hair which hasn't been combed in a long time. I thought it might be an opportunity for me to do a few more things, meet some more people."

There was a possibility at one stage that Blake might meet more people in that catwalk of life than in tennis. The reason he sits bolt upright is because of a serious back condition called scoliosis, a gradual curving of the spine. "It is something that can't be cured, except by surgery, and when I was 14 the surgery they suggested was to put a couple of rods in my back, which would have been the end of tennis. Instead, I wore a big plastic brace under my clothes all the way through high school, which was more traumatic for me than the operation because I thought it might limit my social options."

The problem has lessened now that Blake has stopped growing and does not have to wear a brace. "But I still get pain on long flights or when I'm sitting for a long time. People think my posture is pretty good but they don't realise why I'm sitting upright like that. I think I'd be about two inches taller if I had a straight back," said the 6ft 1in Blake. "Maybe I'd have a bigger serve, too." Blake will also be hoping to walk tall during the British grass court season. He has rented a house in Wimbledon Village for a month while he competes in the Stella Artois tournament at Queen's, a special event at Stoke Park and then The Championships. Wimbledon this year will be very different from the previous two, when he lost in the first round of qualifying. He played on the All England Club lawns in both those years by qualifying in doubles, but again lost in the first round. His parents will be coming over to watch and Betty, who left Banbury at 17 to seek a new life in America, intends to recruit support from relatives and friends in Oxfordshire, providing her son can arrange tickets.

Blake could ease the ticket process by ending up as one of the 32 seeds, his ranking having improved so much this year, and by now he knows his way around the premises. "Last year I asked where the locker-room was and when it was pointed out to me, I went in. I saw Pete and Andre and a couple of other top guys but I wondered where all my friends were. Then I realised I was in the number one dressing-room. I asked Todd Martin's coach, Dean Goldfine, if I was supposed to be in there and he said 'No'. But I've seen what it's like in there now and hopefully I can earn my way back in there by right."

At that moment Blake's attention was seized by a French girl who wanted to ask questions for a Q & A profile: his favourite city (New York), favourite movie (Braveheart) and favourite sports (basketball and baseball). Asked what his main fault was, Blake said: "I'm not a good listener." He pondered a while on the question of his main quality, then offered: "I'm genuine." He certainly is. Arthur Ashe would be proud of him.

Biography: James Blake

Born: 28 December 1979 in New York.

Lives: Tampa, Florida, USA.

Height: 6ft 1in. Weight: 170 lb.

Latest singles ranking: 39.

Career highlights: Reached his first final at Memphis, 2002, losing to Andy Roddick. Member of the US Davis Cup team since 2001 and played 2000 Hopman Cup.

Grand Slam record: Wimbledon, not played. Australian Open, second round, 2002. US Open, second round 2001. French Open, third round 2002.

Personal: Role model is Arthur Ashe. Has modelled for ATP's Deuce magazine. His father Thomas is a salesman, his mother Betty is English. Started playing tennis at the age of five. His older brother Thomas is also a professional player.