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I don't mind fans rooting ferociously for their player.

What I object to is clapping during service faults and refusing to clap when your player's opponent hits a winner. I watched the J-Block closely Saturday night. NOT ONCE did I see anyone in their box show Mardy Fish even a minimal amount of respect.

Last night, I finally got around to sending an email to James Blake's site:
*****

James, I doubt you actually read emails from random scrub fans… But just in case…

I was in Ashe Stadium for your match against Mardy Fish. I must confess that I missed the first set because I was watching Ferrer/Nishikori on Armstrong. But I arrived at the start of the second.

Since then, I’ve also read your post-match interview following your loss to Mardy. And putting it all together, it’s clear that you don’t fully understand how the J-Block behaved that evening.

NEVER, NOT ONCE, did anyone in the J-Block applaud a Mardy winner.

NEVER, NOT ONCE, did anyone in the J-Block applaud an ace from Mardy.

But when Mardy missed a first serve. They clapped.

When Mardy missed a second serve, they stood up and cheered.

The people who were in the box that night do not exemplify the kind of values that I believe you hold… The kind of values that chastised Fernando Gonzalez for poor sportsmanship when he and everyone else knew that ball hit his racquet in Beijing, but did nothing.

Will you do nothing about the J-Block? And if that’s the case, are you really so different from Gonzo?

Their behavior that evening, James, was reprehensible. I was embarrassed for you. When you’re on the court, you can’t see how they behave. But from the nosebleed seats in Ashe, we can see them. And it was a shameful display.

Worse yet, it reflected badly on you. Which is why I was rooting for Mardy. That’s unfair. But that’s the effect that the J-Block had on me.

I hope you rectify the situation and teach them the basics of tennis etiquette. You applaud your opponents’ winners, James. Shouldn’t they?