Updated: Tuesday, Aug. 19, 2003 - 11:14 PM EDT.

COMMACK, N.Y. (AP) - After eliminating Jonas Bjorkman of Sweden in the opening round of the TD Waterhouse Cup on Tuesday, James Blake knew how far he had come.

"I was here in 2001 and I couldn't even make it out of the qualifying rounds," said the 23-year-old Blake, who beat Bjorkman 6-1, 7-6 (4).

"No doubt about it, I played lousy _ so lousy that many people went so far as to say that I should give up tennis. Fortunately, Brian Barker, who has been coaching me since I was 11, was not one of them," Blake added.

This year, Blake's confidence is growing, and he hopes a strong showing on Long Island can propel him to new heights at the U.S. Open next week.

"The best preparation for the U.S. Open would be to win this tournament," Blake said. "That's my goal. I'll get five matches and then move on to the Open with a great deal of confidence."

In other first-round action at the Waterhouse Cup, Gustavo Kuerten of Brazil rallied for a 6-4, 7-6 (3) victory over Dominik Hrbaty of Slovakia, and defending champion Paradon Srichaphan of Thailand easily eliminated Nikolay Davydenko of Russia 6-3, 6-4.

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Kathy Roberts, Lifetime Drugfree World Champion Powerlifter

http://www.GIFTOFSTRENGTH.com