James Blake held off Andreas Seppi of Italy 7-6 (5), 3-6, 6-1.
Blake struggled with his forehand — committing 33 errors with that stroke alone — but his one-handed backhand worked well. The American hit a backhand passing shot up the line to break Seppi's serve for a 3-1 lead in the third set, then rolled from there.
"In the third set, I really started to find my game," Blake said. "A lot of shots I was missing starting going in."
The 28-year-old Blake reached his first career clay-court final last month in Houston, losing to Marcel Granollers.
"A lot of times, Americans have trouble on clay," Blake said. "But the older I get, the more I learn, and my clay-court game is starting to come together."
Advertisement
