James Blake shows off the trophy after winning the first Tennis Channel Open on March 5, 2006. Photos by Isaac Brekken. James Blake returns the ball during his three-set victory over Lleyton Hewitt in the championship of last year's inaugural Tennis Channel Open, one of Blake's five tournament victories in 2006.

As good as 2006 was for James Blake, he is aspiring to do even better in 2007.

Blake, 27, said he's not through climbing the tennis mountain, a quest that carried him to the No. 4 world ranking, highest among American players, at the end of last year.

"I hope to build on what I did last year," said Blake, the top seed and defending champion in the Tennis Channel Open, which begins today at the Darling Tennis Center. "I worked very hard on my game and I was glad to see the results which came from it."

Blake had a remarkable 2006 run. He won five tournaments on four continents, including the first Tennis Channel Open, in which he beat Lleyton Hewitt in three sets for the title. He was a U.S. Open quarterfinalist for the second consecutive year and reached the final of the season-ending ATP Masters Cup in China, losing to Roger Federer, the world's No. 1 player.

"Actually it goes back to the year before when I won at New Haven (Conn.)," Blake said of his surge. "When I won there, in front of my family and friends, it changed everything, especially after what I had been through."

In May 2004, Blake suffered a broken neck in a freak accident while practicing at the Italian Open. Later that year his father died of cancer. But Blake recovered from the injury, overcame the grief of losing his dad, won at New Haven in 2005 and then played a memorable U.S. Open quarterfinal against Andre Agassi, losing in five tough sets.

Now in his ninth year as a professional, Blake has career earnings of $4.39 million, making a personal-best $1.9 million last year, and his 2007 season is off to a good start. He won last month at Sydney, Australia, and reached the round of 16 at the Australian Open, where he was beaten by Fernando Gonzalez, who ultimately lost to Federer in the finals.

Blake then made the final at Key Biscayne, Fla., and was a set up on Xavier Malisse before the match was suspended because of weather. When play resumed the following day, Malisse regrouped and defeated Blake, 7-5, 4-6, 4-6.

Blake also was part of the U.S. Davis Cup team that beat the Czech Republic in the first round this month, though he lost his only match to Tomas Berdych in four sets. When the Americans clinched after Andy Roddick won his match on the final day, Blake did not have to play again.

"There was definitely some carry-over," Blake said of his good start in 2007. "Confidence is so important to any athlete, and I came out (of last year) with a lot of confidence. I feel like I can win every time I step onto the court."

Physical issues are beginning to crop up, however. Blake had a heel problem in Australia, but it has cleared up. He also has been battling tendinitis in his right wrist, which forced him to withdraw from the ATP Tour stop in Memphis, which ends today.

But Blake said the week off did him good and that he'll be fit and ready for his first Tennis Channel Open match, most likely Tuesday night in the round-robin portion.

"The doctors are pleased and I'm pleased," said Blake, No. 6 in the ATP computer rankings and second among Americans behind No. 4 Roddick, who trails Federer, Rafael Nadal and Nikolay Davydenko. "Mentally I'm doing great. I'm excited to be back in Vegas. They did a great job with the tournament last year, and I'm sure it'll be even better this year."

In addition to repeating as champion in Las Vegas, Blake wouldn't mind profiting in the city's poker rooms. During his stay last year, he had some success at The Mirage.

"Yeah, I'll probably get over there and play a little," he said. "Especially if they have me in the night matches. You can only watch so much TV in your hotel room."

Blake's improvement coincides with his work on the practice court. He has been trying to work on his defense and his backhand in an attempt to move up in the rankings.

"I knew if I was going to make any progress, I had to get better defensively," he said. "I think my transition game is much better. I get to more balls now and I do something with them. Instead of just trying to return, I'm able to place the ball, and that's a big difference from the past.

"My backhand improved a whole lot. You can't exploit it anymore."

Blake said both elements remain a work in progress. He's also trying to take more chances on his second serve, rather than just put the ball in play and hope he can manage to still win the point.

"I still have a lot of room for improvement," he said. "By no means do I think I'm there. But with the success I've had the last two years, it has given me the incentive to work even harder because I now see what's possible."

TENNIS CHANNEL OPEN FIELD

SEEDED PLAYERS

1. James Blake, U.S.

2. Lleyton Hewitt, Australia

3. Marat Safin, Russia

4. Jurgen Melzer, Austria

5. Fernando Verdasco, Spain

6. Julien Benneteau, France

7. Tim Henman, England-x

8. Benjamin Becker, Germany

9. Robby Ginepri, U.S.

10. Paul-Henri Mathieu, France

11. Nicolas Mahut, France

12. Vince Spadea, U.S.

13. Juan Martin Del Potro, Argentina

14. Stefan Koubek, Austria

15. Paul Goldstein, U.S.

16. Michael Llodra, France

REST OF FIELD

Jan Hernych, Czech Republic; Robert Kendrick, U.S.; Igor Kunitsyn, Russia; Thomas Johansson, Sweden; Amer Delic, U.S.; Yen-Hsun Lu, Taipei; Sam Querrey, U.S.-x; Feliciano Lopez, Spain; Frank Dancevic, Canada; Bjorn Phau, Germany; Evegny Korolev, Russia; Gustavo Kuerten, Brazil-x; four qualifying spots TBD.

x-wild-card entry

SCHEDULE

DARLING TENNIS CENTER

TODAY'S MATCHES

Stadium Court

Danai Udomchoke, Thailand, vs. Ramon Delgado, Paraguay, 10 a.m.

Chris Guccione, Australia, vs. Wesley Moodie, South Africa

Amer Delic, U.S., vs. Evgeny Korolev, Russia

Court 10

Paul Capdeville, Chile, vs. Zack Fleishman, U.S., 10 a.m.

Ilia Bozoljac, Serbia, vs. Alex Bogdanovic, England