Umpire Warned Rowdy Blake Fans

Disruption Came From Luxury Box

FLUSHING MEADOWS, N.Y., Aug. 31 -- The rambunctious behavior of James Blake's traveling pack of friends, known for several years as the "J-Block," drew a warning from the chair umpire during Blake's loss to fellow American Mardy Fish on Saturday night.

After the match, Blake defended his friends, saying they were "singled out" for their behavior. Blake's fans, identifiable by their signature blue T-shirts, were spread throughout Arthur Ashe Stadium.

But the most noise came from a group of a dozen or so, stationed in a luxury box just above the court.

"I don't really feel that was appropriate," Blake said of the umpire's warning. "If they made one inappropriate comment, I know there were a lot of other people in the stadium that made comments or spoke at the wrong time."

The incident added another layer to a matchup that featured two close friends.

Fish, whose victory against Blake sent him to the fourth round for the first time in his career, refused to speak in detail about the incident.

"I don't really want to waste my breath," said Fish, who plans to get married this year, with Blake at his side as a groomsman.

Meantime, fellow American Andy Roddick, who advanced on Sunday with a 6-2, 7-5, 7-6 victory over Andreas Seppi, said he had a difficult time watching the match.

"It was weird," said Roddick, who is friends with both Blake and Fish. "And it wasn't enjoyable for me to watch. I was thrilled for Mardy for the way he played and I felt just as bad for James."

As for the crowd noise, Roddick stopped short of criticizing the warning. As long as play isn't directly affected, such as a fan screaming when a ball is tossed before a serve, Roddick said he's for spirited crowds.

"You know, it's sports," Roddick said. "There's supposed to be tense moments, you're supposed to yell, you're supposed to scream. All of a sudden, if there's a net and racquets involved, you can't do that."

After dominating on the playing court -- he said he considers this U.S. Open his best chance to win his first Grand Slam title since winning this event in 2003 -- Roddick held court on several other topics.

· On his decision to forgo the Olympics to prepare for the U.S. Open: "I think I've been pretty honest with you guys saying I could make this decision and look back and have it be [an] absolutely horrible one."

· On the term "lifting your game": "I hear 'lift game' all the time and I don't know if it really makes sense at this level. I guess it's not like we can go like that and press a button and 'aaaahhh.' "

· On qualities he would like to see from the person selected to lead the ATP when President Etienne de Villiers steps down in December: "Really hot."