James Blake to retire after U.S. Open

James Blake will retire after this year's U.S. Open. (Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images)

American tennis player James Blake, 33, has announced his plans to retire after the U.S. Open.

Blake, a former top-four ranked player, announced his decision at a news conference on Monday, the opening day of the U.S. Open at Flushing Meadows. He enters his first-round match against Ivo Karlovic ranked 100th.

Blake's heyday was the 2006-08 seasons in which he was consistently ranked among the top-10 players. He reached a career-high No. 4 ranking in 2006. He advanced to three Grand Slam quarterfinals, including two at the U.S. Open where he lost to Andre Agassi in 2005 and to Roger Federer in 2006.

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In that span, Blake was rated the second-best American player behind only Andy Roddick. He became a teammate with Roddick on the U.S. team that won the Davis Cup in 2007.

From USA Today:

"This is my last tournament," Blake says. "I don't want to be dragged out of this game. I want to leave on my own terms. "... I really didn't think this would happen," Blake said, wiping away tears. "I did the best I could."