It’s official. Blake will not let us to see him play against Nadal on clay. I think the result really is a foregone conclusion as far as playing Nadal is concerned on his favorite clay. But it would’ve nice to see if James could keep it close with him. James had a few good wins on clay in the past couple of years, including his win over Almagro. But now Roddick and Querrey will have to try to get 2 points from their 4 matches.
I do think that James was dropped by McEnroe rather than him pulling out by himself. James form has been questionable and he seems to have not gotten over his Olympics and U.S. Open experience. After all, he has nothing to show for the U.S. hard courts season, so he may as well take some time off and recharge his battery for a push for that Masters Cup spot.