With the U.S. Open right around the corner, James Blake is looking to get his game back.

The 30-year-old American star has struggled in 2010, battling a right knee injury and falling to #108 in the ATP rankings.

Blake is hoping to get back on track at the Pilot Pen Tournament, accepting a wild card spot in the US Open Series event held at the Connecticut Tennis Center at Yale between Aug. 20-28.

Off the court though, Blake has recently collaborated with Fila on a new men’s tennis apparel collection called Thomas Reynolds by Fila. Blake is the only male tennis player to have a signature clothing line that he also designs.

The fan favorite and leader of the “J-Block” talked to BET.com about his clothing line and his career going forward.

MV: Was your first round loss at the Legg Mason due more to rust or your injuries?

JB: I want to give credit to Ryan because he played well. I did not play the way I needed to on big points and I had a lot of break chances that I did not take advantage of.  I think that came from not playing many matches, I did not the right things you need to do on important points. I am hopeful that just playing a few more matches – as many as I can this summer will make a difference once I get back into that rhythm and go to the habit of winning.

MV: How much longer do you see yourself playing considering your recent struggles this year?

JB: I don’t know. I think those things can turn around pretty quickly…they did in ’05 when I was struggling for a while and turned it around.   In everyone’s career they struggle for a little while at some point and I feel like in my career I’ve been able to bounce back from that a few times and hopefully this will be no different and I will have the chance to bounce back. And if I don’t, I am fortunate enough to know that there are other things in my life that I am able to do – but right now in my life, I want to play tennis.

MV: Health wise, how are you feeling at the moment?

JB: Health wise, I feel good, my knee is feeling much better so, I am excited to be healthy again.   I am excited to get back to playing great tennis.

MV: What inspired you to name your clothing line after your father?

JB: He really inspired me and he is the one who made me the person I am today and I wanted to do something that was a tribute to him more so than a tribute to my tennis career because I don’t believe there would be a tennis career without him leading the way.

MV: What makes your Fila clothing line stand out from other brands?

JB:  One of the biggest things is that it is made by a player. I have worn a lot of different clothes and tennis gear for the last 10 years of my professional life and when you go through that you know what works and what does not work and what you think helps you the most on the court and what you think could be a problem.   To be able to have the influence and have a say in the designing makes a big difference it makes it so it’s going to turn out better for the player, I think. It really is as comfortable as can be on the court and will hopefully be helpful for other players.

Now that we are a couple of days removed from Serena Williams’ outburst at the U.S. Open, the more and more I’m conflicted on her actions.

On one hand, we are all human and have our own outbursts.

On the other hand, whether she likes it or not, she’s a role model to young children and girls across the world.

Threatening to shove a tennis ball down someone’s throat translates in any language but it’s not new to the sport of tennis.

John McEnroe was the master of abusing the line judges and Williams has said that she grew up a fan of Johnny Mac … and it shows.

Her actions shouldn’t take away from her skills on the court and unfortunately, it took away from a great story at the U.S. Open with Kim Clijsters beating both Williams sisters after returning from pregnancy.

Stay classy, Serena.

And next time you want to attact a line judge, go with the Carl Winslow method of stress relief.

“3, 2, 1, 1, 2, 3, what the heck is bothering me.”

Works every time. Trust me.

My favorite two weeks of the summer kicks off tomorrow at Flushing Meadows when the 2009 U.S. Open starts on Monday.

In case you tune in to USA tomorrow to find the action ESPN and the Tennis Channel now have the broadcasting rights for the Open.

On the men’s side, I think most tennis fans are rooting for a Federer-Nadal final but you won’t see a Williams sisters finals.

Venus and Serena are in the same half of the U.S. Open draw and would meet each other in the semifinals.

Anti-clamatic to say the least.

Since I’m a betting man, I would put my money on Federer and Serena Williams.

Who ya got?

Serena Williams showed why she’s the #1 women’s tennis player in the world.

Williams defeated her sister Venus to win the Billie Jean King Cup at Madison Square Garden, 6-4, 6-3.

Blame it on the 10-inches of snow in New York City or the lackluster economy but the “World’s Most Famous Arena” lacked a certain buzz, even with the Williams sisters in the finals.

Along with taking home the cup, Serena took home a cool $400,000 on the evening.

Not bad for one night of action.

If the snow has you stuck inside this evening, HBO has the BNP Paribas Showdown for the Billie Jean King Cup tonight at 7:30PM EST/4:30PM PST.

Serena and Venus Williams along with Ana Ivanoic and Jelena Jankovic will compete against each other in a one-night-only single elimination event from Madison Square Garden in New York.

The draw sets-up a possible Venus-Serena showdown in the finals.

Who ya got?