NEW YORK -- As his match moved past three hours and toward a fifth set, James Blake looked like a man in need of some help -- a man who would be happy to be done with Brian Vahaly.

There had been an injury timeout to get treatment for leg cramps after he chased down one of Vahaly's shots. Blake seemed to be running out of steam.

So he urged his body through the tiebreak, willing himself to a 6-7 (3), 6-3, 6-3, 7-6 (5) victory over his wild-card opponent in Monday's first round at the U.S. Open.

Did he think it was imperative to end the match then and there?

"I wouldn't say `imperative,' '' Blake said. "Might be important. I'd say it was important. I didn't want to play the fifth one where there's a chance it could have gotten worse.

"I was pretty happy to get it over with in the fourth.''

Blake, seeded No. 25 at the Open, has never won a five-set match, so that made the tiebreaker, second of the match against Vahaly, more than a little significant.

Blake knew this could happen. He knew Vahaly was potential for trouble. They had played in juniors and in college. They knew each other's game.

"It definitely wasn't an easy first round,'' Blake said. "I knew that coming in. I'm sure a lot of guys like seeing a wild card that they're playing. I knew Brian. That's the first time I think I've ever beaten him. He's a good player that makes you play well to beat him. he doesn't give you a lot of free points. He doesn't make stupid mistakes. He gets to a ton of balls.''

Blake and Vahaly are both former NCAA singles runners-up, Blake at Harvard in 1999, Vahaly at Virginia in 2001.

Their careers went in opposite directions after that. Blake became one of the most promising young American players while Vahaly drifted to No. 584, losing in last year's Open qualifying tournament 0-6, 0-6 and nearly giving up the sport.

On Monday, they found themselves at center court at Arthur Ashe Stadium, both a little taken aback at the size and scope of the place.

"I wanted to play my best, have my best match out there,'' Vahaly said. "I didn't want to get overwhelmed.''

That didn't turn out to be a problem.

The significance of playing in Ashe Stadium was not lost on Blake, one of only a handful of black players on the tour.

"Going out, I definitely thought of the fact that I want to act appropriately on my role model's stadium,'' he said. "I'm really happy I got a chance to play there and get a win there. Hopefully down the road, I'll get used to playing there.''

Maybe even some five-setters.