James Blake ended his six-match losing streak to former world number one Lleyton Hewitt as he edged past the Australian in the Tennis Channel Open final in Las Vegas on Sunday. The 26-year-old American stunned top-seeded Hewitt 7-5, 2-6, 6-3 to capture his second title of the year, having won in Sydney last January. “I played him (Hewitt) a whole bunch of times in the past. This is the first time I've come out on top and I'm pretty happy,” fifth-seeded Blake was quoted as saying by the tournament's official website. “I finally got a win against one of the greatest players of all-time. He's gotten me in so many close ones, he's beaten me up so many times, it's nice to know I can get one win against him,” Blake added. The title carried Blake up to a career-high number 14 in the INDESIT ATP Rankings, four places behind Hewitt. Hewitt, who won the title in Las Vegas in 2000 and 2003, has lost his last four finals, the most recent coming in San Jose last month where he lost to Britain's Andy Murray. The Aussie world number ten also fell to Marat Safin in the Australian Open final last season. Despite his defeat, Hewitt said his two weeks in San Jose and Las Vegas were a good preparation for the upcoming Masters Series in Indian Wells and Miami. "It's never nice to lose in finals, but you have to be hitting the ball well to make it through to the championship match," said Hewitt. "There are a lot of positives to come out of the last two weeks going into two big tournaments in Indian Wells and Miami." Hewitt, who has not won a singles title in almost 14 months, lost to Roger Federer in the final at Indian Wells last year.
