Flushing Meadows, NY (Sports Network) - Former top-10 star James Blakes singles career came to an end on a rainy Wednesday at the U.S. Open. Ivo Karlovic of Croatia fired 38 aces past Blake to claim a 6-7 (2-7), 3-6, 6-4, 7-6 (7-2), 7-6 (7-2) victory in a match that lasted over three hours. Blakes only other first-round loss here came in 1999. "I dont know when its going to hit me. I dont think Ill be sleeping a lot tonight," Blake said. Blake announced Monday that this would be his last tournament. The 33-year-old American ended his career with 10 singles titles. He reached the quarterfinals at the U.S. Open in 2005 and 2006 and Australian Open in 2008, and also landed in the final at the Tennis Masters Cup in 2006. "Its hitting me now Im never going to have this again in my life, a teary- eyed Blake said. "That ovation makes me realize every bit of hard work is worth it." In 2004, while practicing with fellow American Robby Ginepri in Rome, Blake broke his neck when he slipped on a clay court and collided with the net post. In July of that year, his father died of stomach cancer. At the same time, Blake developed shingles, which temporarily paralyzed half his face and blurred his sight. Blake was the ATPs Comeback Player of the Year in 2005 and was named the Arthur Ashe Humanitarian of the Year in 2008. Meanwhile, defending champion Andy Murray and former title winner Juan Martin del Potro posted first-round wins on Wednesday. The third-seeded Murray cruised past French left-hander Michael Llodra 6-2, 6-4, 6-3. The reigning Wimbledon and U.S. Open titlist beat Novak Djokovic in last years final in Flushing and was a runner-up here in 2008. Murray will next do battle with Leonardo Mayer, who took down Victor Hanescu 7-6 (7-4), 6-4, 3-6, 7-6 (7-4). The sixth-seeded 2009 champion del Potro snuck past Guillermo Garcia-Lopez by a 6-3, 6-7 (5-7), 6-4, 7-6 (9-7) margin in a match that lasted over four hours on a rainy Wednesday. Garcia-Lopez saved three match points in the final tiebreaker before del Potro put him away. The last time del Potro came into the U.S. Open seeded No. 6 was four years ago and he went on to capture the title. Next up for del Potro is former world No. 1 Lleyton Hewitt, who defeated American Brian Baker by a 6-3, 4-6, 6-3, 6-4 score. Hewitt, who captured the U.S. Open in 2001 and was the 2004 runner-up to Roger Federer, improved his impressive record at Flushing Meadows to 44-11. Stanislas Wawrinka, the No. 9 seed, discarded Czech Radek Stepanek 7-6 (7-2), 6-3, 6-2. The 28-year-old Wawrinka will take on Karlovic in the second round. American Rajeev Ram upset 16th-seeded Italian Fabio Fognini 6-1, 6-2, 6-2. He will play Marcel Granollers in the second round. Granollers outlasted Jurgen Zopp 6-1, 3-6, 1-6, 6-3, 6-4. No. 17 seed Kevin Anderson, No. 20 seed Andreas Seppi and No. 21 seed Mikhail Youzhny avoided the upset bug. Anderson took down Daniel Brands 7-5, 4-6, 6-2, 6-3, Seppi beat Xavier Malisse 6-3, 3-6, 7-5, 7-5 and Youzhny got past Nicolas Mahut 6-4, 6-4, 7-6 (7-4). Evgeny Donskoy cruised past 29th-seeded Austrian Jurgen Melzer 7-5, 6-3, 7-6 (7-3), while Russian Alex Bogomolov Jr. outlasted 24th-seeded Frenchman Benoit Paire 7-5, 2-6, 6-4, 5-7, 7-6 (7-5). Other first-round wins came from former Australian Open runner-up and former top-10 star Marcos Baghdatis, Peter Gojowczyk, Tim Smyczek, Alexandr Dolgopolov, Somdev Devvarman. Graham Zusi USA Jersey . -- Derrick Rose shook off poor shooting early to hit clutch shots late and Carlos Boozer had 20 points and 13 rebounds to lead the Chicago Bulls to a 104-95 preseason victory over the Oklahoma City Thunder on Wednesday night. Matt Besler Jersey . Fred Couples, captain of the U.S. side, put it all into perspective. "We know whos in charge," he said. Jermaine Jones Jersey .Y. -- The Buffalo Sabres have placed centre Cody Hodgson on injured reserve and recalled two players from their AHL affiliate in Rochester. . Artturi Lehkonen, Joni Nikko and Ville Leskinen had the other goals for Finland (1-0) while Juuse Saros stopped 28 shots. Tim Robin Johnsgard had the lone goal for Norway (0-2).ATLANTA -- Hawks centre Al Horford has had season-ending surgery to repair a complete tear of his right pectoral muscle. Tuesdays surgery at Atlantas Piedmont Hospital was performed by Dr. Xavier Duralde and Hawks team physician Dr. Michael Bernot. Horford, who was the Hawks leading scorer and rebounder, suffered the injury in the first overtiime of Thursday nights 127-125 double-overtime win at Cleveland.dddddddddddd Horford is averaging 18.6 points and 8.4 rebounds per game. He suffered a similar injury when he tore his left pectoral muscle early in the 2011-12 season. He returned for the playoffs two years ago. The Hawks say Horford will miss the playoffs this season. [url=http://www.cheapjerseyswholesale.top/]Cheap China Jerseys Cheap NFL Jerseys Cheap NFL Jerseys China Cheap Jerseys From China China NFL Jerseys Cheap Jerseys Cheap Jerseys China ' ' '