Hardships give tennis star new perspective on life.(SPORTS)(James Blake )

It may have taken James Blake to break his neck and suffer facial paralysis to gain the infectious positive attitude he has now, but the tennis star says it was worth the pain and heartbreak to now possess such an inspiring perspective of life.

Blake, who is in Rome this week competing in the Italian Open, is among the world's top 10 players (No. 9). Faced with an early season "slump," Blake quickly quieted critics with a dominating U.S. Davis Cup quarterfinal win in Winston-Salem, NC, last month followed by a stunning performance at the U.S. Men's Clay Court Championships semi-finals in Houston. However, Blake says his happiness no longer volleys between his wins and losses and instead he is just grateful to be able to walk on the court.

"After going through what I've gone through throughout my career, the ups and downs and knowing how quickly it can go away, I want to achieve everything I can, not just hold on," explains Blake, the first Black male tennis player to break into the Top 10 world rankings since Arthur Ashe and currently the only African-American male ranked in the Association for Tennis Professionals (ATP) top 200. …