Sweden fought back to level their Davis Cup semi-final with United States 1-1 on Friday when Thomas Johansson defeated James Blake for the first time in his career.
Andy Roddick had given the Americans the lead, blasting 30 aces to win a battle of giant servers with Joachim Johansson 7-6, 7-6, 6-3, but Thomas Johansson kept the Swedes in contention with a 6-4, 6-2, 3-6, 6-3 victory.
"I played my best tennis today, I came out firing from the start," the 2002 Australian Open champion told reporters after beating Blake.
"The biggest key today was to stay aggressive on his second serve and put pressure on him from the start. As soon as you don't do that, you're under pressure and (captain) Mats (Wilander) kept pushing me to be aggressive."
Two sets down, Blake broke for a 4-2 lead in the third when the Swede netted a drive volley. The American went on to take the set despite squandering four set points.
An 11th double-fault by Blake then gave Johansson an all-important 3-1 break in the fourth.
"I feel really comfortable on this surface, it's too bad we don't have more tournaments on this," said Johansson referring to the fast indoor carpet.
"I have small legs so I don't have to bend them."
Blake said: "I did everything I could but he just played better. He's one of the better ball strikers on the tour."
Earlier, neither Roddick nor Johansson lost serve in the opening two sets.
SMASHED WIDE
Leading 4-3 in the third, the American got a break point when Johansson smashed wide before he missed a forehand to hand the game to Roddick.
"I had a little advantage in the tiebreaks," said Roddick. "I don't think I was that comfortable out there."
Roddick was not surprised Johansson, who fired 23 aces, played so well in his first competitive match since January.
"Last year he beat (Rafael) Nadal in the Stockholm Open in straight sets after just coming back from injury," said the American.
"He has a style of play that doesn't need much repetition for it to get effective or imposing."
Johansson said: "He just played better than me on the big points.
"My body felt well, my shoulder felt good, but it's tough to get a good feeling during a match like this with such short rallies, on this fast court with low bounces."
Johansson, who has struggled with recurrent shoulder and elbow injuries since reaching the world's top 10 in 2005, was called into the squad last week when Sweden's top-ranked player Robin Soderling pulled out with a wrist injury.
In Saturday's doubles, American twins Bob and Mike Bryan will play Jonas Bjorkman and U.S. Open doubles champion Simon Aspelin.
