The US lost to Chile 2-1 at the World Team Cup on Monday when James Blake and Mardy Fish were both beaten in the singles.
Fernando Gonzalez defeated Blake 6-4, 7-5, while Nicolas Massu beat Fish 6-4, 7-6 (1) in the round-robin clay-court event. The top-ranked doubles team of Bob and Mike Bryan gave the US its only point with a 6-1, 6-2 win over Jorge Aguilar and Julio Peralta.
Blake, who demonstrated his ability on clay earlier this year by reaching the Houston semi-finals, was up 5-2 in the second set but couldn't convert. Gonzalez ran off five straight games and the final 11 points to close out the match.
"He played well and I didn't at the end of the set," Blake said. "I thought I'd played well to get to that point and then I just got a little tentative and he took advantage and served unbelievable at that point."
While he still has at least two more matches here to prepare for the French Open, Blake said next week's Grand Slam event was not uppermost on his mind.
"I'd like to get some wins for my team," he said. "It's not much fun right now when you disappoint your teammates, teammates that you're such good friends with and have their faith in you. To lose the way I did is frustrating right now and that's all I'm thinking about. I'm not too worried about Paris right now."
Fish made Massu work hard but faltered when it mattered most.
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