The Al Hurvis/ADAMM Educational Foundation is proud to present the James Blake v. Brandon Currie showdown on June 22 at Brown Deer High School to highlight tennis in the Brown Deer/Milwaukee community and all the opportunities the game can present.

James Blake, a 10-time ATP Singles champion and former world No. 4-ranked tennis player, will face off against Brandon Currie, Brown Deer High School Hall of Famer and current IUPUI Men’s Tennis Head Coach, in a one set showdown at the new Novak Family Field House on the campus of Brown Deer High School.

"[I am] looking forward to this event, to showcase not only the game of tennis – obviously adding James Blake and the level that he played at – but also how the game of tennis can be a platform for students and youth and what they plan on doing in the future," Currie said.

The event will begin at 4:30 p.m. with a free education fair and the tennis exhibition between Blake and Currie is set to begin at 6 p.m.

James Blake has had a tremendously successful career in the game of tennis. During his 10-year professional career, Blake amassed 24 singles finals appearances and reached a career-high world No. 4 singles ranking and an American No. 1 ranking.

Some of Blake’s career highlights include reaching the finals of the 2006 Tennis Masters Cup, the semifinals of the Beijing Olympics and the quarterfinals of the U.S. Open in 2005 and 2006 and the Australian Open in 2008.

In 2005, Blake was presented with the Comeback Player of the year award a year after losing his father and suffering a broken neck. In 2008, Blake was named the recipient of the Arthur Ashe Humanitarian of the Year award for his work on cancer research through the Thomas Blake Sr. Memorial Research Fund that he helped to created. 

As of January 2018, Blake has raised more than $3 million for cancer research. Blake is also well known for helping to raise funds for the Harlem Junior Tennis Program, an organization that "bring tennis to youth from high-risk, low-income inner-city neighborhoods and offers opportunities for self-development, emphasizing education and positive code of behavior," that gave Blake his start in tennis.

Currently, Blake is the tournament director of the Miami Open, the Chairperson of the USTA Foundation, and works as an analyst for Tennis Channel and CNN. He retired from the game of tennis in 2013.

While at Brown Deer High School, Brandon Currie was a four-year letter winner in tennis. Brandon won both the 1996 and 1998 Wisconsin State Tennis Championships. He was named to the all-state tennis team four consecutive years (1994-1998), while also being named conference player of the year (1994-1998).

During his high school career, Brandon finished with the most wins in a season, and the most wins in school history. During this time frame, Brandon was ranked No. 1 in the state of Wisconsin, Top 5 in the Mid-west section and top 50 in the nation. Currie was inducted into the Brown Deer High School Hall of Fame in 2014.

After high school Currie’s tennis game only got better. At Butler, Currie graduated as the most prolific tennis player in school history. Currie was a three-time Horizon Player of the Year and won the conference’s newcomer of the year in 1999. During his time at Butler, Currie was one of a handful of players to be named to the Horizon League’s five-member all league first team in four consecutive seasons.

Currie still is Butler’s all-time leader in singles and doubles wins, leading the program to three consecutive NCAA tournament appearances. He was also nationally ranked by the ITA when at Butler in both singles and doubles and was named the 2001-2002 Butler Co-Most Outstanding Male Athlete. Currie was inducted in the Butler Hall of Fame in 2016.

Even now that his playing days are over, Currie continues to find success on the tennis court. Currently in his 12th season at the helm of the IUPUI Tennis Program, Currie had led IUPUI to six straight Summit League Tournament appearances, including three straight appearances in the Summit League Championship match from 2011-13. Currie has been named the Summit Coach of the year already twice in his 12 years as head coach and has coached 15 All-Summit League performers.

This education fair and pro tennis exhibition is a FREE community event for all of Milwaukee. We are expecting a great turnout, will have more than 15 community partners present to answer questions and talk to young people and their families about what their organization provides, all while DJ Gee-A from Kiss 103.7FM will be on the ones and twos. This should be a great tennis themed Milwaukee event featuring two inspiring role models.